the present invention relates to a beverage or beverage syrup and process or method for producing the beverage and beverage syrup for the delivery of an effective amount or dose of cholesterol - lowering sterol or stanol esters . the food and drug administration ( fda ) recommends two daily doses of sterol esters of 0 . 65 grams each for a total of 1 . 30 grams daily or two daily doses of stanol esters of 1 . 7 grams each for a total of 3 . 4 grams daily as an effective amount for cholesterol - lowering when consumed with cholesterol containing meals . sterol / stanol esters are solid or semi - solid compounds which are not naturally miscible with aqueous solutions . as described more fully hereinafter , in order to produce a beverage containing an effective amount of sterol or stanol esters , an aqueous pre - beverage emulsion matrix containing the sterol or stanol esters is produced . the pre - beverage emulsion can then be effectively incorporated into beverage concentrates or syrups , which are , in turn , incorporated into beverages or formulated directly into ready - to - drink beverages . the pre - beverage emulsion is prepared by two different phases : a water soluble phase which contains water soluble emulsifier ( s ) and an oil soluble phase which contains a predetermined amount of sterol or stanol esters , which are combined into the pre - beverage emulsion . each of these two phases may include other functional ingredients as described hereinafter . the water soluble phase contains water and at least one water soluble emulsifier such as gum arabic , pectins , xanthan gums , guar gums , locust bean gum ( carob bean gum ), cellulose gums , carrageenans , alginates , agar and modified starches . the preferred emulsifiers include arabic gum , pectins , guar gum , xanthan gum and / or modified starches . these water - based emulsifiers constitute from about 0 . 1 percent to about 55 percent of the total weight of the water soluble phase of the pre - beverage emulsion which translates to from about 0 . 1 percent to about 45 percent of the total pre - beverage emulsion . the water soluble phase can also contain a preservative such as sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate to guard against microbiological spoilage which comprises from about 0 . 01 percent and to about 0 . 5 percent of the water soluble phase . when such a preservative is used , the water soluble phase is typically acidified to a ph of below about 4 . 0 by the addition of acceptable food grade acidulants such as citric acid . acidifying the water soluble phase of the pre - beverage emulsion enhances the effective use of the preservatives against micro - organisms . alternate methods of reducing or retarding the growth of micro - organisms may include the lowering the water activity , refrigerated storage or speciality packaging of the pre - beverage emulsion . antioxidants such as ascorbic acid and rosmarinic acid ( water soluble rosemary extract ) can also be incorporated in the water soluble phase . the water soluble phase of the pre - beverage emulsion may contain other functional water soluble ingredients such as food grade colorants , fruit juices or juice concentrates , water soluble nutritive additives such as vitamin c , the b vitamins ( especially folic acid , which some literature has indicated as another chd lowering nutrient ) and minerals such as soluble forms of calcium . the water soluble phase will comprise from about 60 percent and to about 99 percent by weight of he combined pre - beverage emulsion . once all the water soluble and miscible ingredients re dissolved and / or mixed into the water soluble phase , the water soluble phase is heated to a temperature of from about 90 f . to about 200 f . preferably , the temperature is from about 130 f . to about 160 f . before combining the water soluble phase and the oil soluble phase . the oil soluble phase contains the sterol or stanol esters . oil soluble antioxidant compounds such as tocopherols or compounds naturally found in rosmarinus officinalis ( rosemary ) such as camosic acid , carnosol , and 12 - methoxy camosic acid may be added in the oil soluble phase to protect the sterol esters from oxidation , particularly since the fatty acid portion of the sterol / stanol ester is unsaturated . oil soluble flavoring ingredients and other oil soluble functional ingredients such as vitamin e , vitamin a , vitamin d , and / or b - carotene can also be added to the oil soluble phase . the sterol / stanol esters comprise from about 20 percent to about 99 percent of the oil soluble phase , depending on the other oil soluble constituents added . the oil soluble phase is then heated to a temperature from about 90 f . to about 200 f . preferably , the temperature is from about 130 f . to about 160 f ., in order to melt or liquify the sterol / stanol esters , so that the entire oil soluble phase is