DESCRIPTION

Field of the invention

[001] The present invention relates to edible nutrition bars, especially nutrition bars in the form of a ball useful is satisfying daily nutritional requirements. The present invention also relates to a making of nutrient dense balls.

Background of the invention

[002] In today’s fast-moving world it is increasingly difficult to accommodate in modern lifestyles a healthy diet with healthy nutritional balance which satisfies recommended daily nutrition. Various meal replacers are emerging. The meal replacer products are generally products that are intended to be consumed as a single- serving food product, such as a bar or a drink etc to replace one or two meals per day.

[003] European patent publication No. EP1662902B 1 discloses an edible composition comprising fat and at least one transition metal, divalent metal, or compounds thereof, and 0.01 to 50 %wt based on the weight of the fat, of emulsifier comprising a carboxylic ester group attached to a carbon chain and one or more free hydroxyl groups and comprising a mixture of esterified glycerol emulsifiers and esterified alginates.

[004] European patent publication No. EP1641358B 1 discloses a nutrition bar comprising 10 %wt or more of soy and/or rice protein, at least one transition metal or transition metal or transition metal compound, and 2 %wt or more of a humectant.

[005] Russian patent publication No. RU2577043 discloses a nutrition bar having a core including a protein mixture combined with a binder in single structure. The core includes a milk component containing fine spherical protein particles. Summary of the invention

[006] The present invention is a nutrition bar or ball allowing to utilize date seeds which are considered as waste product of date harvesting and challenging for humans to digest, and at the same time providing edible nutrient dense bar that is able to provide daily nutrition intake. Hence, synergic effect is provided by utilizing otherwise waste product and obtaining nutrient dense composition in the form of a bar or a ball.

[007] The nutrient dense composition if the form of the bar or the ball comprising 60 to 70%wt of pitted dates, 25 to 35%wt of a whey protein powder, 3 to 6%wt of a milk powder, 2.5 to 3.5%wt of a dehydrated date seed powder, and 0.3 to 0.7%wt of a sea salt. In addition the composition in the form of the bar or the ball is further covered or powdered with the dehydrated date seed powder adding extra 2.5 to 4.5wt% of said dehydrated date seed powder on an outer surface of the bar or the ball.

[008] In other embodiments of the present invention the pitted dates may be in the range of 62 to 65%wt, preferably about 63.5%wt. The pitted dates are blended pitted dates. The whey protein powder may be in the range of 27 to 3 l%wt, preferably about 29% wt. The milk powder may be in the range of 3 to 4%wt, preferably about 3.5%wt. The dehydrated date seed powder is about 3%wt. The term “about” implements manufacturing tolerance which may arise during the making of the nutrient dense composition in the form of the bar or the ball.

[009] Dates are composed of primarily sugars, specifically glucose and fructose. These sugars make up nearly 70 to 80% of the dates mass. The ratio of these simple sugars is approximately 1:1 in most dates cultivars, exception for Labanah which contains a higher proportion of glucose to fructose. This makes dates an excellent source of fermentable substrates for simple microorganisms, such as edible yeasts, molds, and other microbes as a source of protein and other nutrients. Additionally, the high sugar content is favourable to formulate the food product as a quick source of energy, binder, and preservative, as many molds, yeasts, and bacteria cannot consume high concentrations of sugars. Dates contain a significant amount of potassium, magnesium, and calcium, with trace amounts of phosphorus and sodium. Protein and fat content in date flesh is too low to be considered of any nutritional relevance. [010] Date seeds are considered a waste product of date harvesting. However, they make up 10 to 15% of the weight of dates and contain exceptional nutrition that is, unfortunately, challenging for humans to digest. They contain a high amount of dietary fibre and valuable bioactive compounds that could be used to improve the nutritional composition of the food prototype. Date seeds are made up of between 20 to 80% dietary fibre, which can be used as a rich substrate for the production of other protein-rich ingredients using fermentation to enrich the overall protein yield of the date material. Approximately 53% of that fibre is insoluble fibres hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin. This dietary fibre can also be included directly in the food product. The date seed is also a rich source of sodium, potassium and magnesium, with trace levels of phosphorus, selenium, calcium, iron, manganese, zinc, copper, nickel, cobalt, lead, and cadmium. One of the important components of date seeds is the protein content, which is higher than that of the date flesh. Making up approximately 5% of the total weight of the seed, the protein is composed of a moderate amount of essential amino acids methionine and lysine, as well as the semi-essential amino acid cysteine. However, date seeds are limited in their tryptophan content. Another source of protein is needed to make up the natural nutritional limitations of date seeds. The oil content is also higher in the seeds than in the date flesh, at approximately 10% of the mass. The oils of date seeds are composed of primarily oleic acid, lauric acid, followed by myristic and palmitic acid. There is a very minute quantity of linoleic acid and arachidonic acid. Date seeds also contain a high level of phenolic compounds (3102-4430 mg/100 g), which help improve gastrointestinal digestion, reduce inflammation, and increase the diversity of the microbiome over time.

