Abstract: 17It is intended to provide Bifidobacterium longum having the following bacteriological properties and microbial powders, foods and beverages containing this Bifidobacterium longum: (1) having such fermentation ability as to make a milk base medium to pH 4.6 or below; (2) showing a survival rate of 50% or more in the case of, after attaining pH 4.4 to 4.6 in a milk base medium, quenching and storing at 10° C. for two weeks; and (3) having such gastric juice tolerance as to yield a survival rate of 10% or more in the case of storing in artificial gastric juice (pH 3.0) at 37° C. for two hours.

Abstract: A solid medium having a 10 minute-average water absorption rate of at least 0.05 ml/minute, which is obtainable by a method for producing a solid medium comprising the steps of dissolving components of the solid medium other than solvent water into the solvent water, solidifying the obtained solution, and drying the solidified medium to remove water, wherein water is removed in such an amount that the solid medium after the removal of water should have the 10 minute-average water absorption rate of at least 0.05 ml/minute, and the amount of the solvent water is larger than a prescribed amount by an amount almost equal to the amount of the water to be removed. The solid medium does not cause growth inhibition of microorganisms due to drying, shows a superior water absorption rate to enable application of a larger amount of a sample in a short period of time, and is suitable for quick and accurate measurement tests of microbial numbers.

Abstract: The present invention provides acidic drinks that contain a tofu puree and have improved texture and flavor, namely acidic drinks that compound, as a raw material, a tofu puree having the following physicochemical properties: a) having a viscosity of 20 to 3,000 mPa·s, b) having a dynamic storage modulus of 0.2 to 600 Pa, c) having a dynamic loss modulus of 0.2 to 250 Pa, and d) containing particles having an average particle diameter of 2 to 15 ?m, and a 90% particle diameter of 35 ?m or less. According to the present invention, it is possible to manufacture and provide acidic drinks of a novel type having an excellent texture and a favorable flavor, which cannot be expected with conventional products, and being free from the separation of the components during storage.

Abstract: Vapor-liquid contacting equipment includes a contact column in which a test liquid flows from top to bottom and a vapor flows from bottom to top, a rotary shaft which is inserted vertically in the contact column, rotors which are provided at different heights on the shaft, and which convert the test liquid into a thin film by centrifugal force and then discharge the test liquid from the outer periphery thereof, and trays which receive the test liquid discharged from an upper rotor and guide the test liquid to the center of a lower rotor. The rotors have furrows, which the test liquid flows over when the filmy test liquid flows out from the center of the rotor towards the outer periphery.

Abstract: The present invention provides acidic drinks that contain a tofu puree and have improved texture and flavor, namely acidic drinks that compound, as a raw material, a tofu puree having the following physicochemical properties: a) having a viscosity of 20 to 3,000 mPa·s, b) having a dynamic storage modulus of 0.2 to 600 Pa, c) having a dynamic loss modulus of 0.2 to 250 Pa, and d) containing particles having an average particle diameter of 2 to 15 ?m, and a 90% particle diameter of 35 ?m or less. According to the present invention, it is possible to manufacture and provide acidic drinks of a novel type having an excellent texture and a favorable flavor, which cannot be expected with conventional products, and being free from the separation of the components during storage.

Abstract: This invention seeks to provide an all-purpose food material which can be mixed in various kinds of foods, specifically in a cheese-like food in large quantities without limitation. The food material is produced by subjecting a processed cheese-like food to heating and melting treatment at at least 120° C.

Abstract: 17It is intended to provide Bifidobacterium longum having the following bacteriological properties and microbial powders, foods and beverages containing this Bifidobacterium longum: (1) having such fermentation ability as to make a milk base medium to pH 4.6 or below; (2) showing a survival rate of 50% or more in the case of, after attaining pH 4.4 to 4.6 in a milk base medium, quenching and storing at 10° C. for two weeks; and (3) having such gastric juice tolerance as to yield a survival rate of 10% or more in the case of storing in artificial gastric juice (pH 3.0) at 37° C. for two hours.

Abstract: A solid medium having a 10 minute-average water absorption rate of at least 0.05 ml/minute, which is obtainable by a method for producing a solid medium comprising the steps of dissolving components of the solid medium other than solvent water into the solvent water, solidifying the obtained solution, and drying the solidified medium to remove water, wherein water is removed in such an amount that the solid medium after the removal of water should have the 10 minute-average water absorption rate of at least 0.05 ml/minute, and the amount of the solvent water is larger than a prescribed amount by an amount almost equal to the amount of the water to be removed. The solid medium does not cause growth inhibition of microorganisms due to drying, shows a superior water absorption rate to enable application of a larger amount of a sample in a short period of time, and is suitable for quick and accurate measurement tests of microbial numbers.

