TW202435761A - Oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing and method for improving swallowability of oily food - Google Patents

Abstract

The subject of the present invention is to provide a food with high energy density that is blended with a large amount of fat, can be eaten directly, has stable physical properties regardless of temperature, and is easy for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing to ingest. The present invention provides an oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing, which contains 30% to 80% by mass of oil that is liquid at 20°C, 20% to 70% by mass of non-oil-soluble powder containing sugars, and has a hardness of 50,000 N/m ² or less at 20°C and an adhesiveness of 5,000 J/m ³ or less at 20°C.

Description

Oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing and method for improving swallowability of oily food

The present invention relates to an oily food for people with difficulty in chewing and/or swallowing, which is easy for people with decreased chewing or swallowing function or people with some kind of chewing or swallowing function disorder to ingest, and a method for improving the swallowability of the oily food.

People with decreased chewing or swallowing functions or people with some kind of chewing or swallowing disorder sometimes have difficulty ingesting normal meals. In particular, elderly people or hospitalized people who have difficulty chewing and/or swallowing may fall into a state of malnutrition. In order to cope with this problem, various foods have been developed that allow sufficient nutrition to be ingested by ingesting a small amount. In particular, when the purpose is to supplement energy (calories), the intake efficiency is good when the fat content is increased. Therefore, it is possible to provide a food that makes a high-fat oil-in-water emulsion into a gel form and makes it easy for the elderly or hospitalized patients who have difficulty chewing and/or swallowing to ingest it. From the perspective of energy supplementation, it is better to consume a large amount of fats (oils) with the highest energy density. However, when consuming foods containing a large amount of fats, the oiliness (oily mouthfeel) is strong, making it difficult to consume continuously every day. In the case of high-melting-point fats, the hardness changes with the season (temperature), so there is a problem that the proportion of solid fats in the oil phase increases, the physical properties change, and the chewing and/or swallowing properties deteriorate, especially when the room temperature is low, such as in midwinter. Therefore, in order to achieve the same chewing and/or swallowing properties in summer and winter, it is necessary to change the formulation of raw material fats according to the season. Under such circumstances, as a high energy density food containing a large amount of fat, a food that can be eaten directly, has stable physical properties without being affected by temperature changes, and can easily provide energy is desired.

As a food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing, a fat composition for feeding aids for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing has been reported so far, which is obtained by rapidly cooling and kneading a composition containing fats and oils with a specific solid fat content (SFC) (Patent Document 1). In addition, a high-calorie swallowing ease-improving composition for food containing edible fats and oils, a specific emulsifier, and sugar alcohol, with 2 Kcal or more per 1 g, which is added and mixed into food to improve the swallowing ease of the food has also been reported (Patent Document 2). However, since these are compositions that are ingested by mixing with other foods, as a high energy density food formulated with a large amount of fats and oils, a food that can be directly consumed by people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing and can easily provide energy supplements is desired. [Prior art literature] [Patent literature]

[Patent document 1] WO2011/024827 [Patent document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-89270

[Problem to be solved by the invention] In view of the above-mentioned problem, the present invention aims to provide a food with high energy density and a large amount of fat, which can be eaten directly, has stable physical properties without being affected by temperature, and is easy to ingest for people with difficulty in chewing and/or swallowing. [Means for solving the problem]

The inventors of the present invention have found that the above-mentioned problem can be solved by preparing an oily food having a specific hardness and adhesion by mixing a specific amount of oil-insoluble powder with a liquid fat at 20°C, thereby completing the present invention. Specifically, the present invention provides the following contents.

