Rapidly disintegrating flavored film for precooked foods

Details Rapidly disintegrating flavored film for precooked foods Rapidly disintegrating flavored film for precooked foods

2001-06-19

2003-12-09

Page, Thurman K. (Department: 1615)

Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions

Preparations characterized by special physical form

Food or edible as carrier for pharmaceutical

C424S400000, C514S953000, C514S974000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06660292

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to the food additive field, and more particularly to flavored films for use on food.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Conventional methods for flavoring foods include sprinkling powdered flavoring ingredients such as spices or liquid flavoring ingredients such as flavor oil directly on food. This technique has several disadvantages, especially when used in the fast-service restaurant industry. One disadvantage is that it is difficult to uniformly distribute flavoring ingredients over the surface of food. When liquid or powdered flavoring ingredients are sprinkled on a food item, it is not uncommon for one area of the food item (e.g., a hamburger patty or a cut of meat) to be excessively flavored while another area of the food item is inadequately flavored.
Another disadvantage with sprinkling powered or liquid flavoring ingredients on a food item is that the amount of flavoring may vary from one food item to the next. This is especially undesirable in the fast-service restaurant industry, since customers have come to expect exceptional product uniformity. Customers expect that a particular menu item will have the same taste every time at every restaurant within a nationwide or region wide chain of restaurants. Such consistency cannot be achieved by having a food preparer sprinkle flavoring ingredients on a food item guided only by the food preparer's own perception, experience and skill.
Another disadvantage with sprinkling flavor ingredients on a food item is that it can be extremely time consuming, especially when care is taken to provide uniform flavor distribution for a single food item and/or a consistent amount of flavoring for each food item.
Flavoring ingredients have also been formulated into a paste that can be applied to food using an apparatus resembling a chalking gun, or spatula, knife or similar tool. This allows the food preparer to more easily see whether the flavor ingredients have been evenly distributed over the surface of a food item. However, the use of a flavored paste does not ensure that a predetermined amount of flavor ingredient has been added to a food item and, therefore, does not ensure product uniformity. Further, application of a paste is likely to be as time consuming or even more time consuming than sprinkling a powdered or liquid flavor ingredient on food.
Quick-service restaurants (QSRs) desire to achieve brand identification by customizing the flavor of their products. Typically, customers cannot distinguish between the products from different restaurants or restaurant chains by the taste of the substrate foods (e.g., hamburger patty, chicken meat) alone. Accordingly, the preferred means of imparting a distinctive, brand-identifying flavor to a food is by adding or supplementing the food substrate with distinctive flavor ingredients. However, extreme care is needed to impart the appropriate level of supplemental flavoring to each food substrate on a consistent basis. Due to the rapidity at which foods must be prepared, especially during peak demand periods at QSRs, it is very difficult to deliver the precise amount of a supplemental flavoring to a food substrate that is needed to impart the desired distinctive, brand-identifying flavor using conventional flavoring techniques. Accordingly, there is a need, especially in the QSR business, for a flavoring device and method that can easily and inexpensively deliver a precise, predetermined quantity of supplemental flavor(s) to a precooked food substrate.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/306,262 describes a flavored polymer film that can be placed on a food item to impart a desired flavor. The flavored film is preferably provided in a preformed shape and size conforming with the shape and size of the food item, thus ensuring uniform distribution of a predetermined amount of a flavoring ingredient over the surface of a food item. Also, the premeasured, pre-shaped flavoring films can be conveniently provided on a substrate having a release coating that facilitates easy and rapid application of the flavoring film to a food item.
The known flavored films comprise one or more water-soluble polymers, one or more water-insoluble, water swellable polymers, one or more surfactants, and a natural or artificial flavor. When placed on the surface of a food, the flavored film disintegrates at a predetermined rate, thereby releasing the flavor ingredients to the food. However, if the food is not fresh or frozen, but rather precooked, the film may not disintegrate rapidly. Under the conditions of the cooking processes, commonly used in fast-service restaurants (e.g., flame-broiling, clam shell cooking, etc.), the surface of the food item may be partially burnt after the cooking or grilling process is completed. This will alter the affinity of the film to the food item, and the film will not conform as easily to the surface of a precooked food item as it would to a fresh, noncooked food item. Depending on the temperature of the food item during the cooking process, moisture will evaporate, leaving the surface of the food item dry. The lack of moisture at the surface of the food item will adversely affect the initial hydration of the flavored film. Thus, depending on the residual moisture at the surface of the substrate that is available for hydration of the film and the degree to which the meat was burnt during the cooking process, hydration of the film and subsequent disintegration of the film may be slow or even incomplete, in which case undissolved or undisintegrated residue of the film remains on the food item. Incomplete disintegration of a flavored film is highly undesirable as it would cause the food item to have a texture that consumers may find offensive.
Accordingly, there is a need for a flavored film that disintegrates more rapidly, especially on precooked foods.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It has been discovered that flavored films which disintegrate more rapidly than previously known flavored films can be obtained by replacing the polymers used in the known flavored films with hydroxypropyl cellulose and modified starch. More specifically, the flavored films of this invention completely disintegrate in less than a minute, and often in less than 30 seconds, when placed on precooked foods such as chicken, pizza or hamburger, whereas the previously known flavored films generally comprised of polyvinylpyrrolidone (povidone) and hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose often do not completely disintegrate when placed on these same precooked foods.
The invention provides flavored films containing a predetermined amount of one or more flavoring ingredients. The product facilitates easy and inexpensive delivery of a precise, predetermined quantity of supplemental flavor ingredients to a precooked food substrate, whereby the resulting food item consistently has a predetermined, potentially brand-identifying taste.
These and other features, advantages and objects of the present invention will be further understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art by reference to the following specification and claims.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
This invention pertains to rapidly disintegrating flavored films which, when placed on a food substrate (e.g., a hamburger patty, piece of chicken, or pizza), disintegrate under the influence of heat and moisture, thereby releasing the flavor to the food substrate. This has been accomplished with known flavored films when the substrate is a piece of uncooked chicken, pizza or hamburger. However, if the substrate is a precooked hamburger instead of a fresh or frozen food item, the film does not disintegrate completely. Rather, a residue of the film remains on the food substrate.
Surprisingly, it has been discovered that replacing the polyvinyl alcohol and/or hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose and polyvinylpyrrolidone with a combination of hydroxypropyl cellulose and a modified starch improves the solubility properties of the film when placed on precooked foods, even though starch is only poorly, or at least not complete

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