TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present disclosure relates to food products and, more particularly relates to nutritionally enriched fruit-based food products comprising one or more live microorganisms, such as probiotic microorganisms for oral administration and the use of these food products to deliver health benefits to humans. BACKGROUND

[0002] Fruits are sources of many essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, fiber, and the like. People generally consume fresh or harvested fruits on a timely basis to meet the nutrient requirements of the body. However, some individuals may not prefer the consumption of ripened or overripe fruits due to their sticky and viscous nature even though these possess a significant quantity of nutrition. Therefore, a significant quantity of fruits (either seasonal or continuous) that are ripened and overripe are discarded after the harvest as people do not prefer to consume such fruits.

[0003] With the advancement in medical and nutritional science, there has been a significant usage of fruits as an ingredient in the manufacturing of pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and functional food products. For example, the fruits are used as flavoring agents or additives in the aforementioned edible products. Thus, consumption of these products fortified with fruit-based additives and beneficial microbial bacteria offer health-promoting capabilities to a host (i.e. human). However, there is a challenge in the storage and maintenance of the microorganisms ( e.g bacteria) in the food products as they may be destroyed when exposed to temperatures higher than the optimum storage temperature, and other processing conditions. Further, blending the fruits that are ripened, overripe, culled and candied fruits with bacteria is complicated due to their viscosity and stickiness. As such, the presence of small amounts of water may result in a significant increase in viscosity, thus making the product inedible.

[0004] Therefore, there is a need for techniques to overcome one or more drawbacks stated above, such as avoiding wastage of overripe fruits, proper storage, and maintenance of good bacteria in food products, in addition to providing other technical advantages.

SUMMARY

[0005] Various embodiments of the present invention provide a nutritionally enriched guava-based food product and manufacturing process thereof.

[0006] In an embodiment, the present invention provides a process for preparing nutritionally enriched guava-based food products. The process includes blanching of ripened guava fruits. The process includes pureeing said ripened guava fruits to obtain a guava puree. The process further includes removing water content from the guava puree to obtain a guava powder. Further, the process includes adding sucrose, citric acid and salt to the guava powder to obtain a mixture. The process includes blending the mixture with one or more live microorganisms in a ratio of 2:1 to yield 10 billion colony forming units (CFU) per gram and to obtain an anhydrous guava composite. The anhydrous guava composite is used as an ingredient for obtaining the nutritionally enriched guava-based food product.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0007] The following detailed description of illustrative embodiments is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the present disclosure, exemplary constructions of the disclosure are shown in the drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to a specific device or a tool and instrumentalities disclosed herein. Moreover, those in the art will understand that the drawings are not to scale. Wherever possible, like elements have been indicated by identical numbers:

[0008] FIG. 1 illustrates a flow diagram of a manufacturing process for a nutritionally enriched guava-based food product, in accordance with an example embodiment of the present invention.

[0009] The drawings referred to in this description are not to be understood as being drawn to scale except if specifically noted, and such drawings are only exemplary in nature.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0010] In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present disclosure can be practiced without these specific details. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein. [0011] Reference in this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. The appearances of the phrase “in an embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but not for other embodiments. [0012] Moreover, although the following description contains many specifics for the purposes of illustration, anyone skilled in the art will appreciate that many variations and/or alterations to said details are within the scope of the present disclosure. Similarly, although many of the features of the present disclosure are described in terms of each other, or in conjunction with each other, one skilled in the art will appreciate that many of these features can be provided independently of other features. Accordingly, this description of the present disclosure is set forth without any loss of generality to, and without imposing limitations upon, the present disclosure. OVERVIEW

[0013] Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a manufacturing process for nutritionally enriched guava-based food product and the product obtained thereof. In an embodiment, the process involves blanching of ripened guava fruits. The blanched guava fruits are subjected to pureeing to obtain a guava puree. Although ripened guava fruits are used as preferred fruits, the guava puree can also be obtained by blanching semi-ripened, overripe, harvested, or even cull guavas, without deviating from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

[0014] The guava puree is subjected to evaporation to remove water content from the guava puree for obtaining a guava powder. The removal of moisture content is carried out by heating the guava puree at about 50 to 60 degrees Celsius by using convective airflows for a time interval of 6 to 8 hours and subsequently cooling the guava puree for about 2 to 3 hours. The guava powder may contain water activity (Aw) ranging from 0.6 to 0.7 and prebiotics.