(1) An oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing, comprising 30% to 80% by mass of a fat that is liquid at 20°C and 20% to 70% by mass of an oil-insoluble powder containing sugars, wherein the hardness at 20°C is 50,000 N/m ² or less and the adhesiveness at 20°C is 5,000 J/m ³ or less. (2) The oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing as described in (1), wherein the mass of the oil-insoluble powder containing sugars is 0.3 to 3 when the mass of the oil that is liquid at 20°C is 1. (3) The oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing as described in (1) or (2), wherein the sugars contain 50% by mass or more of sucrose. (4) An oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing as described in (1) or (2), wherein the SFC of the oil at 10°C is 0% to 40%. (5) An oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing as described in (1) or (2), which is in a form that can be eaten directly without being added or mixed with other food raw materials. (6) A method for improving the swallowability of an oily food, comprising the steps of obtaining an oily food in which the content of oil that is liquid at 20°C is adjusted to 30% to 80% by mass and the content of non-oil-soluble powder containing sugars is adjusted to 20% to 70% by mass, wherein the hardness of the adjusted oily food at 20°C is less than 50,000 N/ ^m2 and the adhesion at 20°C is ^less than 5,000 J/m3. [Effect of the invention]

The present invention provides an oily food which can be eaten directly, has stable physical properties without being affected by temperature, and is easy for people with difficulty in chewing and/or swallowing to take.

The specific implementation forms of the present invention are described in detail below, but the present invention is not limited to the following implementation forms and can be implemented with appropriate changes within the scope of the purpose of the present invention. Furthermore, the preferred aspects or better aspects exemplified below are not related to expressions such as "preferable" or "better" and can be used in combination with each other as appropriate. In addition, the description of the numerical range is an example and is not related to expressions such as "preferable" or "better", and it is also preferable to use a range that appropriately combines the upper and lower limits of each range and the numerical values of the embodiments. Furthermore, terms such as "contain" or "include" can also be appropriately replaced with "essentially become" or "only include". In addition, in the implementation forms of the present invention, A (numerical value) to B (numerical value) means above A and below B.

[Oil-based food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing] The oil-based food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing of the present invention is a food characterized in that the oil-based food described below is used for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing. Here, the "people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing" in the present invention refers to people who have some kind of difficulty in chewing (crushing the ingested food in the mouth, etc.) and swallowing (swallowing the ingested food) or both. People who have at least some kind of difficulty in chewing are also called "people with difficulty chewing", and people who have at least some kind of difficulty in swallowing are also called "people with difficulty swallowing". As people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing, for example, elderly people with reduced chewing and/or swallowing abilities, and people with brain nerve diseases and/or oral diseases, etc. (may be of any age) can be listed. The oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing of the present invention has stable physical properties without being affected by temperature, so it is easy for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing to ingest it, and can also be ingested directly, so energy can be easily supplemented. In addition, the oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing of the present invention can also be a food that meets the "Specification Standards in the Permitted Standards for Labeling of Foods for People with Difficulty Swallowing" stipulated by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. The oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing of the present invention uses fat as the base raw material, so the energy density can be further improved. The energy per 100 g of the oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing of the present invention is preferably 200 Kcal or more, more preferably 400 Kcal or more, and most preferably 600 Kcal to 800 Kcal. If the energy is within the above range, the oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing of the present invention is more excellent in terms of easy energy intake. The energy per 100 g can be calculated according to the modified Atwater method (Japanese Food Standard Composition Table 2015 Edition (7th Revision)).

[Oily food] The oily food of the present invention contains 30% to 80% by mass of oil that is liquid at 20°C, 20% to 70% by mass of non-oil-soluble powder containing sugars, and has a hardness of 50,000 N/m ² or less at 20°C, and an adhesion of 5,000 J/m ³ or less at 20°C. Moreover, the oil is a continuous phase, and the non-oil-soluble powder containing sugars is dispersed in the continuous phase. The oily food of the present invention can also be added to other foods, but from the perspective of energy intake efficiency, it is preferably in a form that is eaten directly without being added or mixed with other foods. The packaging form of the oily food is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include cups, cans, paper containers, aluminum bags, bottles, etc.

