A COLORING COMPOSITION COMPRISING TRICALCIUM PHOSPHATE AS A WHITE COLORING AGENT
A coloring composition comprising tricalcium phosphate as a coloring agent. It may be used in the manufacture of food, pet food and pharmaceutical products.
1 . A coloring composition for coloring an edible product, comprising at least 50% w/w of tricalcium phosphate.
2 . The coloring composition of claim 1 , comprising at least 50% w/w of tricalcium phosphate and at least 1% w/w of dispersing agent.
3 . The coloring composition of claim 1 , consisting of tricalcium phosphate, a dispersing agent and optionally water.
4 . The coloring composition of claim 1 , wherein the composition is readily water dispersible.
5 . The coloring composition of claim 1 , wherein the composition is a dried powder.
6 . The coloring composition of claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises less than 10% w/w water.
7 . The coloring composition of claim 1 , comprising at least 75% w/w tricalcium phosphate.
8 . The coloring composition of claim 1 , comprising at least 2% w/w dispersing agent.
9 . The coloring composition of claim 1 , comprising at least 5% w/w dispersing agent.
10 . The coloring composition of claim 1 , wherein the tricalcium phosphate comprises tricalcium phosphate particles that have a mean particle diameter of less than 5 μm.
11 . The coloring composition of claim 1 , wherein the dispersing agent is selected from polysorbate, sucrose esters of fatty acids, poly-glycerol esters of fatty acids, maltodextrins, hydrolyzed gelatins, gum arabic, and modified starches.
12 . The coloring composition of claim 11 , wherein the dispersing agent is a nOSA starch.
13 . The coloring composition of claim 11 , wherein the dispersing agent is a polysorbate
14 . The coloring composition of claim 13 , wherein the polysorbate is selected from polysorbate 60, polysorbate 80, and mixtures thereof.
15 . A method for preparing the coloring composition of claim 1 , comprising mixing a dispersing agent with tricalcium phosphate.
16 . The method of claim 15 , comprising:
(a) mixing a dispersing agent with water until the dispersing agent has dissolved;
(b) mixing tricalcium phosphate with the dissolved dispersing agent composition obtained at step (a); and
(c) drying the composition obtained at step (b).
17 . A method for coloring an edible product, selected from a method comprising:
(a) providing a core comprising the edible product and coating the core with the coloring composition of claim 1 ; and
(b) mixing the coloring composition of claim 1 with an edible product, optionally, canning the resulting product into cans, and optionally heat treating the resulting cans.
18 - 19 . (canceled)
20 . A canned human food product, pet food product, or pet treat product, comprising the coloring composition of claim 1 .
21 . (canceled)
22 . The canned product of claim 20 , wherein the canned product has been heat treated.
23 . The canned product of claim 22 , wherein the canned product has been heat treated above 100° C.
24 . The canned product of claim 20 , wherein the product has a pH below 9.
25 . The canned product of claim 24 , wherein the product has a pH below 8.
26 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the edible product is selected from human food products, pet food products, pet treat products, and pharmaceutical products