Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Product with added inedible feature other than that which... – Feature is casing
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-07
2004-03-09
Corbin, Arthur L. (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Product with added inedible feature other than that which...
Feature is casing
C138S118100, C428S034800
Reexamination Certificate
active
06703058
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tubular food casing based on cellulose hydrate which is impregnated and/or coated on its inner surface with a release preparation.
2. Description of Related Art
Sausage-meat stuffing types and meat types which have relatively high protein and low fat contents adhere particularly firmly to food casings based on regenerated cellulose. To reduce the adhesion and thus to be able to remove the casing more easily, various release preparations have been developed which are applied to the inner surface of the casing.
For example, DE-A 966 194 describes a reactive preparation which comprises N-alkylethyleneimines or alkyl isocyanates. The ethyleneimine or isocyanate groups react with hydroxyl groups of the cellulose, so that the active compound is fixed to the casing material. U.S. Pat. No. 2,901,358 describes a cellulose-based sausage casing which is impregnated with a chromium-fatty acid complex. Diketenes are included in the impregnation according to DE-A 14 92 699, and they are applied to the inside of the sausage casing, preferably in the form of an aqueous emulsion, in a mixture with lower alkyl celluloses. The compounds react with the cellulose and therefore become fixed to the casings; however, they may also be detached relatively readily from the sausage-meat stuffing. As such inner coatings prepared therewith are frequently not uniformly thick and are not continuous, the release action may also be uneven.
In addition, non-reactive release preparations are known. For example according to DE-A 25 46 681, an essentially homogeneous mixture of a water-soluble cellulose ether, mono- and diglycerides of oleic acid and, if appropriate, a partial fatty ester of sorbitan or mannitan, are applied to the inside of the casing, and the coating is dried. In a similar manner, for example, according to DE-A 23 06 338 a mixture of a mineral oil, an acetylated fatty acid monoglyceride and an acetylated, surface-active agent which is only sparingly soluble in the mineral oil are applied onto the inside of the cellulose casing. DE-A 28 53 269 teaches an inner coating composed of a water-soluble cellulose ether and a poly-alkylenepolyamine or salts thereof and/or a reaction product of an epichlorohydrin with a polyamide, of a modified melamin with formaldehyde and/or of a modified urea with formaldehyde, with these resins being soluble or dispersible in water. The release action which may be achieved with the previously known reactive and non-reactive release preparations, is still insufficient for a number of sausage varieties, in particular blood sausage. That is, on places the casing remains stuck to the emulsion surface, so that during peeling, emulsion and/or meat parts are torn out. This is a particular problem in the case of stacked slices. This is because when preparing stacked sausage slices, the sausage is peeled on automatic units before it is sliced. Modern peeling apparatuses operate at high speed. Stuffing pieces being torn out would lead to serious problems or interferences with production. In addition, sausage casings should generally be capable of being peeled from the end region of the sausage without difficulty or problems. In the case of long-keeping or aged sausage products, however, the release action must not be too great, since otherwise there is a risk that the casing will detach (“peel off”) from the sausage during the ripening period (which is generally about 18 days).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention was to produce a food casing which can be peeled readily.
This object as well as other objects of the present invention can be achieved for example, by employing a combination of a non-reactive release component with a reactive release component and an oil and/or lecithin.
The present invention therefore relates to a tubular food casing comprising cellulose hydrate, wherein the casing is impregnated or coated on its inner surface with a release preparation, and wherein the release preparation comprises:
a) a reactive hydrophobicizing component,
b) a non-reactive release component and
c) an oil and/or lecithin component.
Additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects, features and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The improved release action of the present invention can be achieved using coating compositions or preparations which are easy to handle. When the casings are soaked prior to stuffing with meat, loss of the preparation is minimized. The release action is generally sufficient, even for high-protein and low-fat emulsion types or meat types, such as blood sausage, scalded-emulsion poultry sausage, lean, cured and smoked loin of pork and breast of poultry.
The reactive hydrophobicizing component a) is preferably a chromium-fatty acid complex, a diketene having long-chain (C
10
-C
26
)alkyl radicals, a (C
10
-C
26
)-alkyl isocyanate and/or a reactive silicone. However, any reactive hydro-phobicizing component or mixture can be employed. Stearic acid/chromic acid chloride complexes may particularly be mentioned as advantageous in some embodiments. For example, a chromium-fatty acid complex having a 25% solids content which contains 5% by weight of chromium, 7.8% by weight of chlorine and 11.8% by weight of long-chain (C
14
-C
18
) fatty acids is commercially available. In addition, an alkyldiketene having a 7.6% solids content and a ketene dimer content of 6% by weight is also highly suitable. This product is also commercially available.
Any known non-reactive release component b) can be used and is preferably a cellulose derivative, in particular carboxylmethyl cellulose, hydroxy-ethyl cellulose or methylhydroxyethyl cellulose, an alginate or chitosan.
Any known oil, lecithin or mixture can be employed as the component c), and c) is preferably a natural or synthetic oil, in particular olive oil, sunflower seed oil or rapeseed oil, a synthetic triglyceride made from medium-chain fatty acids (that is to say those having from 6 to 12 carbon atoms), a paraffin oil, a silicone oil or lecithin. The oil or lecithin should generally cause a uniform distribution of the release preparation on the inner surface of the casing. It should also facilitate the shirring and processing of the casing in use.
The release preparation is preferably applied to an inner surface of the cellulose-based food casing preferably in such an amount that the finished casing comprises, per square meter, preferably from 50 to 350 mg, advantageous from 70 to 250 mg, of reactive hydrophobicizing component a), preferably from 30 to 300 mg, advantageously from 50 to 150 mg, of non-reactive release component b) and preferably from 50 to 700 mg, advantageously from 80 to 300 mg, of oil and/or lecithin.
The cellulose-based food casing comprises, prior to the application of the impregnation or the coating, more than 60% by weight, preferably more than 80% by weight of cellulose, based on the total dry weight of the casing.
The components a), b) and c) act synergistically together and as a result, cause a release effect which has not been achieved before. The release effect obtained is desirable or even demanded for some particularly highly adhering fillings, such as the above-mentioned blood sausage, smoked and cured loin of pork, or others. The individual components alone, in contrast, generally do not give the desired effect. It is assumed that the component a) which reacts with the cellulose, modifies the inner surface; that the non-reactive component b) and the oil and/or lecithin c) are uniformly distributed thereon and become bound simultaneously. It is desirable that all three components of the release preparation be applied together in most cases, a
Ahlers Michael
Hammer Klaus-Dieter
Karns Theo
Connolly Bove & Lodge & Hutz LLP
Corbin Arthur L.
Kalle GmbH & Co. KG.
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