Patents Assigned to American Crystal Sugar Company
  • Patent number: 5213836
    Abstract: A method of preparation of sugar beet fiber material for use as a non-caloric, non-coloring, bland ingredient in foodstuffs, comprising cleaning, peeling, and slicing sugar beets into cossettes and blanching the cossettes. The blanched cossettes have the sugar removed by extraction and are tissue milled to reduce the particle size. The resulting slurry may be further solvent extracted, washed, and dried.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 1991
    Date of Patent: May 25, 1993
    Assignee: American Crystal Sugar Company
    Inventors: Terry D. McGillivray, David R. Groom, Dennis Brown, Richard R. Fergle, Gregory Haakenson
  • Patent number: 5137744
    Abstract: A process for preparing a preferred vegetable fiber product is described. A particular process for reducing off-flavor and off-odor problems in materials such as sugarbeet fiber is specifically described. Also, a preferred system for conducting the process, and preferred products are disclosed. In general, the products result from preferred steps of heating, heat-treating, and washing the vegetable fiber material. Food products incorporating the preferred fiber material, and methods for incorporating the preferred fiber material into food products, are described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 1989
    Date of Patent: August 11, 1992
    Assignee: American Crystal Sugar Company
    Inventors: Paul M. Cagley, James O. Kysilka, Terry D. McGillivray
  • Patent number: 5112638
    Abstract: A process for preparing a preferred vegetable fiber product is described. A particular process for reducing off-flavor and off-odor problems in materials such as sugarbeet fiber is specifically described. Also, a preferred system for conducting the process, and preferred products are disclosed. In general, the products result from preferred steps of heating, heat-treating, and washing the vegetable fiber material. Food products incorporating the preferred fiber material, and methods for incorporating the preferred fiber material into food products, are described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 1990
    Date of Patent: May 12, 1992
    Assignee: American Crystal Sugar Company
    Inventors: Paul M. Cagley, James O. Kysilka, Terry D. McGillivray
  • Patent number: 5043171
    Abstract: Mineral enriched sugar beets as a nutritional source of dietary fiber made by contacting, in an aqueous environment, sugar beets and an assimilable source of the mineral.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 1990
    Date of Patent: August 27, 1991
    Assignee: American Crystal Sugar Company
    Inventors: Stanley E. Bichsel, Michael F. Cleary, Roland F. Olson
  • Patent number: 4992288
    Abstract: A method for reducing the amount of sulfites in a sugarbeet comprising the steps of slicing the sugarbeet into cossettes and contacting the cossettes with an oxidizing compound such as hydrogen peroxide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 1989
    Date of Patent: February 12, 1991
    Assignee: American Crystal Sugar Company
    Inventors: Roland F. Olson, Richard R. Fergle
  • Patent number: 4938974
    Abstract: A process for producing a milled mineral-enriched sugar beet composition as a nutritional source of dietary fiber, and products therefrom, is disclosed. Specifically, the process involves contacting sugar beets with an assimilable source of the mineral at a temperature below about 50.degree. C., and milling the enriched sugar beets to a powdered or granulated composition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 1987
    Date of Patent: July 3, 1990
    Assignee: American Crystal Sugar Company
    Inventors: Stanley E. Bichsel, Michael F. Cleary, Roland F. Olson
  • Patent number: 4905585
    Abstract: A system and corresponding process for cleaning sugarbeet pulp comprising: (a) a tank wherein a sufficient amount of water is added to the pulp to form a first slurry containing about 0.1 to 4 wt-% pulp; (b) a screening apparatus for separating the first slurry into a top portion containing substantially all of the pulp and a bottom portion containing a major proportion of the free foreign material; (c) a mill for reducing the particle size and loosening of adherent foreign material from the pulp; (d) a tank for adding a sufficient amount of water to the top portion to form a second slurry containing about 0.1 to 4 wt-% pulp; (e) a screening apparatus for separating the second slurry into a upper portion containing substantially all of the pulp and a minor proportion of the loosened foreign material and a lower portion containing a major proportion of the loosened foreign material; (f) a tank for adding a sufficient amount of water to the upper portion to form a third slurry containing about 0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 1989
