4. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field of Invention

The invention relates to a process for preparing distinct grades and qualities of sugarcane juice powder by spray drying.

Background Art

India is the second largest producer of sugarcane next to Brazil. Out of 325 million tones of sugarcane produced in India about 65% is processed by the sugar factories for the production of white sugar, preparation of different forms of gur / jaggery and the rest goes for planting material. Fresh sugarcane juice is popular in many countries as a cheap and sweet beverage. It is becoming a fashion to have juice served at roadside stalls, cafeterias and restaurants throughout India, China and Brazil during the harvest season.

Indian system of medicine recommends sugarcane juice to cure a wide range of ailments like fever, jaundice, urinary disorders etc.

Sugarcane varieties cultivated in India normally contains about 20% of total soluble solids in the juice at the age of about 12 months, of which a major part of it is sugar and the rest are minerals and health promoting constituents. Thus, sugarcane juice is a refreshing natural energy drink. The Juice expressed from cane is an opaque liquid and its color varies from light grey to dark green, depending on the rind color of the cane variety crushed. Sugarcane juice is a high-energy drink that is natural, sweet and is a healthy alternative to refined sugar added soft drinks. It is a naturally flavored drink on its own. Sugarcane juice contains sucrose, fine particles of bagasse, wax, pigments and minerals.

The cane juice has an acidic pH ranging from 4.5 to 6.0. Another major component of the juice is the colloids. These colloids are particles existing in a permanent state of dispersion and they impart turbidity to the juice. The juice is viscous owing to the presence of colloidal substances such as waxes, proteins, pentosans, pectic substances, natural gums, starch and silica. Sugarcane juice added with ginger and lemon is a common refreshing drink sold ubiquitously along the roads in Indian cities and towns. For this, sugar-cane's are crushed using manual or motorized crushers to extract sugarcane juice and consumed afresh.

However, processing and marketing of sugarcane juice is constrained by its rapid deterioration due to yeasts and bacteria. Within few hours of extraction of the juice, fermentation sets in and the juice looses its natural refreshing properties. It would be very difficult to maintain the sugarcane juice in the liquid state without adding a high amount of preservatives. Addition of preservatives will affect the natural flavour and taste of sugarcane juice and its consumer acceptance. Development of procedures / methods to retain the natural freshness and qualities of sugarcane juice would not only improve consumer safety acceptability but also facilitate wide marketability. At present, sugarcane juice is sold refrigerated after pasteurizing, addition of preservatives, ginger or lemon extract and packed in poly tumblers or packs. This method is unsuitable for prolonged storage.

The alternative to preserve fresh juice is to remove the water in the juice as quickly as possible. This is possible by known methods such as freeze drying, flash evaporation and vacuum drying. This dried juice will not support the growth of microorganisms and biochemical activity and thus improves the stability and storability of sugarcane juice. Though these processes yield a solid sugarcane juice, it is difficult to get desired marketable product. Intensive patent search resulted in only one relating to sugarcane juice is available (Indian Patent No. 199770, US patent 6,783,785 B1, WlPO Patent WO/2003/079822). This patent claims for ready-to-dilute sugarcane juice beverage powder and a process for preparing the same. This sugarcane juice powder for beverage is prepared by drying juice using vacuum shelf dryer for 10 to 20 hours and the resultant candy/cake is powdered. This prolonged period of processing results in loss of juice flavour and other desired qualities. The product thus obtained may not be preferred by the consumer and hence has low commercial value. A method of manufacture of powdered sugar by spray drying of sugarcane juice has been described (Indian patent No. 194864). This process involves concentrating the juice to a desired Brix and spray drying the same to obtain sugar. This process is not for making juice powder. A process for preparation of sugarcane juice powder/granules by spray drying without preservatives, colourants, anticaking, stabilizers and other chemicals is published in IPO official journal (IPO application no. 1829/CHE/2006 dated 3.10.2006; Journal No.: 48/2008, Publication Date: 28/11/2008,). Though this process can make sugarcane juice powder, the powder yield is low and the powder / granules produced are highly hygroscopic, has the tendency to clump during storage and there is no possibility of getting different grades / qualities of product. Barring the above information, no other information on sugarcane juice powder is found elsewhere.

