Co-attrited stabilizer composition having superior gel strength

1. A co-attrited stabilizer composition comprising:

a) microcrystalline cellulose in an amount of from 20%-90% by weight of the composition;

b) a hydrocolloid in an amount of from 5%-50% by weight of the composition, wherein the hydrocolloid is selected from at least one member of the group consisting of carboxymethyl cellulose having a degree of substitution of from 0.95 to 1.5, pectin, alginate, carrageenan, xanthan gum, agar gum, wellan gum, or gelian gum; and

c) a starch in an amount of from 5%-50% by weight of the composition;

wherein the stabilizer composition has a gel strength (G′) of at least 25 Pa when measurement is made using a TA-Instruments rheometer (ARES-RFS3) with oscillatory strain sweep at 1 Hz and at 20° C., with gap size at 1.8 mm measured after 24 hours in a 2.6% solids in de-ionized water dispersion at 20° C.

2. The stabilizer of claim 1 , wherein said gel strength (G′) is at least 42 Pa.

3. The stabilizer composition of claim 1 , wherein said hydrocolloid is present in an amount of from 5%-30% and said gel strength (G′) is at least 50 Pa.

4. The stabilizer composition of claim 1 , wherein the microcrystalline cellulose is present in an amount of from 45 to 70% by weight of the composition, the hydrocolloid is present in an amount of from 10-30% by weight of the composition, and the starch is present in an amount of from 20-50% by weight of the composition.

5. The stabilizer composition of claim 1 , wherein the hydrocolloid is carboxymethyl cellulose present in an amount of 5% to 20% by weight of the composition.

6. The stabilizer composition of claim 1 , wherein the carboxymethyl cellulose is present in an amount of from 5%-30%.

7. The stabilizer composition of claim 1 , wherein the carboxymethyl cellulose has a degree of substitution of from 1.15 to 1.5 and is present in an amount of from 5%-30%.

8. The stabilizer composition of claim 1 , wherein the hydrocolloid is at least one carrageenan comprising kappa carrageenan, kappa-2 carrageenan, iota carrageenan, or lambda carrageenan, and mixtures thereof.

9. The stabilizer composition of claim 1 , wherein the starch is selected from at least one member of the group consisting of wheat, corn, oat, rice, tapioca, or potato.

10. The stabilizer composition of claim 1 , wherein the starch comprises a tapioca starch.

11. The stabilizer composition of claim 1 , wherein said composition does not contain a co-attriting agent.

12. A method for making the stabilizer composition of claim 1 comprising:

a) admixing the microcrystalline cellulose, hydrocolloid, and starch;

b) co-attriting the admixture of step a) to obtain an extrudent; and

c) drying the extrudent of step b).

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the drying of step c) is spray drying.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein said co-attriting is co-extruding.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein step b) is performed without the use of a co-attriting salt.

16. A food comprising the stabilizer composition of claim 1 .

17. The food of claim 16 , wherein the food is a beverage.

18. The food of claim 17 , wherein the beverage has a pH of from 2-7.

19. The food of claim 17 , wherein the beverage comprises milk.

20. The food of claim 12 , wherein the stabilizer composition is present in an amount of from 0.05 to 3.5% by total weight of the food.

21. A suspension comprising the stabilizer composition of claim 1 suitable for use in pharmaceutical products, nutraceutical products, cosmetic products, personal care products, or agricultural products.

22. A stabilizer composition of claim 1 prepared by a process comprising the steps:

a) admixing the microcrystalline cellulose, hydrocolloid, and starch;

b) co-attriting the admixture of step a) to obtain an extrudent; and

c) drying the extrudent of step b).