    Date of Patent: March 6, 1990
    Assignee: American Crystal Sugar Company
    Inventor: Benedict C. Lee
  • Patent number: 4882190
    Abstract: A method of producing sulfite-free sugarbeet pulp involving contacting sugarbeet pieces with a sulfite-free aqueous solution containing a non-sulfite antioxidant composition containing sodium erythorbate, calcium chloride, araboascorbic acid, citric acid, trisodium citrate, and mixtures thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 1987
    Date of Patent: November 21, 1989
    Assignee: American Crystal Sugar Company
    Inventors: Roland F. Olson, Richard R. Fergle
  • Patent number: 4770886
    Abstract: A system and corresponding process for cleaning sugarbeet pulp comprising: (a) a tank wherein a sufficient amount of water is added to the pulp to form a first slurry containing about 0.1 to 4 wt-% pulp; (b) a screening apparatus for separating the first slurry into a top portion containing substantially all of the pulp and a bottom portion containing a major proportion of the free foreign material; (c) a mill for reducing the particle size and loosening of adherent foreign material from the pulp; (d) a tank for adding a sufficient amount of water to the top portion to form a second slurry containing about 0.1 to 4 wt-% pulp (e) a screening apparatus for separating the second slurry into a upper portion containing substantially all of the pulp and a minor proportion of the loosened foreign material and a lower portion containing a major proportion of the loosened foreign material; (f) a tank for adding a sufficient amount of water to the upper portion to form a third slurry containing about 0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 1987
    Date of Patent: September 13, 1988
    Assignee: American Crystal Sugar Company
    Inventor: Benedict C. Lee
  • Patent number: 4467204
    Abstract: A polarimeter system and method for sensing optical rotation caused by otically active materials in a solution are disclosed. The polarimeter system (10) includes a light source (11) for emitting infrared light, a polarizer (14) operatively connected to intercept the infrared light to produce a polarized beam therefrom and means for directing the beam through a sample of optically active material (15), which rotates the light beam. A beam splitting prism (16) splits the rotated polarized beam into its horizontal and vertical components. Infrared light detectors (17a) and (17b) convert the horizontal and vertical components into electrical signals representative of the optical rotation caused by the sample solution. Shaping circuitry (26) conditions the electrical signals for use by analog or digital (28) networks, that present the optical rotation or its physical correlative factor. Feedback circuitry (36) may be used to vary the light source (11) intensity in response to the detected light signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 1982
    Date of Patent: August 21, 1984
    Assignee: American Crystal Sugar Company
    Inventors: James O. Kysilka, Charles A. Sawicki
  • Patent number: 4263052
    Abstract: A process for obtaining fructose solutions or solid fructose, a raw material containing sucrose and/or similar fructofuranosides is hydrolyzed to fructose and glucose and treated with a calcium base (e.g. calcium oxide or hydroxide) to precipitate calcium-sugar complexes. The precipitate is slurried in water and then treated with phosphoric acid to liberate (e.g. at a pH of 5.5 to 9) a fructose solution of high purity (i.e. de-complex the calcium-fructose complex), with precipitation of useful calcium phosphate salts. Phosphoric acid has been found to have significant advantages over carbonic acid or carbon dioxide as the fructose-liberating (de-complexing) agent, e.g. better yields and more useful by-products. Solid fructose can be obtained from the fructose solution in a known manner. The filtrate from the calcium-sugar complexing step can be acidified to yield stable, useful, fructose-depleted by-products.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 1979
    Date of Patent: April 21, 1981
    Assignee: American Crystal Sugar Company
    Inventors: Stanley E. Bichsel, Yueh Wang, Andrew M. Sandre