Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Plant material is basic ingredient other than extract,...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-12-13
2004-12-07
Pratt, Helen (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
Plant material is basic ingredient other than extract,...
C426S460000, C426S507000, C426S573000, C426S629000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06827965
ABSTRACT:
2.0 TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates in general to snack food products in which one of the ingredients is a gluten-free agglutinant, and more particularly to such snack food products in which that gluten-free agglutinant is nonpasteurized whole (i.e., not ground) chia seed or is derived therefrom. The invention further relates to methods of making such snack food products.
3.0 BACKGROUND ART
Before the invention of this patent application, most snack foods were held together by gluten, by the gluten in ground up gluten-containing grains, or by the agglutinating properties of sweeteners. Since some people are allergic or sensitive to gluten, and others have to restrict their use of sweeteners, they have hitherto been unable to enjoy many snack foods. Some raw sprouted snack foods were held together by the mucilaginous properties of ground flaxseed or ground chia seed.
In searching the background art for products in which a gluten-free mucilaginous seed such as chia seed, flaxseed, or psyllium is one of the ingredients, Applicant came up with the following:
On pages 265-266 of Raw Energy (Warner Books, Inc., 666 5
th
Ave., New York, N.Y., 1984), Kenton et al (Kenton) teaches a sprouted grain crisp (pg. 265). Kenton teaches that any kind of grain sprout (germinated grains) can be used to produce a cracker like food product/crisp product (pg. 265), as long as the sprouted grains are ground “as finely as possible in the food processor.” Kenton teaches that the resultant product makes a great snack. Kenton takes the sprout product and thoroughly grinds the product in a food processor. After processing the sprouts into a dough, the dough can then be dried (pg. 266). In addition, Kenton teaches that additional ingredients such as honey, carob powder, and dried fruit can be added to food products. Although Kenton teaches that any grain can be used in the crisp product, Kenton is silent as to the specific grains, although Kenton does mention with respect to these products, that they must be ground as finely as possible, most likely, because unless they are ground as finely as possible, the products will not only not hold together well but also one might chip a tooth on the hard dried sprouts therein.
It should be mentioned, that although Kenton teaches a chia containing food product, the references noted above are silent as to the water activity of the product. On pages 103-104 of
Water Activity and Food
(Academic Press), Troller et al (Troller) teaches that it is essential to regulate the water activity of a food product to prevent microbial growth on the food product. By inhibiting microbial growth, one can prevent giving the consumer food poisoning. It also should be mentioned that although it might seem obvious to make a product such as Kenton's with whole chia seed rather than ground chia seed and with a sufficiently low water activity to prevent mold, without actually making this food product, it can not be known a priori whether the whole chia seeds in such a food product would be so hard as to break a tooth in the one consuming it.
On page 41 of
Common & uncommon uses of HERBS for HEALTHFUL LIVING
(Arco Publishing, Inc., 219 Park Avenue South, New York, N.Y.), Richard Lucas (Lucas) teaches:
“It is difficult for the body to assimilate any kind of seeds in their whole form. For this reason chia seeds are ground or soaked before using and can be added to the diet in a number of different ways. For example, a mucilaginous drink may be prepared by steeping a single teaspoonful of the seeds in a tumblerful of cold water for 12 hours (overnight). This beverage is ready for use by morning and may be sweetened with honey. From one to one-and-a-half teaspoons of the ground seeds may be sprinkled over salads or mixed with salad dressing; it can also be stirred into a bowl of soup into a cup of cottage cheese; a half teaspoonful can be added to scrambled eggs just before the eggs are removed from the skillet. As a spread, it may be mixed with margarine or butter. From one to one-and-a-half teaspoons of the ground seeds can be added to each cup of liquid used in pancakes or other batters. About two teaspoonfuls may be mixed with half a pint of yogurt. These are just a few examples. No doubt you will find many other ways in which you can fortify your diet with valuable, nutritive chia seeds.”
Therefore, although Lucas teaches that it is desirable to add chia seeds to a food product, he emphasizes that the seeds must be ground or soaked before adding, and that if soaked, that they be so used while still soaking in the soak liquid. Lucas teaches that ground chia seeds can be used in a variety of products including pancakes. Lucas teaches that the ground chia seeds can be added from one to one-and-a-half teaspoons to a cup of liquid used to make a batter. The batter can be then be cooked into pancakes or other batters. Although Lucas teaches that chia seeds naturally contain hydrocolloid like and mucilaginous properties, one would not expect that whole chia seeds would aid in the adherence of food products, this never having been tried before. Only ground chia seeds were previously known to aid in the adherence of food products. It further should be noted that a glass of water in which chia seeds have been soaking overnight has a water activity over 0.90, and would not be considered a convenient snack food which one could carry in one's pocket or backpack.
In the first sentence of the above quote, Lucas actually teaches away from the use of whole chia seeds in food products, the sole exception being a drink in which the chia seeds have been soaked for 12 hours. Since no one before the Applicant had ever made a dry food product containing whole chia seeds, it could not be known a priori whether such a food product would be edible, or would break one's teeth due to having whole dried chia seeds. Since never before had a dry food product contained whole unground chia seed, it could not be known a priori whether such a food would hold together well, or would shatter into a thousand pieces at the slightest touch. Even if it were known that foods containing ground chia would be held together by the agglutinative properties of ground chia, one would not be able to logically extrapolate to the agglutinative properties of whole nonground chia seeds. Until one actually makes a dry food product containing whole unground chia seeds and examines its properties, one cannot a priori state what those properties might be. I, for example, sincerely believed, based upon previous experience with and research on chia seeds, that if a dry product were produced in which whole chia seeds were the only ingredient, it would be so fragile that it would crumble at the slightest touch.
On pages 72 and 73 of
The UNcook Book
by Elizabeth and Dr. Elton Baker (Drelwood Publications 1980, Distributed by Communication Creativity, Saguache, Colo. 81149), the suggested uses for chia seed sprouts are “soups, dips, spreads”. The recipe for rolled tacos on page 105 lists flaxseed meal or chia seed meal as one of the ingredients and mentions that a rather stiff paste can be formed from the ingredients.
Just before the recipe for Wheat Crackers on page 111, the following statement appears: “All crackers can be made without flaxseed meal. However, for a crisper, noncrumbling cracker, add 2 or 3 tablespoons of flaxseed meal and a few teaspoons of water to the dough.” The recipe for Wheat Crackers is then given as follows:
Ingredients
Method
2 cups wheat berries
Grind fine (4 cups sprouted
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
wheat), work into a dough, with
Soak water* or plain water
or without salt, and then add
Sprout wheat berries for
soak water or plain water to make
24 hours (yields approx.
a very thick cream. (This can be
4 cups sprouted wheat).
made in a blender.) Cover a large
*Soak water is the water
cookie sheet with wax paper, or
in which grain has been
cellophane, and spread dough over
soaked prior to sprouting
all. Dehydrate at 100 F. (38 C.) in
it. It is reputed to con-
a
tain minerals and enzymes.
d
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