Method for the preparation of a liquid enteral nutritional composition comprising micellar casein

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for preparing a shelf-stable liquid enteral composition for providing nutrition, either as a supplement, or as a complete nutrition, comprising a high amount of micellar casein, comprising dissolving a dry blend of micellar casein and digestible carbohydrate.

1 . A dry blend comprising between 40 and 60 wt % micellar casein and between 30 and 60 wt % digestible carbohydrate, wherein the digestible carbohydrate comprises maltodextrin and/or sucrose, wherein the blend further comprising whey protein in an amount of 18 wt % or less and the weight ratio of micellar casein to digestible carbohdyrate is between 3:1 and 1:3, and wherein the blend optionally comprises caseinate. 
     
     
         2 . The dry blend according to  claim 1 , wherein the dry blend comprises caseinate selected from sodium caseinate, potassium caseinate, calcium caseinate, magnesium caseinate and any combination thereof, in an amount of between 1 and 20 wt %. 
     
     
         3 . The dry blend according to  claim 1 , wherein caseinate is present in an amount of between 6 and 14 wt %, wherein the digestible carbohydrate selected from sucrose and/or maltodextrin is present in an amount between 30 to 50 wt %, and whey protein is present in an amount of between 2 and 10 wt %. 
     
     
         4 . The dry blend according to  claim 1 , comprising between 35 and 60 wt % digestible carbohydrate. 
     
     
         5 . The dry blend according to  claim 1 , wherein said micellar casein is provided in the form of micellar casein isolate. 
     
     
         6 . The dry blend according to  claim 1 , wherein said micellar casein is provided in the form of milk protein concentrate or milk protein isolate. 
     
     
         7 . The dry blend according to  claim 2 , wherein the weight ratio of micellar casein to caseinate lies between 8:1 and 3:1. 
     
     
         8 . The dry blend according to  claim 7 , wherein the weight ratio of micellar casein to caseinate lies between 7:1 and 4:1. 
     
     
         9 . The dry blend according to  claim 1 , wherein the digestible carbohydrate consists of maltodextrin and sucrose. 
     
     
         10 . The dry blend according to  claim 1 , wherein the amount of whey protein is less than 8 wt % of the complete protein fraction. 
     
     
         11 . The dry blend according to  claim 1 , comprising less than 10 wt % of soy, pea and/or canola protein. 
     
     
         12 . A method of producing a liquid nutritional composition comprising a protein fraction, a carbohydrate fraction and a fat fraction, wherein the composition comprises 8 to 20 g/100 ml micellar casein, 10 to 40 g/100 ml digestible carbohydrates, 5 to 15 g/100 ml dietary fat and has an energy density of at least 1.6 kcal/ml, the method comprising, sequentially:
 (a) dissolving a dry blend of micellar casein and digestible carbohydrate in water having a temperature of between 30° C. and 90° C.,   (b) de-aerating the composition of step (a),   (c) mixing dietary fat into the composition of step (b),   (d) heat-treating the composition of step (c), and optionally aseptically filling a suitable container with the heat-treated composition.