Hibiscus pomegranate sparkling beverage

Preparation

Procedure 1: Beta carotene oil blend

1. Combine beta carotene (30% suspension) with D-Limonene oil.
2. Add tocopherol.
3. Heat the oil blend up to 110-140 ºC until all beta carotene crystals are dissolved, check for any un-dissolved crystals under microscope.

Procedure 2: Beta carotene color emulsion

1. Dissolve the required amounts of sodium benzoate in water.
2. Add Q-NATURALE® high-efficiency emulsifier.
3. Heat up the above water phase to ~80-90ºC.
4. Make pre-emulsion by slowly adding the beta carotene oil blend with moderate agitation using high shear mixer for 2 min at 5000 rpm.
5. Homogenize the above pre-emulsion using high pressure homogenizer at 4500/500 psi multiple passes till fine particle size is obtained.
6. Check particle size of the emulsion. Particle size should be less than micron, preferably 0.3 to 0.4 micron, to ensure emulsion stability.

Guidelines

1. It’s important to follow the procedure of dissolving sodium benzoate in water first, followed by citric acid. Otherwise, precipitation may occur.
2. You can add medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) to the oil blend if the oil density is too low, as the emulsion will tend to separate faster when the oil density is much lower than the water phase.
3. It is recommended not to use high shear mixing in preparing the Q-NATURALE emulsifier water phase, as it will increase the formation of foam.
4. Increase the Q-NATURALE emulsifier level in the emulsion if the emulsion droplet sizes are larger than 0.3-0.4 micron.
5. Optimize homogenization pressure and number of passes to obtain a stable emulsion.
6. Process the emulsion at minimum 80ºC to prevent beta carotene crystallization.