[0015] Further, the guava powder may be blended homogeneously with ingredients such as sucrose, citric acid, and salt to obtain a mixture. The mixture is further blended with one or more live microorganisms in a ratio of about 2: 1 to form an anhydrous guava composite. Without loss of generality, the mixture blended homogeneously with one or more live microorganisms in the ratio of 2:1 yields 10 billion colony forming units (CFU) per gram. The live microorganisms include probiotic microorganisms. The probiotic microorganisms may be freeze-dried. The anhydrous guava composite including probiotics and prebiotics is referred to as a synbiotic. The anhydrous guava composite is used as an ingredient for obtaining the nutritionally enriched guava-based food product. The nutritionally enriched guava-based product includes combinative effect of the nutraceuticals and prebiotics properties present in guava, and the probiotic microorganism provides nutrition and health benefits to the host (i.e. human) especially by improving the growth, survival, and activity of beneficial microorganisms in the gut of the host. Some non-exhaustive examples of the nutritionally enriched guava-based food products prepared by using the anhydrous guava composite include guava rolls, guava chocolates, guava flakes, jams, dessert toppings, soups, jelly yogurt toppings, and the like. In an embodiment, the anhydrous guava composite may be mixed with 0.07% Potassium metabisulphate (KMS) for extended storage and/or shelf life.

[0016] A manufacturing process (100) for a nutritionally enriched guava-based food product is herein described with reference to FIG. 1. The guava- based food product (hereinafter interchangeably referred to as “food product”) is a nutritionally enriched food product for a human to improve the growth, survival, and activity of beneficial microorganisms in the gut of the human in addition to providing other health benefits. The guava-based food product is a combination of guava fruits, one or more microbial bacteria, and any other health-promoting ingredients.

[0017] Without loss of generality, the guava fruit may be selected to be Punjab pink variety guavas which include high nutraceuticals elements such as, but not limited to potassium, manganese, copper, vitamin E, vitamin C, lycopene, manganese, dietary fibres, vitamin B complex, and Omega 3 and 6 Poly Unsaturated acids. Alternatively, the guavas maybe strawberry guavas, lemon guavas, tropical white guavas or any other nutritional fruit that may be selected as per feasibility and requirement. The process of manufacturing the guava-based food product including the aforementioned ingredients is further explained in detail. [0018] Referring now to step (102) as shown in FIG. 1, the process (100) includes blanching of ripened guava fruits. It should also be noted that the guavas may also be selected from freshly harvested guavas, semi-ripe guavas, overripe guavas, culled guavas, or a combination thereof. The usage of the ripened, overripe and culled guavas reduces wastage of such fruits, thereby resulting in economic benefits for the cultivators or growers. In the blanching process, the guava fruits are scalded in boiling water for a pre-determined time period and thereafter subjected for cooling. The pre-determined time period associated with the blanching process may vary based on the selection of guavas ( e.g ripened, freshly harvested, semi-ripe, or overripe). For instance, the freshly harvested or raw guavas may be subjected to blanching for about 10 minutes, but the ripened guavas may be subjected to blanching for about 7 minutes, and the overripe guavas may be subjected to blanching for about 5 minutes.

[0019] At step (104), the process (100) includes pureeing the ripened guavas to obtain a guava puree. Pureeing of the guavas may be carried out using conventional food processors or pureeing apparatus. In an embodiment, prior to pureeing, the guavas may be subjected to deseeding process to render guavas free of seeds.