blended into a uniform mixture . the oil soluble phase and the water soluble phase are combined and mixed together maintaining the temperature from about 130 f . to about 160 f . the use of a high shear mixer can achieve some particle size reduction as a pre - homogenizing step prior to actual homogenizing . the combined mixture is then homogenized with a homogenizer at operating pressures from about 2000 psi to about 25 , 000 psi . preferably , the homogenizing pressure is from about 8 , 000 psi to about 15 , 000 psi resulting in individual or discontinuous emulsified oil soluble phase particles of average diameter of less than about five microns and preferably less than about one micron within the continuous water soluble phase . as homogenizing pressure is increased , a concurrent reduction in oil soluble phase particle size is achieved . the emulsion is typically homogenized with more than one pass through a homogenizer for best results on particle size reduction . the homogenized emulsion is then rapidly cooled to ambient or refrigerated temperatures to protect the integrity of the resulting pre - beverage emulsion . at this stage a dry form of the pre - beverage emulsion may be produced by using a process such as spray drying the matrix , freeze drying , vacuum drying and drum drying or by other processes which might require a subsequent milling type process to achieve proper particle size reduction , such as but not limited to a colloid mill . the dry form may , in addition to dry mix beverage applications , be used in fruit flavored dry mixes for making gelatin deserts , and cake mixes . this pre - beverage emulsion can be easily incorporated into beverage formulas of all types . this would include ready - to - drink products as well as syrups or concentrates which are later diluted into the final beverage for consumption . the types of beverages include fruit flavored beverages with juice contents from 0 % to 100 % juice , tea and coffee drinks , carbonated drinks , nutritional formulations , and alcohol containing drinks . the amount of sterol or stanol esters in the pre - beverage emulsion and the desired serving size of the beverage would determine the level of the pre - beverage emulsion to be included in the beverage or syrup formulation to deliver at least the minimum required / recommended level of sterol or stanol esters per serving . this would include formulas using the pre - beverage emulsion up to 100 % in the beverage in which case the pre - beverage emulsion is the beverage . the pre - beverage emulsion could be used in beverages covering the entire acceptable range of beverage ph , including acid beverages . the resultant beverage is to be consumed with the meal containing cholesterol . the pre - beverage emulsion of example i should be used at 4 . 0 grams of emulsion per beverage serving to deliver a dose of 0 . 65 grams of sterol esters per serving . the pre - beverage emulsion of example ii delivers 0 . 65 grams of sterol esters and 50 iu of vitamin e per 6 grams of emulsion , so an eight ounce serving of beverage would need to have 6 grams of this emulsion . the orange juice concentrate in this pre - beverage emulsion would deliver a 20 % orange juice claim in the beverage in an 8 ounce serving . lemonade flavor emulsion with sterol esters , vitamin e , and folic acid in the water soluble phase , on starch ( concentrate / syrup ) this pre - beverage emulsion delivers 0 . 65 grams of sterol esters and 50 iu of vitamin e per 5 grams of emulsion , so and eight ounce beverage serving would need to contain 5 grams of this pre - beverage emulsion . this stanol ester emulsion , when used at 12 grams per serving , will deliver 1 . 7 grams of stanol esters . this product is consumed as the beverage and contains all the necessary ingredients ( including sweetener ) normally used to make a palatable beverage . an eight ounce beverage serving ( 240 grams ) would deliver the required amount of sterol esters ( 0 . 65 grams ). it will thus be seen that the objects set forth above , among those made apparent from the preceding description are efficiently attained and since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention , it is intended that all matter contained in the above description shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense . it is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described , and all statements of the scope of the invention which , as a matter of language , might be said to fall therebetween .
a beverage or pre - beverage emulsion and method for producing the beverage or pre - beverage emulsion formulated to provide a predetermined daily dosage of sterol or stanol esters comprising a combination of water and an emulsifier , and sterol or stanol esters in relative amounts by weights to produce an effective cholesterol - lowering benefit when consumed with cholesterol containing meals .