Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Nontransitory chemical addition to edible animal derived...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-05-09
2003-04-01
Corbin, Arthur L. (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Nontransitory chemical addition to edible animal derived...
C426S513000, C426S516000, C426S657000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06541053
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
Liquid smoke has traditionally been used to color and to flavor edible food products. The present invention relates generally to a method for covering a food product with collagen by treating the collagen with a fraction obtained from liquid smoke, as the fraction will thicken (also referred to as cross-link) the collagen, which is useful, for instance, when the food product is sausages and the thickened collagen is a sausage casing. More particularly, the present invention relates to application of a particular kind of a liquid smoke fraction to collagen to effect the thickening, and yet in a preferred embodiment, not impart liquid smoke flavoring, whereby the resultant food product, such as collagen-encased sausages, will taste the same instead of having the characteristic smoky flavoring.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There are known processes and apparatuses for simultaneously coextruding comminuted meat (such as sausage mix) and collagen, as disclosed in GB Patent No. 1 232 801 and its counterpart U.S. Pat. No. 3,622,353, both to Bradshaw and Taylor. These patents disclose an apparatus that extrudes a cylindrical core of sausage meat mix and simultaneously extrudes around the mix an outer collagen gel. The gel has a high water content and is coagulated by removal of some of the water by osmosis by passage through a concentrated sodium chloride bath. However, the thickening of the collagen so it is a casing is not complete at this point, as a result of which the casing is relatively weak in terms of mechanical properties, such as sufficient strength to enable crimping or twist linking in sausage making. In the conventional process, treatment in the bath of sodium chloride is followed by transportation to a hot air drying cabinet so that the hot air can complete the thickening of the collagen casing, and also, at the same time, the heat causes some partial cooking of the sausage meat.
Prior to the above-noted apparatus by Bradshaw and Taylor for simultaneous coextrusion, it has long been known first to extrude a tubular collagen casing that has been sufficiently thickened (also known in the art as hardened) so that then the casing may be stuffed with sausage meat mix coming off an extruder. This older method is not preferred because it requires separate apparatuses for making the tubular collagen casing and then for shirring it and then for stuffing it with the sausage meat mix.
Additionally, it is noted that various treatment methods have been disclosed in the prior art for thickening (or hardening) the collagen.
For instance, EP Published Patent Application No. 0 619 077 A1 to Van Doorne and Van Esbroeck discloses removing water from the collagen so that the collagen contains a maximum of 92% water, followed by treating the resultant with acid having a pH of 3 to 4.
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 3,894,158 to Miller discloses incorporating liquid smoke into an extrusion mass of acid-swollen collagen, extruding the resultant into the shape of a casing, and then drying the resultant to form the collagen casing.
Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,196,220 to Chiu and Smith discloses collagen casings made by treating the collagen with a coating mixture of albumin and liquid smoke, where the liquid smoke has a pH greater than about 4 and also contains a water soluble alcohol solubilizing agent to keep flavor constituents in solution (prevent them from separating out), whereby the casing is suitable for imparting intensified smoke color to the food product inside the casing.
Also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,694 to Chiu discloses a collagen food casing having a coating that is a mixture of smoke coloring and flavoring constituents, that contains a water soluble alcohol solubilizing agent to keep the constituents in solution (i.e., prevent them from separating out), and that also has a pH greater than about 4.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,656 to Stribling discloses a collagen casing that contains an encapsulated smoke component that releases the smoke during cooking, where the encapsulating material is a lipid, such as an oil soluble fatty acid.
As discussed further in the Laboratory Examples below, an acetic derivative obtained from liquid smoke, the derivative being commercially available under the trade name Code V, is treated in a certain way to obtain a fraction and then the fraction is employed for treating collagen in order to thicken it, in accordance with the present invention.
Code V is manufactured by Hickory Specialties, Inc. of Brentwood, Tenn., and is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,043,174 to Lindner, assigned to Hickory Specialties, Inc. of Brentwood, Tenn. More particularly, this patent discloses a process for curing meat comprising applying an acetic derivative obtained from liquid smoke to the meat subsequent to the peeling step and prior to the packing step to control
Listeria monocytogenes
re-inoculation of the meat. Code V liquid smoke derivative solution comprises: acetic acid in a concentration of about 6.5 to 8.0% weight per unit volume (w/v); carbonyl in a concentration of about 1.0 to 8.0% weight per unit volume (w/v); phenol in a concentration of about 0.1 to 1.0% weight per unit volume (w/v); and water in a concentration of about 83.0 to 92.4% weight per unit volume (w/v). The specific application of the liquid smoke solution as disclosed by Lindner occurs to cooked meat between the two above-noted peeling and packing steps in a meat processing sequence for curing meat which includes the steps of grinding and blending selected meat, stuffing the meat into casings, applying liquid smoke to the meat, cooking the meat in a smokehouse, chilling the meat, peeling the casings from the meat, and packing the meat for shipment.
The disclosures of all patents mentioned herein are incorporated by reference.
Despite the methods discussed above, there exists substantial room for improvement in the art for providing a practical and more effective method of thickening collagen particularly when it is desired not to impart a smokey flavor to a food product.
SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, a collagen processing method is provided which is designed more practically and effectively to harden collagen on food products ultimately for consumption, such as to form collagen casings on sausage. The method comprises application of a fraction obtained from a liquid smoke derivative solution to collagen. The liquid smoke derivative solution is treated in order to adjust the pH to about 5.0 or higher, resulting in the fraction. In a preferred embodiment, the liquid smoke derivative solution is first treated with carbon, which reduces phenolic flavor components, followed by adjusting the pH to about 5.0 or higher (although the pH adjustment may be performed prior to the carbon treatment), resulting in a carbon-treated fraction. The preferred liquid smoke derivative solution comprises: acetic acid in a concentration of about 6.5 to 8.0% weight per unit volume (w/v); carbonyl in a concentration of about 1.0 to 8.0% weight per unit volume (w/v); phenol in a concentration of about 0.1 to 1.0% weight per unit volume (w/v); and water in a concentration of about 83.0 to 92.4% weight per unit volume (w/v).
The liquid smoke fraction (or carbon-treated fraction) of the present invention is then applied to collagen in a sufficient amount in order to thicken it, such as for forming a collagen casing on sausage. The sausage may be raw, partially cooked, or fully cooked.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel collagen processing method which does not require a very low pH, like the prior art liquid smoke treatment.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a novel collagen processing method which in one embodiment imparts little or no flavoring to the food product.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a novel collagen processing method which can be effectively applied to raw meat as well as to cooked meat.
It is an advantage of the present invention that the novel collage
Corbin Arthur L.
Jenkins & Wilson, P.A.
Mastertaste
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