[0020] At step (106), the process (100) includes removing water content from the guava puree to obtain a guava powder. Without loss of generality, removal of water content from the guava puree may be carried out by heating the guava puree using convective airflows at about 50 to 60 degrees Celsius for a time interval of about 6 to 8 hours and subsequently cooling the guava puree at ambient or room temperature for about 2 to 3 hours. It is noted that subjecting the guava puree to the temperature range of about 50 to 60 degree Celsius may effectively retain the nutritional benefits associated with the guavas in the guava powder. Further, cooling the guava puree involves, the guava puree to be layered on trays smeared with a coating material and allowed to cool for about 2 to 3 hours for obtaining the guava powder. In other words, the guava puree is dried on trays smeared with the coating material for about 2 to 3 hours to obtain the guava powder. The coating material may be glycerol, butter or any other food-grade coating material.

[0021] There may be other possible ways, in which guava powder can be obtained. For example, in another embodiment, the guava powder may be obtained by freeze-drying the guava puree. In freeze-drying the guava puree may be subjected to a temperature and pressure lower than the triple point. For example, when a controlled increment of the temperature above 0 degree Celsius is done while maintaining low pressure ( e.g 0.06 ATM), the water content in the guava puree sublimates directly from solid-state to a gaseous state, bypassing the liquid phase. It should be noted that freeze-drying is carried out under vacuum. In other embodiments, the guava powder may be obtained through spray drying or any other conventional methods.

[0022] The guava powder obtained from the guava puree may contain water activity (Aw) ranging from 0.6 to 0.7. The water activity (Aw) represents the availability of free water in a compound for microbial growth in food products. In addition to water availability, other factors such as pH and product composition possess a major influence on microbial stability. It should be appreciated that the guava powder prepared from the freshly harvested, ripened, overripe guavas is stable and powdery. Further, the guava powder also includes one or more bioactive attributes such as, but not limited to, antioxidants, fibre content, lycopene, and prebiotic effects. In other words, a significant amount of bioactive attributes are retained in the guava powder obtained from the freshly harvested, ripened, or overripe guavas by performing the steps (102) to (106). In an illustrative example, the bioactive attributes and other characteristics associated with the harvested guava fruits and the guava powder are listed below in Table 1.

Table 1

[0023] At step (108), the process (100) includes adding sucrose, citric acid, and salt to the guava powder to obtain a mixture. In an example, the dosage values (expressed in percentage by weight composition) of the sucrose, citric acid, and salt may be about 25%, 0.4% and, 0.5%, respectively. The dosage values may also vary based on the total weight of the food product, therefore, the aforementioned dosage values should not be considered as limiting to the scope of the present disclosure. The addition of 0.5% salt and 25% sucrose compensates the reduced water activity in the guava powder and provides a specific structure to the food product by binding to free water molecules, respectively. Further, the addition of sucrose and salt to the guava powder enhances the taste of the food product and/or the mixture. The inherent levels of citric acid present in the guavas may not be sufficient to enable the product to maintain its barrier status to microbial contamination, so citric acid of about 0.4% is added to the guava powder for enabling the barrier status to avoid microbial contamination. Also, the specified level i.e. 0.4% of citric acid provides tanginess to the product {i.e. mixture).

[0024] Further, at step (110), the process (100) includes blending the mixture obtained from step (108) with one or more live microorganisms to obtain an anhydrous guava composite. The anhydrous guava composite is used as an ingredient for preparing the nutritionally enriched guava-based food product which is explained further in detail. The one or more live microorganisms include a variety of microbial bacteria and/or live culture. The live culture may be lyophilized and/or freeze-dried prior to blending with the mixture. Alternatively, the live microorganisms may be liquid or solid at ambient conditions. Live microorganisms are probiotic microorganisms. Blending the live microorganisms in the food product provides health benefits to humans such as protection against pathogenic bacteria, boosts the immune system, maintains gut health, treats infections in the digestive tract, and lowers cholesterol and blood pressure of the host (i.e. human), among other benefits. The anhydrous guava composite including the live microorganisms may have a single species or strain of a probiotic bacterium, or it may include a combination of one or more species or strains. Examples of probiotic microorganisms may include, but are not limited to, Lactobacillus spp., Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus paracasei, Lactobacillus reuteri, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus helveticus, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus salivarius, Bifidobacterium spp., and any other microorganism that may have beneficial effects on human health.