The hardness of the oily food of the present invention at 20°C is preferably 300 N/m ² to 25000 N/m ² , more preferably 400 N/m ² to 10000 N/m ² , further preferably 500 N/m ² to 3000 N/m ² , and most preferably 800 N/m ² to 1500 N/m ² . If the hardness is within the above range, the oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing of the present invention is more excellent in terms of ease of chewing. The adhesion of the oily food of the present invention at 20°C is preferably 30 J/m ³ to 3500 J/m ³ , more preferably 50 J/m ³ to 2000 J/m ³ , further preferably 100 J/m ³ to 1000 J/m ³ , and most preferably 150 J/m ³ to 500 J/m ³ . If the adhesion is within the above range, the oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing of the present invention is more excellent in terms of ease of swallowing. The cohesion of the oily food of the present invention at 20°C is preferably 0.2 to 0.9, more preferably 0.3 to 0.8, and most preferably 0.5 to 0.8. If the cohesion is within the above range, the oily food for people with difficulty in chewing and/or swallowing of the present invention is more excellent in the ease of swallowing. Furthermore, regarding the hardness, adhesion, and cohesion of the oily food in the present invention, the oily food can be filled to a height of 15 mm in a cylindrical container with an inner diameter of 40 mm and a height of 15 mm, and a rheometer is used to obtain a texture curve under the conditions of a compression rate of 10 mm/second, a gap of 5 mm, and 20°C by using a cylindrical plunger with a diameter of 20 mm, and the calculation is based on the obtained texture curve.

The method for adjusting the hardness of the oily food at 20°C and the adhesiveness at 20°C in the present invention to the desired range is not particularly limited. For example, with respect to fats and oils that are liquid at 20°C or non-oil-soluble powders containing sugars, the hardness and adhesiveness can be adjusted by appropriately selecting the types or contents thereof from the conditions described below.

[Fats and oils that are liquid at 20°C] The fats and oils that are liquid at 20°C in the present invention are not particularly limited as long as they are fats and oils for food use. Examples of fats and oils that are liquid at 20°C include soybean oil, rapeseed oil, corn oil, sesame oil, sesame salad oil, perilla oil, flax seed oil, peanut oil, safflower oil, sunflower seed oil, cottonseed oil, grape seed oil, macadamia oil, hazelnut oil, perilla seed oil, borage oil, olive oil, rice bran oil, wheat germ oil, palm oil, medium chain fatty acid oil (medium chain triglycerides (MCT)), etc. In addition, fats and oils whose fatty acid composition is changed by variety improvement, such as high oleic soybean oil, rapeseed oil, safflower oil, sunflower seed oil, palm oil, etc., can also be used. In addition, ester-exchanged fats and oils obtained by ester-exchanging one or more of these fats and oils, hydrogenated fats and oils of these fats and oils, etc. can also be used. The above-mentioned fats and oils can be used alone or in combination. The fats and oils in the present invention that are liquid at 20°C are preferably one or more selected from rapeseed oil, high oleic rapeseed oil, soybean oil, soybean oil, and medium-chain fatty acid oil (MCT).

The SFC (solid fat content) of the oil in liquid form at 20°C at 10°C in the present invention is preferably 0% to 40%, more preferably 0% to 20%, and most preferably 0% to 10%. If the SFC is within the above range, the oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing of the present invention is more excellent in that it does not harden even at low temperatures such as winter. Furthermore, SFC can be measured in accordance with 2.2.9-2003 Solid Fat Content (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Method) of the "Standard Oil and Fats Analysis Test Method" compiled by the Japan Oil Chemical Society. Specifically, for example, the measurement can be performed as follows using the measuring device SFC-2000 (NMR method) manufactured by Astec Co., Ltd. First, put the completely dissolved sample (oil) into the measuring unit of the measuring device SFC-2000, keep it at 60℃ for 30 minutes, and then keep it at 0℃ for 30 minutes. Then, keep it at 25℃ for 30 minutes, keep it at 0℃ for 30 minutes, and then keep it at the temperature for SFC measurement for 30 minutes, and then measure SFC.

The content of the oil that is liquid at 20°C in the oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing of the present invention is preferably 35% by mass to 70% by mass, more preferably 35% by mass to 65% by mass, further preferably 40% by mass to 60% by mass, and most preferably 46% by mass to 52% by mass. If the content of the oil that is liquid at 20°C is within the above range, the oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing of the present invention is more excellent in that it does not harden even at low temperatures such as in winter.

