Kellogg files patent for versatile micro-bran

The bran powder can be made from a host of grains including wheat, oat, corn, barley, sorghum, quinoa and hemp, among others. It can then be used at rates as high as 50% in a number of products from ready-to-eat cereals and bars to baked goods, confections and beverages.

Kellogg said the final bran powder was more palatable, enabling easier inclusion into products which in turn could tackle global fiber deficiency problems.

“In the past, attempts to functionalize bran have included the pulverization of dry bran into smaller particles of five to 100 microns. This has not resulted in a palatable product and thus there has not been widespread use of bran alone in food products,”​ the cereal and snack major wrote in its international patent filing.

There was a need, therefore, to develop bran with a smooth texture and a low to no gritty flavor, it said.

From slurry to micro-particles​

Kellogg’s method involved a high temperature cooking stage – between 250°F - 290°F from anywhere between 30 seconds to four minutes. This process could be accomplished in a standard rotary cooker or steam jet cooker.

This cooking step, Kellogg explained, formed the semiliquid mixture bran slurry that could then be micro-grinded or dried and pulverized into powder form. The mean particle size of the bran powder could be reduced to 150 microns or less – ideally between 65 and 70 – using either method.

“The micro-ground cooked slurry can be used directly in food product manufacturing processes as desired,”​ Kellogg said, from dough-forming to Ultra High Temperature (UHT) beverage processing.

Source: WIPO Publication No. WO/​​2014/197465​​
Published: December 11, 2014. Filed: June 3, 2014
“Process for modification of bran from grains and food usages thereof”​
Authors: Kellogg Company – M. Hossen