[0025] The live microorganisms are blended with the mixture in a ratio of about 1:2 to obtain the anhydrous guava composite. The anhydrous guava composite including the live microorganisms blended with the mixture yields approximately 10 billion colony forming units per gram (i.e. 1* 10 ^L 9 probiotic cells per gram). Herein, the measure 'colony forming units (CLU)' is used to quantify the amount of viable (live) bacteria in the anhydrous guava composite. As the initial colony forming units (CLU) and the continued stability and viability of the anhydrous guava composite may partly depend on the amount of moisture, the food product prepared using the anhydrous guava composite may be packaged and sealed tightly in order to provide oxygen and moisture barrier. In addition, potassium metabisulphate (KMS) may be added to the anhydrous guava composite. In a non limiting example, the dosage value (expressed in percentage by weight composition) of potassium metabisulphate (KMS) is about 0.07%. The addition of KMS enhances the shelf life of the anhydrous guava composite, as KMS is a generally permissible antimicrobial agent that helps prevent microbial contamination of the product (i.e. the anhydrous guava composite).

[0026] The prebiotics present in the guava powder is capable of reacting with the probiotic microorganism and enhance the functionalities of the probiotics, thus rendering the combination effective for the nutrition and health of the host. Examples of prebiotics in various varieties of guavas include, but are not limited to, carbohydrate, oligosaccharides (e.g., fmctooligosaccharides, glucooligosaccharides, xylooligosaccharides, arabinoxylans, arabinogalactans, galactomannans, polydextrose, oligofructose) and the like. Therefore, the anhydrous guava composite including prebiotics and probiotics acts as a synbiotic and is beneficial for humans.

[0027] In an embodiment, either the guava puree, the mixture, or the anhydrous guava composite may be packed with a packaging material for storage. The packaging material used for packing may be made of a food-grade material.

[0028] In a use case, the anhydrous guava composite may be used as a premix powder for an end product. The guava premix powder may also be used as an ingredient in preparing at least one ready to consume food product. Examples of the food products prepared by using the guava premix powder may include, but are not limited to, drinks and smoothies, jams, jelly, dessert toppings, yogurt toppings, soups, chutney, salad seasoning, and the like. Further, the anhydrous guava composite may be used for making guava rolls. More specifically, the anhydrous guava composite is blended homogeneously with the optimum quantity of lukewarm water so as to obtain a thick paste of the anhydrous guava composite. The thick paste of the anhydrous guava composite is rolled up for preparing the food product (i.e. guava rolls). [0029] In another use case, the anhydrous guava composite may be incorporated in confections. For example, in one scenario, the anhydrous guava composite may be blended with the molten chocolates during the preparation of confections. In another scenario, the anhydrous guava composite may be centrally filled and/or stuffed in the confections. [0030] Various embodiments of the present disclosure offer multiple advantages. For instance, the present disclosure provides an efficient manufacturing process that enables effective utilization of freshly harvested, ripened, overripe, or culled guava fruits by converting them to consumable food products. Further, effective utilization of the ripened and overripe guava fruits reduces wastage and offers economic benefits to guava growers. The guava fruits are transformed into a complete range of nutritionally enhanced ready to eat food products with high shelf life and consumer acceptability. Potential health benefits can be delivered for all age groups by the aforementioned products developed. [0031] Various embodiments of the disclosure, as discussed above, may be practiced with steps and/or operations in a different order, and/or with hardware elements in configurations, which are different than those which, are disclosed. Therefore, although the disclosure has been described based upon these exemplary embodiments, it is noted that certain modifications, variations, and alternative constructions may be apparent and well within the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

[0032] Although various exemplary embodiments of the disclosure are described herein in a language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as exemplary forms of implementing the claims.