Disclosure of the Invention

Sugarcane harvested at 10 - 14 months after planting is suitable for preparation of commercially acceptable sugarcane juice powder/granules. Canes are harvested bulk in the conventional way contain dried leaves, green tops, insect infested, diseased and damaged. All these are removed with care. After this, the canes are washed in clean water to remove soil and dirt particles adhering to the canes. Canes may be stored at 4 -10 °C to avoid deterioration.

From this stage onwards, the operations are to be carried out in a clean environment to avoid microbial contamination. For this, the floor needs to be treated with disinfectants and the closed rooms fumigated. Employing trained Personnel for clean manufacturing practices. Closed rooms have to be fitted with particulate filters and dehumidifiers. All the machineries and equipments used must comply with GMP standards.

Clean canes are fed into the crusher and the juice is collected. To improve the extraction of juice the crushed bagasse is sprinkled with clean water and crushed again. This ensures better extraction of juice from the canes. The juice extracted from cane is opaque liquid and its colour varies from light green to dark green, depending on cane variety crushed. All the commercially cultivated sugarcane varieties are suitable for making sugarcane juice powder. For beverage, light I green coloured cane varieties are preferred as they yield light to medium green coloured juice. The juice thus extracted is filtered through layers of fine sieves (stainless steel or nylon meshes) to effectively remove the suspended and floating material / particles. The filtered juice must be clean.

This clean juice is blended with the following agents individually or in combination to obtain desired grades of sugarcane juice powder. Bulking agents added to the juice are lactose (1.0 - 20.0% WA/), mannitol E421 (1.0 - 10.0% W/V), cellulose (1.0 - 80.0% WA/), maltose (1.0 - 20.0% WA/), sucrose (1.0 - 20.0% WA/), commercial cane sugar (1.0 - 20.0% W/V), gur / jaggery (1.0 - 10.0% WA/), gum acacia E414 (1.0 - 10.0% W/V), raw or gelatinized starch of rice / wheat / corn / cassava / millets / any other starch (1.0 - 80.0% W/V), raw / cooked grain legume flours of green gram, black gram, soybean, red gram, Bengal gram, horse gram etc (1.0 - 80.0% W/V), soluble starch (1.0 - 10.0% W/V), pectin (0.1 - 5.0% WA/) and maltodextrins E140 (1.0 to 30.0% WA/).

According to the requirement, flavourants / taste agents (spices extracts like ginger, cardamom, mint, pepper, turmeric, clove, cinnamon, vanilla etc., lemon and other fruity flavours, cocoa/coffee/tea extract etc.,), are added. Antioxidants, natural & synthetic colourants, anti caking agents and other miscellaneous substances may be added to enhance the product in compliance with FPO and PFA Act. These agent/s are added to the juice and blended thoroughly to obtain uniform suspension. Powdered flavourants / taste agents can also be blended with juice powder instead of adding it to the juice for better flavour and taste.

Blended juice is then pumped into the spray dryer with Inlet temperature from 100 to 220 °C and outlet temperature from 40 to 120 °C. The spray jet or atomization is adjusted to obtain desired product grade / quality i.e., from soft fine powder to coarse crispy granule form of sugarcane juice. The powder / granules thus obtained needs to be packed immediately in moisture proof packs (example - Aluminium lined polythene, thick food grade LD polythene or similar packaging material). Vacuum or nitrogen packing is preferred. The typical flow chart of the process is shown in figure 1.