[Oi l] The following varieties of date seeds have been found to contain these nutritional elements (see table 1):

Table 1

Date Seed Varietals and Nutritional Composition

[012] The milk powder may be full cream cow’ s milk powder with emulsifier from plant origin (soya lecithin), vitamins and minerals: Calcium, Iron, Zinc, Vitamins (C, Bl, B2, B6, B12, B3, A, Folic Acid, D, Biotin, E). The milk powder on average per 100g has an energy value of 508 Kcal, fat of 28.2 g, protein of 23.6g and carbohydrates of 38 g. The milk powder on average per 100g further comprises Vitamin A of 1800IU, Vitamin D of 230IU, Vitamin E of 6IU, Vitamin k of 1 pg, Vitamin C of 50mg, Vitamin Bl of 0.4mg, Vitamin B2 of 1.4mg, Niacin of 6.5mg, Vitamin B6 of 0.65mg, Folic Acid of 200pg, Pantothenic Acid of 1.85mg, Vitamin B12 of 1.8pg, Biotin of 50pg, Zinc of 4.5mg, Iron of lOmg and Calcium of 860mg.

[013] In another embodiment of the invention it is preferred that the nutrient dense ball comprises 63.5%wt of the blended pitted dates, 29%wt of the whey protein powder, 3.5%wt of the milk powder (Nestle® NIDO), 3.0%wt of the grinded dehydrated date seed powder, and 0.5%wt of the sea salt.

[014] Another aspect of the present invention is a method of making a nutrient dense composition in the form of the ball comprising pitted dates, a whey protein powder, a milk powder, dehydrated date seed powder and a sea salt. [015] A method of making of a nutrient dense ball, wherein the method comprises the following steps:

- providing pitted dates, a whey protein powder, a milk powder, dehydrated date seed powder and a sea salt;

- mixing provided pitted dates, a whey protein powder, a milk powder, dehydrated date seed powder and a sea salt with addition of water in 15 to 20wt% from a mix, wherein the mix has the following proportions:

60 to 70%wt of pitted dates,

25 to 35%wt of a whey protein powder,

2 to 5%wt of a milk powder,

2.5 to 3.5%wt of a dehydrated date seed powder, and

0.3 to 0.7%wt of a sea salt;

- forming previously obtained mix in the form of a ball;

- powdering or covering obtained ball with the dehydrated date seed powder; and

- refrigerating the ball until the ball settles.

The mix is made of dates, a whey protein powder, a milk powder, dehydrated date seed powder and a sea salt.

[016] wherein the ball is powdered with the dehydrated date seed powder in amount of 2.5 to 4.5wt%.

[017] The method according to Claim 9 or 9, wherein the ball is refrigerated for 15 to 25 minutes, preferably for 18 to 22 minutes, more preferably for 20 minutes.

[018] Another surprising advantage of the present invention is a minimal necessity or no necessity to use additional water supply for a nutrition bar and its manufacture. The pitted dates already have sufficient amount of water. This feature is even more crucial in regions where reach to drinkable water is limited. In some circumstances, especially during mixing of ingredients, there can be a necessity to add the water.

[019] The term "comprising" is meant not to be limiting to any subsequently stated elements but rather to encompass non-specified elements of major or minor functional importance. In other words, the listed steps, elements or options need not be exhaustive. Whenever the words "including" or "having" are used, these terms are meant to be equivalent to "comprising" as defined above.

[020] Except in the operating and comparative examples, or where otherwise explicitly indicated, all numbers in this description indicating amounts of material or conditions of reaction, physical properties of materials and/or use are to be understood as modified by the word "about." All amounts are by weight, based on the total weight of the relevant product, unless otherwise specified.

[021] Unless stated otherwise or required by context, the terms "nutritional ball(s)" and "nutrition ball(s)" are used interchangeably herein.

[022] Unless stated otherwise, all percentages are by weight based on the total weight of the composition.

[023] For a more complete explanation of the above and other features and advantages of the invention, reference should be made to the following description of the preferred embodiments. The preferred embodiments apply to all aspects of the invention and can be used as appropriate for each aspect.

[024] In one example of the present invention the nutrient dense ball of 200g comprises 128g of the pitted dates, 58g of the whey protein powder, 7g of the milk powder, 6g of the dehydrated date seed powder, and 1g of the sea salt. In addition the ball is covered or powdered with the dehydrated date seed powder adding extra 5 to 9g of said dehydrated date seed powder on an outer surface of the ball.

[025] Table 2 provides additional embodiment of the invention indicating not only amounts of main ingredients of the composition but also indicating nutrition, vitamin and mineral values.

Table 2 One example of nutrient dense composition according to the invention.

[026] Flavourings are preferably added to the nutrition bar in amounts that will impart a mild, pleasant flavour. The flavouring may be any of the commercial flavours typically employed in nutrition bars, such as varying types of cocoa, pure vanilla or artificial flavour, such as vanillin, ethyl vanillin, chocolate, malt, mint, yogurt powder, extracts, spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, mixtures thereof, and the like. The nutrition bars are flavoured to taste and suitable amounts of each flavouring agent desired will therefore be included. Flavourings which mask off-tastes from vitamins and/or minerals and other ingredients are preferably included in the products of the invention.

[027] While the invention may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, where some embodiments of the invention have been shown in the figures, it should be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.