[Oil-insoluble powder containing sugars] The oil-insoluble powder containing sugars in the present invention is a powder dispersed in the oil that is in a liquid state at 20°C in the present invention. Here, examples of oil-insoluble powders other than sugars include: solid salt powders, solid organic acid (citric acid, malic acid, etc.) powders, powdered oils coated with excipients, dextrin, starch, powdered spices, powdered fruit juice, cocoa powder, powdered proteins (milk protein, egg protein, soy protein, collagen peptide, etc.), etc.

The content of the oil-insoluble powder containing sugars in the oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing of the present invention is preferably 30% by mass to 65% by mass, more preferably 35% by mass to 65% by mass, further preferably 40% by mass to 60% by mass, and most preferably 48% by mass to 54% by mass. If the content of the oil-insoluble powder containing sugars is within the above range, the oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing of the present invention is more excellent in terms of ease of chewing or swallowing.

Regarding the insoluble sugar powder of the present invention, the sugar is preferably contained in an amount of 60% to 100% by mass, more preferably 80% to 100% by mass, and most preferably 90% to 100% by mass. If the sugar content in the powder is within the above range, the oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing of the present invention is more excellent in reducing the oiliness (greasyness).

The sugar in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is dispersed in the oil and fat in the present invention which is liquid at 20°C in a solid state. For example, it can be granulated sugar, sucrose, fructose, glucose, maltose, lactose, sugar alcohols, or a mixture thereof. The sugar in the present invention is preferably one or two selected from granulated sugar and sucrose, and more preferably sucrose. The content of one or two selected from granulated sugar and sucrose in the sugar in the present invention is preferably 50% by mass or more, more preferably 70% by mass to 100% by mass, and most preferably 80% by mass to 100% by mass.

The median particle size of the oil-insoluble powder containing sugars in the present invention is preferably 10 μm to 300 μm, more preferably 15 μm to 100 μm, further preferably 20 μm to 75 μm, and most preferably 25 μm to 50 μm. The median particle size in the present invention refers to the particle size of the cumulative value of 50% in the particle size distribution obtained by the laser diffraction-scattering method. In addition, the particle size distribution of the oil-insoluble powder containing sugars is preferably that the cumulative value 10% is more than 0.3 times the median particle size when measured by the measurement method, and the cumulative value 90% is less than 3 times the median particle size. Furthermore, when the oil-insoluble powder containing sugars contains multiple raw materials, it is preferred that the median particle size of the mixture of the multiple raw materials is within the desired range. If the median particle size is within the range, the oily food for people with difficulty in chewing and/or swallowing of the present invention is more excellent in ease of chewing or swallowing.

Regarding the oily food for people with difficulty in chewing and/or swallowing of the present invention, when the mass of the oil in the present invention that is liquid at 20°C in the oily food is set to 1, the mass of the oil-insoluble powder containing sugars of the present invention is preferably 0.3 to 3, more preferably 0.5 to 2, further preferably 0.8 to 1.5, and most preferably 0.9 to 1.3. If the mass of the oil-insoluble powder containing sugars when the mass of the oil in the liquid at 20°C is set to 1 is within the above range, the oily food for people with difficulty in chewing and/or swallowing of the present invention is more excellent in the ease of chewing or swallowing.

[Other raw materials] The oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing of the present invention may also contain raw materials other than oils and fats that are liquid at 20°C and non-oil-soluble powders containing sugars within a range that does not impair the effects of the present invention. Specifically, oil-soluble emulsifiers, antioxidants, spices, etc. can be listed. The content of the other raw materials in the oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing of the present invention is preferably 0.01% by mass to 20% by mass, more preferably 0.01% by mass to 10% by mass, and most preferably 0.01% by mass to 5% by mass. If the other raw materials are within the above range, the oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing of the present invention is more excellent in terms of ease of chewing or swallowing.

[Method for producing oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing] The method for producing oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is a method of uniformly dispersing non-oil-soluble powder containing sugars in oils and fats that are liquid at 20°C. As an example of the production method, the following method can be cited: the oils and fats that are liquid at 20°C are stirred by a stirrer, and the non-oil-soluble powder containing sugars is gradually added in a manner that does not cause lumps, and the mixture is uniformly stirred and mixed. The preferred content and preferred form of the oil that is liquid at 20°C or the oil-insoluble powder containing sugars in the method for producing the oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing of the present invention are the same as those described in the oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing.

