BIOLOGICALLY AVAILABLE REDUCED IRON

FER REDUIT A HAUTE DISPONIBILITE BIOLOGIQUE

English Abstract

ABSTRACT
Fruit cereals susceptible to discoloration by iron
catalyzed oxidation, where iron is included as a dietary supple-
ment, are provided where the iron is present at a high bio-
availability, while the fruit cereal retains its aesthetically
pleasing and acceptable coloration for long periods of time.
Small particles of iron, particularly electrolytic iron, are
added to fruit cereals, such as banana or strawberry, having
a pH below about 6 and substantially free of added citric acid.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A dehydrated fruit cereal susceptible to iron-
catalyzed air oxidation resulting in discoloration, derived
from a slurry having a substantial amount of a fruit puree and
cereal grain flour, less than about 0.2 weight % of electrolytic
iron as particles of a size less than about 50µ and sub-
stantially fr e of added citric acid.
2. A fruit cereal according to claim 1, said fruit
is banana or strawberry.
3. A fruit cereal according to claim 1, wherein
said slurry is at a pH in the range of about 5-6.
4. A fruit cereal according to claim 3, wherein
said pH is less than about 5.6.
5. A fruit cereal having banana or strawberry as
the fruit and derived by drying a slurry having from about 20-70
weight % of said fruit, about 20-50 weight % of cereal grain
flour, and from about 0.01-0.2 weight % of electrolytic iron
as particles less than about 50µ in size at a pH in the range
of about 5-6 and substantially free of added citric acid.
6. A fruit cereal according to claim 5, wherein
said fruit is present in said slurry in from about 30-60 weight
%, said cereal grain flour is present in said slurry in from
about 25-40 weight %, said electrolytic iron is present in from
about 0.05-0.15 weight % and the pH of said slurry is in the
range of about 5-5.6.
7. A fruit cereal according to claim 6, wherein said
fruit is banana.
8. A fruit cereal according to claim 6, wherein said
fruit is strawberry.
9. A process for preparing a fruit cereal resistant



To discoloration by iron-catalyzed air oxidation, which
comprises slurrying, at a pH of less than about 6 and free of
added citric acid, a mixture of fruit puree, cereal grain
flour and from about 0.01 to about 0.2 weight % of electrolytic
iron in the form of particles of a size less than about 50µ,
heating the admixture to a temperature in the range of about
140 to 230° F to obtain a substantially homogeneous mixture,
and dehydrating said mixture.
10. A process according to claim 9, wherein the
fruit is banana or strawberry and the electrolytic iron is
food grade.
11. A process according to claim 10, wherein the
cereal has about 20 to about 70 weight % fruit, about 20 to
about 50 weight % cereal grain flour and includes about 5 to
about 15 weight % sweetener.
12. A process according to claim 10 or 11, including
the additional step of screening the product prior to heating.
13. A process according to claim 10 or 11, including
the additional steps of screening the product prior to heating,
and flaking the product during the dehydration step.
14. A process for preparing a fruit cereal resistant
to discoloration by iron-catalyzed air oxidation, which comprises
slurrying, at a pH of less than about 6 and free of added citric
acid, an unheated mixture of a fruit puree selected from the
group consisting of banana puree and strawberry puree with at
least one cereal grain flour, admixing from about 0.01 to about
0.2 weight % of electrolytic iron in the form of particles of a
size less than about 50µ, screening the admixture, heating to
a temperature in the range of about 180-200°F and subsequently
dehydrating and flaking.
15. A process according to claim 14, wherein the
electrolytic iron is food grade.




16. A process according to claim 14 or 15, wherein
the cereal has about 20 to about 70 weight % fruit, about 20
to about 50 weight % cereal grain flour and includes about
5 to about 15 weight % sweetener.

Description

,. 1~4fl~S
BAC ~CG ROUNI) OF Tll E I NVENT I ON
Field of the Invention
A substantial sour~e of iron for small babies is
derived from their fruit cereal. It i5 found that various types
of iron, iron metal as well as iron salts, provide varying
amounts of bio-availability. Many iron salts which are accept-
able as food additives are capable of catalyzing the oxidation
of oxidation susceptible materials which are naturally occurring
in fruits, particularly during the elevated temperatures during
processing. For example, tannins can be oxidized to quinones,
whic~ results in an undesirable discoloration of the food,
making the food product aesthetically unsightly and commercially
unacceptable. The difficulty, then, is to provide a source of
iron which can be solubilized in the digestive process, yet is
inactive during food preparation and storage, so as not to be
capable of catalyzing oxidation o oxidation suscepti.ble mater-
ials which result in discoloration of the food.
Description of the Prior Art
Electrolytic iron has been used in fruit cereals .
other than those susceptible to air oxidation. Bio-availability
of various forms of iron is described in an article by Pla, et
al entitled! "Availability of Iron", JAOAC 53, No. 4 (1970) and
a report entitled "The Bioavailability of Iron Sources and Their
Utilization in Food Enrichment", comp.iled by James Waddell or
the Division of Nutrition, Bureau of Foods, Food and Drug Admin--
istration under Contract No. FDA 71-294. U.S. Patent No.
3,506,477 discloses the preparation of Eruit cereals.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Fruit cereals having ruits which are susceptible to

