Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Normally noningestible chewable material or process of...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-05
2001-05-29
Corbin, Arthur L. (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Normally noningestible chewable material or process of...
Reexamination Certificate
active
06238711
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to chewing gum products and, in particular, to chewing gum products which utilize an alginate material to increase the flavor release in chewing gum compositions.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In prior art patents, sodium alginate, carrageenan, propylene glycol alginate, and sodium calcium alginate, along with a variety of other carbohydrate gums, are used as a film coating media for a variety of encapsulated products and are disclosed with other water soluble gums as an encapsulating media. Many prior art patents disclose sweeteners, flavors, and other ingredients encapsulated with alginates and other carbohydrate gums, and used in chewing gum to modify release of the encapsulated material.
Chewing gum compositions typically include gum base, flavoring and bulking and sweetening agents, as well as other optional ingredients such as softeners and coloring. As gum is chewed for an extended period of time, the taste sensation is reduced, thereby resulting in the impression that the gum has lost most of its flavor. In reality, most of the original flavor, about 70 to about 90 percent, is still present in the chewing gum. A need, therefore, exists for a method of increasing the amount of flavor released from chewing gum compositions as they are chewed over a period of time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, it has now been discovered that the use of low levels of an alginate material selected from the group consisting of sodium alginate, carrageenan from red seaweed, propylene glycol alginate, sodium calcium alginate, ammonium alginate, calcium alginate and mixtures thereof in chewing gum increases the amount of flavor released from the chewing gum, resuming in the impression of a stronger flavor. Analytical tests have shown that levels of about 0.2 percent of one of these alginate materials in mint-flavored gum significantly increases the release rate of menthol and menthone. The result is a chewing gum product with a stronger mint flavor. Also, the increase in the flavor release when one of the alginate materials is used in chewing gum means that less flavor is needed to give the impression of the usual flavor level.
The present Invention thus includes a chewing gum product having increased flavor release comprising from about 5% to about 90% by weight gum base; from about 5% to about 95% by weight bulking and sweetening agents; from about 0.1% to about 15% by weight flavor; and from about 0.01% to about 1% by weight of an alginate material selected from the group consisting of sodium alginate, carrageenan from red seaweed, propylene glycol alginate, sodium calcium alginate, ammonium alginate, calcium alginate and mixtures thereof in a powder form. The present invention also includes a method of increasing the release of flavor in chewing gum compositions comprising the step of adding one of the alginate materials to the chewing gum composition. Finally, the present invention includes a method of making a chewing gum product having an increased flavor release comprising the steps of forming a chewing gum composition comprising from about 5% to about 90% gum base, from about 5% to 95% bulking and sweetening agents and from about 0.1% to about 15% flavor, and adding from about 0.01% to about 1% of an alginate material selected from the group consisting of sodium alginate, carrageenan from red seaweed, propylene glycol alginate, sodium calcium alginate, ammonium alginate, calcium alginate and mixtures thereof in a powder form directly to the chewing gum composition.
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Hawley,The Condensed Chemical Dictionary, 9th, pp. 48,149,727,783, 1977.
Howard Carmen V.
Johnson Sonya S.
Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione
Corbin Arthur L.
Shurtz Steven P.
Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company
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