The process described above will result in higher sugarcane juice powder recovery. Depending on the agents added to juice and spray conditions, the resultant powder is in the form of fine powder or granulated. This powder or granulated sugarcane juice powder possess consumer acceptable qualities. This powder can easily be stored for prolonged periods without quality loss. Sugarcane juice powder is an attractive option to replace the synthetic soft drinks. Production of different quality powders offer wide scope like instant sugarcane juice mix, nutritious sweetening agent for regular use, sweetener for preparation of beverages, conventional sweets, candies, confectionery, bakery products, dairy products, weaning food, other novel foods and medicinal / pharmaceutical preparations.

Description of Drawings

Figure 1. Flow chart for preparation of sugarcane juice powder

5. CLAIMS

We Claim,

1. A process for making different grades / qualities of sugarcane juice powder by spray-drying method.

2. A process as claimed in claim 1, comprises of the following steps - cleaning harvested sugarcane with clean potable water to remove the dirt, washing the canes with disinfectants, extracting the juice using roller crushers, filtering the juice using several layers of fine sieves, blending the filtered juice with different agents, blended juice fed to spray dryer, powder or granule collected and packed in moisture proof polypacks.

3. A process as claimed in claims 1 - 2, wherein the sugarcane used is selected from germplasm of sugarcane and allied genera, released and popular sugarcane varieties / clones / hybrids and GM sugarcane.

4. A process as claimed in claims 1 - 3, wherein blending the agents namely lactose (1.0 - 20.0% WA/), mannitol (1.0 - 10.0% WA/), cellulose (1.0 - 80.0% WA/), maltose (1.0 - 20.0% WA/), sucrose (1.0 - 20.0% WA/), commercial cane sugar (1.0 - 20.0% WA/), gur / jaggery (1.0 - 10.0% W/V), gum acacia or gum arabica (1.0 - 10.0% W/V), raw or gelatinized starch of rice / wheat / corn / cassava / millets / any other starch (1.0 - 80.0% W/V), raw / cooked grain legume flours of green gram, black gram, soybean, red gram, Bengal gram, horse gram etc (1.0 - 80.0% W/V), soluble starch (1.0 - 10.0% W/V), pectin (0.1 - 5.0% W/V) and maltodextrins (1.0 to 30.0% W/V) with clean juice, to obtain enhanced sugarcane juice powder recovery.

5. A process as claimed in claim 3, wherein the pH of the blended juice is adjusted from 4.0 to 6.0 using acidifying agents like ascorbic acid, citric acid, malic acid, acetic acid, lactic acid, tartaric acid or their sodium / potassium / calcium salts, or with any other food acidifying agents .

6. A process as claimed in claims 1 - 5, wherein different grades of sugarcane juice powder is produced by blending the agents individually or in combinations at different quantities. Different grades of dried sugarcane juice obtained range from soft fine powder to crispy granulated form.

7. A process as claimed in claims 1 - 6, wherein the juice is optionally incorporated with natural or synthetic food flavourants, taste enhancers, preservatives, colourants, anti caking agents and stabilizers. Natural flavourants are water extracts of spices - ginger, cardamom, mint, black pepper, chilies, turmeric, clove, cinnamon, vanilla and other spices, herbal extracts, fruity flavours - citrus fruit & other fruit juices and cocoa / coffee / tea extracts to the sugarcane juice prior to spray drying or blending powder form of flavourants / taste agents with sugarcane juice powder to enhance the taste and flavour.

8. A process as claimed in claims 1 - 7, wherein sugarcane juice powder is obtained by feeding the blended juice to a spray dryer with an inlet temperature set between 100 to 220 °C and out let temperature between 40 to 120

9. A process as claimed in claims 1 - 8, wherein variety of forms / grades of sugarcane juice powder is useful as instant sugarcane juice, sweetener for tea, coffee & beverages, sweetener for preparation of conventional sweets, candies, confectionery, bakery products, dairy products, weaning food products, novel foods and medicinal / pharmaceutical preparations.

10. A process as claimed in claims 1 - 9, wherein different shapes and forms of sugarcane juice powder is prepared for special uses by optionally adding vitamins, minerals, herbal extracts nutraceuticals and medicinal / pharmaceutical ingredients.