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ixon catal~zed oxidation with resulting discoloration are
provided with high iron bio-availability, by combining small
iron particJes generally less than about 50~ with the fruit
cereal, after substantially all of the other inyredients have
been mixed, in the substantial absenc~ of aclded citric acid,
wherein the fruit cereal is at a pH below about 6. A preferred
- source of iron is electrolytic iron, food grade, which can be
used particularly effectively with banana and strawberry fruit
cereals. The amount of iron employed is in excess of about
0.01 weight % of the composition.
DESCR~PTION OF T~IE SPECIE`IC EMBODIMENTS
Fruit cereals are provided having enhanced amounts
of bio-available iron, which can be produced without substantial
discoloration, retaininy the natural color for long periods of
time. The fruit cereals have as their major ingredients, fruit,
flours, non-fat milk, usually dry, sweeteners, as well as minor
additives, such as a source of calcium, vegetable oils, lecithin,
vitamins, releasing agents, and the like. Normally, the fruit
is present in from about 20-70, more usually 30-60 weight % of
the entire composition, having a solids content of from about
10 to 35 weight %. The flour, which may be a single flour or
a mixture of cereal grain flours will normally be present in
from about 20-50 weight ~, more usually from a~out 25-40 weight
~. Sweetening agents will generally be present in from about
5-15 weight %, usually granulated white sugar will be employed.
The iron is generally employed in at least about 0.01 weight %,
usually not exceeding about 0.2 weight % and generally being
in the range of from about 0.02 to about 0.15 weight %.
The fruit~ which are of particular concern are banana
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1C34~5
and strawberry. Therefore~ the subject invention finds parti-
cular advantage with these two fruits.
While various orms of food grade iron can be
employed, such as carbonyl reduced iron, hydrogen reduced iron,
and the like, of particular interest is electrolytic iron.
This iron is commercially available, for example, from Glidden
Metals.
Electrolytic iron powder is produced by electrolytic
deposition of a hard, brittle metal which is mechanically com-

minuted. The iron is produced domestically using chemically
pure iron anodes, a ferrous sulfate bath (electrolyte), and
thin stainless steel cathode sheets onto which the iron migrates.
These sheets are removed from the bath after a standard plating
cycle, washed to remove soluble salts, dried, then flexed to
remove the brittle deposit. These "fragments" are then mechani-
cally ground to a finely divided powder.
The particle shape of e}ectrolytic iron powder is
described as irregular, dendritic or fernlike from which it
received its high surface factor. Unlike reduced iron, the
grains in electrolytic particles are less symmetrical. Powders
obtained by the electrolytic method are yenerally somewhat
harder than those produced by reduction so that grinding to
powders with greater sub-sieve size content is possible.
The iron particles will generally have greater than
90 weight % of a size equal to or less than about 50~ and
will usually have at least about 70 weight ~ of à-size equal
to or less than about 40~. Preferred electrolytic iron has
at least about 50 weight ~ in the range of about 0-20~.
The pH of the composition should be less than about
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1~44g~S
6, and generally in the range of ahout 5-6, more usually in the
range of about 5-5.6.
While in the past it has generally been believed thai
citric acid would act as a color stabilizer and, furthermore,
would provide a source of acidity ~o maintain the lower pH, it
has been found that citric acid is determental in the subject
invention. Therefore, the addition of any significant amounts
of citric acid, other than that naturally present in the mater-
ials added, is avoided.
In preparing the fruit cereal, the various inyredients

can be slurried together, either cold or at te~peratures in the
range of about 140 to 230F, more usually 170 to 200F. The
slurry will generally have a solids content of about 15 to 30
weight %. Normally, the iron is not added until all the other
ingredients have been combined. In one mode, the ingredients
are combined cold, the iron added, and the mixture heated to
the temperature range indicated above. Preferably, the con-
tact time betweën the iron and the other ingredients at the
elevated temperature is minimized, only sufficient time being
employed to provide a substantially homogeneous mixture of the

desired consistency. The slurry is screened to produce a puree
of uniform consistency. After heating to the desired temperature,
the product is ready to be dehydrated. The product is then dried
by conventional means and is ready for use. Single or double
drum dryers may be employed, with the sheet removed from the
drying surface with a doctor blade. The product may then be
flaked according to conventional means. See U.S. Patent No.
3,506,447 for a more thorough discussion of the process.
The following are two fruit cereal formulations


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which have been prepared and found to ret~in -the.ir natural
color, being substantially frec of any discoloration. In prepar-
ing the fruit cereal, all the ingredients except the ele-
trolytic iron were first mix~d cold, followed by the addition
of the i.ron, mixing, screeniny, and heating to a temperature
in the range of about 180-200~F. The slurry is then transferred
to drying drums, dried and then flaked, to provide the desired
cereal substantially free of any discolora-tion.
OAT W/BANANA
Pounds
- Banana Puree 172
Oat Flour 108
Nonfat Dry Milk 21
Sugar 20
Dextrose 10
Calcium Carbonate 2.3
Soya Lecithin 1.73
Soya Oil 1.52
Vitamin Mix #1 .54
Electrolytic Iron ~125



MIXED W/BANANA
Pounds
Banana Puree 172
Oat Flour 48
Corn Flour 33.3
Nonfat Dxy Milk 21
Wheat Flour, Soft or
Wheat Flour, Soft, Steamed 20



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Sugar 20
Dextrose 13.3
Barley Flour 10
Calcium Carbonate 2.4
Soya Leeithin 1.73
Soya Oil 1.52
Vitamin Mix #1 .54
Electrolytic Iron .125`
In accordance with the subject invention, fruit
eereals susceptible to iron eatalyzed air oxidation are provided
substantially free of any discoloration. The iron employed
provides a high percentage of bio-available iron, so that the
iron is utilized effieiently and economically. A commercially
desirable product is provided having high nutrient value~
Although the foregoing invention has been described
in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes
of clarity of understanding, it will be obvious that certain
ehanges and modifieations may be practiced within the scope
of the appended claims.




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