[Method for improving the swallowability of oily food] The present invention also includes a method for improving the swallowability of oily food by preparing an oily food that meets the above conditions. The method for improving the swallowability of oily food of the present invention includes the following method: comprising the step of obtaining an oily food in which the content of oil that is liquid at 20°C is adjusted to 30% by mass to 80% by mass and the content of oil-insoluble powder containing sugars is adjusted to 20% by mass to 70% by mass, wherein the hardness of the oily food after adjustment at 20°C is 50,000 N/m ² or less and the adhesiveness at 20°C is 5,000 J/m ³ or less. The so-called "swallowability" in the present invention refers to the physical property of food that is easy for people with swallowing difficulties to swallow. The physical properties of food that are easy to swallow include, for example, physical properties that are not easy to adhere to the mouth, physical properties that are easy to form a moderate amount of food, and physical properties that are smooth. The preferred content and preferred form of the fat that is liquid at 20°C or the non-oil-soluble powder containing sugars in the method for improving the swallowability of oily food of the present invention are the same as those described in the oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing. [Example]

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the embodiments, but the scope of the present invention is not limited by the description of these embodiments.

[Manufacturing of oily foods] Oily foods were manufactured according to the formulations shown in Tables 1 and 2. Specifically, solid raw materials (sucrose and citric acid) were added to oil at a temperature of 20°C, and the mixture was stirred and mixed at medium speed 2 (about 120 rpm) for 5 minutes using a Hobart mixer (manufactured by Hobart Japan Co., Ltd.) to obtain oily foods (Example 1 to Example 6, Comparative Example 1 to Comparative Example 4). The raw materials in Tables 1 and 2 were used as follows. Rapeseed oil: Nissin canola oil (manufactured by Nisshin Oillio Group), liquid at 20°C (SFC0% at 10°C, SFC0% at 20°C) Soybean oil: Nissin white soybean oil (manufactured by Nisshin Oillio Group), liquid at 20°C (SFC0% at 10°C, SFC0% at 20°C) Oil A: Palm oil and palm kernel oil ester exchange oil (manufactured by Nisshin Oillio Group), semi-solid at 20°C (SFC46% at 10°C, SFC25% at 20°C) Oil B: Blended oil of refined palm oil and extremely hardened palm oil (manufactured by Nisshin Oillio Group). Group) (manufactured by), semi-solid at 20°C (SFC48% at 10°C, SFC23% at 20°C) Sucrose (powdered sugar): NSP powdered sugar (manufactured by Tokukura Co., Ltd.), non-oil-soluble powder (median particle size: 36 μm) Citric acid: Citric acid (crystallized) P (manufactured by Showa Kako Co., Ltd.), non-oil-soluble powder (median particle size: 50 μm)

[Measurement of hardness, adhesion and cohesion] The hardness, adhesion and cohesion of the oily food produced in the above (Example 1 to Example 6, Comparative Example 1 to Comparative Example 4) were measured under the following conditions using a rheometer (RE-33005 RHEONER, manufactured by Yamden Co., Ltd.). That is, the oily food was filled to a height of 15 mm in a cylindrical container with an inner diameter of 40 mm and a height of 15 mm, and a texture curve was obtained using a rheometer with a cylindrical plunger of 20 mm in diameter under the conditions of a compression speed of 10 mm/sec, a gap of 5 mm, and 20°C. Then, the hardness (N/m ² ), adhesion (J/m ³ ), and cohesion were calculated based on the obtained texture curve. The measurement results are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

[Sensory evaluation] Regarding the oily foods produced in the above (Examples 1 to 6, Comparative Examples 1 to 4), 3 professional panelists took 8 g of each of the foods at a temperature of 20°C and 10°C (assuming that they were taken in winter), and evaluated them according to the following evaluation criteria. In addition, the evaluation was decided based on the agreement of all members of the professional panel. The results are shown in Tables 1 and 2. (Evaluation criteria) ◎◎: Easier to swallow than ◎, more suitable for use by people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing. ◎: Easy to swallow, suitable for use by people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing. ○: Slightly difficult to swallow, but acceptable for use by people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing. ×: Difficult to swallow, unacceptable for use by people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing.