Abstract: The device of the invention comprises; a contact column 1A in which a test liquid flows from top to bottom and a vapor flows from bottom to top, a rotary shaft 9 which is inserted vertically in the contact column 1A, rotors 10 which are provided at different heights on the shaft, and which convert the test liquid into a thin film by centrifugal force and then discharge the test liquid from the outer periphery thereof, and trays 20 which receive the test liquid discharged from an upper rotor and guide the test liquid to the center of a lower rotor. The rotors 10 have furrows 13, which the test liquid flows over when the filmy test liquid flows out from the center of the rotor towards the outer periphery.

Abstract: A method for continuous heat sterilization of liquid includes a continuous pre-heating step of preheating the liquid, a final heating step of heating the preheated liquid to reach a predetermined sterilizing temperature, a holding step of holding the liquid which has reached the predetermined sterilizing temperature for a predetermined period of time, and a cooling step of cooling the held liquid. The final heating step comprises the following steps (a) and (b): (a) a step of continuously pressurizing the liquid by a high pressure pump; and (b) a step of releasing the liquid continuously to a normal pressure within a time period of less than 10 seconds after the pressurizing step to thereby make the liquid reach the predetermined sterilizing temperature. An apparatus for automatically carrying out the method is provided. According to the continuous heat sterilization method and apparatus, scorch during the final heating step is dispensed with and accordingly, a long period of continuous operation is feasible.

Abstract: The purpose is to provide noodles having excellent texture and good taste that contain tofu puree having specific physicochemical properties, and relates to noodles containing tofu puree having the following physicochemical properties: a) viscosity of 20 to 3,000 mPa·s, b) dynamic storage modulus of 0.2 to 600 Pa, c) dynamic loss modulus of 0.2 to 250 Pa, and d) the average particle diameter of particles contained in the tofu puree of 2 to 15 &mgr;m and the 90% particle diameter of the particles of 35 &mgr;m or smaller.

Abstract: This invention is a sugar coated tablet which has anticariogenic properties, containing no sucrose but a mixture of lactulose and raffinose with various physiological effects, as a sugar coat base, and these tablets comprises a core tablet and a sugar base coating the same, the sugar base contains the above mixture as the active ingredient.

Abstract: A process for the preparation of an instant agar medium which can be immediately used as a culture medium merely by heating a container packed with the agar medium just before the use for a short time, can be stored for a long period and little suffers from the deterioration of medium components. Specifically, a process for the preparation of an instant agar medium which can be dissolved by heating for a short time just before the use, characterized by dissolving under heating 10 to 80 wt. % of a prescribed amount of agar to be used in an agar medium in part of a prescribed amount of water to be used therein, cooling the obtained solution, separately dispersing or dissolving the rest of agar and the other culture medium components in the rest of water, mixing the cooled solution with the separately prepared dispersion or solution, adjusting the viscosity of the obtained fluid to 40 to 4,000 mPa·s, packing the resulting fluid into a container, hermetically sealing the container, and sterilizing it.

Abstract: A soybean curd puree which can be applied to various foods and are useful for expansion of applications of soybean milk, and a process and apparatus for preparing the same, and the apparatus includes a system in which a raw material tank, heating apparatus, a holding pipe, first emulsifying dispersion apparatus, cooling apparatus and second emulsifying dispersion apparatus are arranged in that order, and coagulant supply apparatus connected between the heating apparatus and the holding pipe, and the process includes adding the coagulant to the soy milk, holding the temperature thereof at 40 to 90° C. to form a coagulated product, pre-crushing the product by the first emulsifying dispersion apparatus, followed by cooling to 10 to 35° C., and crushing the product by the second emulsifying dispersion apparatus into particles having the average particle diameter of 2 to 15 &mgr;m and 90% particles diameter of not more than 35 &mgr;m.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for production of a spread, comprising the steps of:(a) two aqueous phases with different particle sizes in a fatty phase, of which at least one aqueous phase is dispersed into the fatty phase through a microporous membrane, to prepare a mixed water-in-oil type emulsion;(b) rapidly cooling the emulsion to plasticize; and(c) kneading the plasticized emulsion.According to the present invention, it is possible to produce a low-fat spread having good taste easily, which does not require a stabilizer or a gelling agent, is excellent in stability and preservativity on a level never achieved by any conventional methods.

Abstract: A method for producing an emulsion by dispersing a liquid to form a dispersed phase into a liquid to form a continuous phase through a microporous membrane, in which:(a) a W/O type emulsion is produced by dispersing an aqueous phase at low pressure into a fatty phase through a hydrophilic microporous membrane previously treated with the fatty phase;(b) an 01/W/02 type emulsion is produced by dispersing an O/W type emulsion at low pressure into the fatty phase (02) through the same microporous membrane as (a) above;(c) an O/W type emulsion is produced by dispersing a fatty phase containing a hydrophobic emulsifying agent into an aqueous phase through a hydrophilic microporous membrane.