Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Processes – Packaging or treatment of packaged product
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-18
2001-12-11
Cano, Milton I. (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Processes
Packaging or treatment of packaged product
C426S400000, C426S599000, C426S489000, C426S388000, C426S521000, C099S483000, C099S495000, C053S440000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06329006
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Scope of Invention
This invention relates generally to the processing of fruit into fruit juice, and more particularly to a one-site facility within which substantially all of the equipment and steps of fruit processing are housed.
2. Prior Art
The industry and technology of processing fruit into concentrates and blended juices includes well-known individual steps and equipment for accomplishing each of the stages or steps in the fruit processing chain of events. Moreover, the fruit processing industry has evolved into having only portions of the entire process being accomplished at a single location.
That is to say that one entity may harvest the fruit and deliver same to another facility which accomplishes a portion of the overall steps toward the shipment of a concentrate or the packaging and shipment of preselected blended juices. Typically, after the fruit has been partially processed, it is shipped to yet another location for further processing, purification, filtration, containerizing the partially processed fruit juice for shipment to a final destination which may then accomplish the blending and final packaging for consumer consumption.
Armed with substantial experience and expertise, applicant's are unaware of any prior art facility or processing in this industry which is substantially self-sufficient in that all of the steps of fruit handling from receiving the raw fruit to the packaging and shipment of juice concentrates and blended juices for direct human consumption are completed therein.
One of the features of the present invention is that it provides an automatic control production chain from receiving fruit shipments to packaging all concentrates and blends at a single location and within one plant facility structure. The present invention also enables a manufacturer to produce final fruit juice products under a complete and controlled aseptic environment which begins at the point where the fruit juice itself is filtered in preparation for evaporation and continuing until the final packaging of either the concentrate or the blended fruit juices is accomplished.
By providing a single plant facility, selected and quality controlled juice concentrates and blended fruit juices may be dealt with commercially based upon a single all inclusive purchase order from customers of juice products produced within the present invention. Additionally, the present invention offers a substantially wider range of final juice products for distribution such as fruit juice concentrates either packed in bulk or for consumer use, blended juices, both concentrated and ready for consumption, along with single strength fruit juices packaged in a wide variety of commercial containers. All this is accomplished automatically within the one-site facility of the present invention to satisfy the broadest range of purchase order variety and at considerably less expense and in the shortest and quickest deliver times yet seen in this industry.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention is directed to a one-site fruit processing and packaging facility and method of processing, packaging, and shipping blended fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates. A single extended enclosure is provided within which the facility equipment and associated functions are housed. The facility further includes, preferably in seriatim, a fruit shipment receiving area for receiving fruit shipments, fruit crushing equipment for crushing the fruit into a fruit mash, a juice extraction station for extracting juice from said fruit mash by preheating, enzyme treating and depectizing juices from the fruit mash, juice pasteurizing and aroma essence stripping to produce aseptic juice, microfiltration of the aseptic juice received from the pasteurizing station, and an evaporative juice concentration stage to remove excess water from aseptic juice into a concentrated juice. A portion of concentrated aseptic juice is typically then placed into bulk shipment containers ready for shipment. A remaining portion of concentrated aseptic juice is blended with separate fruit juice concentrates separately received and stored in the facility for producing a desired blended juice with high uniformity and consistency. A portion of blended juice is sterilized and maintained at a preselected cold-ambient fill temperature while another portion of the blended juice is sterilized and maintained at preselected temperature. Each blended juice is then packaged into predetermined self-stable containers ready for shipment.
It is therefore objects of the present invention to provide a one purchase order “one stop shop” plant facility offering the following customer benefits:
1. Controlled fruit juice and concentrate product quality;
2. Monitoring of product quality at every stage of fruit juice concentrate and in blended form to insure maximum quality and consistency of product;
3. Maintaining customer product to a consistently exact quality standard desired by each customer, as well as consistently meeting the standards of USDA, and the USF&DA;
4. More competitive product pricing as a result of minimizing the negative effects of multiple sources of supplies, channels and handling by middle men, agents and brokers through which product ingredients and final product have traditionally flowed;
5. Providing a wide range of product packaging configurations such as preblends and mixed blends of fruit juice concentrates in various sized containers, fruit juice concentrates packed aseptically in containers suitable for the food service industry, aseptically packed fruit juices in P.E.T. bottles for both private and brand label consumer retail sales, and other forms of juice preparation and packaging as are well known in the retail consumer industry.
It is another object of this invention to provide a wide variety of consistent and accurately blended fruit juices which are blended with fruit juice obtained from both locally grown sources and from world-wide grown sources of fruit to eliminate the seasonal effect of quality variation in both juice concentrates and juice blends.
It is still another object of this invention to provide an improved method of processing fruit into fruit juice concentrates, fruit juices and fruit juice blends of high quality and consistency, in a broad range of varieties and packagings all from a single site plant facility.
In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2320036 (1943-05-01), Harris
patent: 2847310 (1958-08-01), Turnbow
patent: 4534991 (1985-08-01), Kryger
patent: 4978549 (1990-12-01), Takada et al.
patent: 5292543 (1994-03-01), Heath et al.
patent: 5614238 (1997-03-01), Mendez
patent: 5955132 (1999-09-01), Spica et al.
patent: 62-065669 (1987-03-01), None
Fiss Herbert W.
Sayce W. H.
Cano Milton I.
Madsen Robert
Prescott Charles J.
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