"Properties" in Tables 1 and 2 are the results of visual observation of the appearance of oily foods by the panel members. "Powder/liquid oil" is the value obtained by dividing the content of solid raw materials (sucrose and citric acid) by the content of liquid oil (rapeseed oil or soybean oil) at 20°C. In addition, "Energy (Kcal)" is the energy per 100 g of oily food, which is a value calculated based on the modified Atwater method. In addition, "Sensory evaluation (20°C)" is the result of the sensory evaluation of oily foods at a temperature of 20°C, and "Sensory evaluation (10°C)" is the result of the sensory evaluation of oily foods at a temperature of 10°C.

[Table 1] (Mass %) Embodiment 1 Embodiment 2 Embodiment 3 Embodiment 4 Embodiment 5 Rapeseed Oil 37.0 40.0 50.0 55.0 Soybean Oil 50.0 sucrose 62.9 59.9 49.9 49.9 44.9 Citric Acid 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Powder/Liquid Oil 1.70 1.50 1.00 1.00 0.82 Characteristics paste paste paste paste paste Hardness (N/m ² ) 17043 9525 1177 920 779 Adhesion (J/m ³ ) 4501 3191 306 196 166 Cohesion 0.81 0.82 0.68 0.57 0.63 Energy (Kcal) 585 600 650 650 675 Sensory evaluation (20℃) ○ ◎ ◎◎ ◎◎ ◎ Sensory evaluation (10℃) ○ ◎ ◎◎ ◎◎ ◎

[Table 2] (Mass %) Embodiment 6 Comparison Example 1 Comparison Example 2 Comparison Example 3 Comparison Example 4 Rapeseed Oil 65.0 30.0 90.0 Grease A 50.0 Grease B 50.0 sucrose 34.9 69.9 9.9 49.9 49.9 Citric Acid 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Powder/Liquid Oil 0.54 2.33 0.11 - - Characteristics paste Powder Solid-liquid separation paste paste Hardness (N/m ² ) 497 Unable to determine Unable to determine 17751 11586 Adhesion (J/m ³ ) 47 Unable to determine Unable to determine 6678 5061 Cohesion 0.57 Unable to determine Unable to determine 0.76 0.81 Energy (Kcal) 725 550 850 650 650 Sensory evaluation (20℃) ○ × × ○ ○ Sensory evaluation (10℃) ○ × × × ×

As shown in Tables 1 and 2, oily foods containing 37.0% to 65.0% by mass of oils and fats that are liquid at 20°C and 35.0% to 63.0% by mass of insoluble powders containing sugars (Examples 1 to 6) are paste-like, easy to swallow, and suitable as foods for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing. On the other hand, regarding oily foods formulated with semi-solid oils and fats at 20°C (Comparative Examples 3 and 4), when the product temperature is 10°C, the proportion of solid fats in the oils and fats increases, and the oily food as a whole becomes hard and difficult to swallow. Therefore, it is considered inappropriate to consume it during low temperatures such as winter.

Claims (6)

An oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing, comprising 30% to 80% by mass of a fat that is liquid at 20°C, 20% to 70% by mass of an oil-insoluble powder containing sugars, and having a hardness of 50,000 N/m2 ^{or less} at 20°C and an adhesiveness of 5,000 J/ ^m3 or less at 20°C. The oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mass of the oil-insoluble powder containing sugar is 0.3 to 3, when the mass of the oil that is liquid at 20°C is set to 1. The oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the sugar contains 50 mass % or more of sucrose. The oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the solid fat content of the oil at 10° C. is 0% to 40%. The oily food for people with difficulty chewing and/or swallowing as described in claim 1 or 2 is in a form that can be eaten directly without being added or mixed with other food raw materials. A method for improving the swallowability of an oily food comprises the steps of obtaining an oily food in which the content of a liquid fat at 20°C is adjusted to 30% to 80% by mass and the content of an oil-insoluble powder containing a sugar is adjusted to 20% to 70% by mass, wherein the oily food after adjustment has a hardness of 50,000 N/ ^m2 or less at 20°C and an adhesiveness of 5,000 J/m3 or ^less at 20°C.