Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Processes – Freeze drying or freeze concentrating
Reexamination Certificate
2001-01-16
2003-10-21
Weier, Anthony J. (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Processes
Freeze drying or freeze concentrating
C426S384000, C426S444000, C426S524000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06635295
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a process for freezing or freeze-drying a material which is susceptible to denaturing, such as a food or drink, a living organism, organic material, drug, biological sample, feed or industrial raw material, a frozen or freeze-dried product obtained by such a process and to an apparatus for effecting the freezing or freeze-drying.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
For storing, transporting and bringing into practical use materials susceptible to denaturing, comprising organic substances, such as foods and drinks, living organisms, such as animals, plants and microbes, organic materials, drugs, biological samples, feeds and industrial raw materials, they are often subjected to freeze-drying. For example, foods and drinks, especially food products are freeze-dried for storing and transporting and are brought into dietary services in the freeze-dried state as such or after being hydrated with the addition of water or further processed. In the case of biological samples, they are prepared by a series of operations for processing a living organism by, for example, freezing, drying, crushing and homogenization.
The freezing procedure for freeze-drying may generally be realized using a refrigerator. Here, it takes a prolonged period of time until the freezing temperature is reached, during which the material to be processed may suffer from denaturation due to the action of oxygen or enzymes. Even if the frozen material is subjected to vacuum drying, a freeze-dried product without being subjected to denaturation may be difficult to obtain. When a food is frozen in a refrigerator and, then, freeze-dried, so-called shrinkage phenomenon may occur, in which, due to shrinkage and drying of, for example, cellulosic tissues of brake, tissues of, for example, muscles of cuttlefish and cell walls of chlorella, they are converted into dried brake, dried cuttlefish and chlorella beads or in which, due to the contraction of an internal mass of, for example, cheese, into an isolate solid lump inside the mass to form an internal cavity, whereby a decrease in the taste or feel in mouth undesirably results with a concurrent lowering of the digestion of such food.
Freeze-drying may often by practiced after the material to be processed has preliminarily been treated by, for example, crushing and forming into thin films, in order to increase the drying efficiency. Such a crushing operation may cause a temperature elevation of the material due to a heat evolution upon crushing. The material to be processed may suffer from denaturing due to such a temperature elevation and due to enzymes present in the system, so that the freeze-drying may not be realized under crushing and forming into thin films while preserving the original quality and condition of the material.
For eliminating such difficulties, it has been practiced to freeze the material using liquid nitrogen or, in addition, to exclude oxygen. However, such countermeasures require, due to the very low temperature of liquid nitrogen (minus 196° C.), large scale arrangements and, due to the exclusion of oxygen, a safety measure, so that a freeze-dried product may not be obtained in an easy and convenient way.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a freeze-dried product of a material to be processed, by subjecting it to freezing and vacuum drying by a simple apparatus and simple operations, in a state in which the intrinsic quality and properties, etc., of the original material are preserved without suffering from denaturing of the material due to the actions of oxygen, enzymes, heat and so on; to provide an apparatus therefore; and to provide a freeze-dried product obtained therefrom.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a process for producing a freeze-dried product of a material in a bonded or in a stratified state, by subjecting the material to freeze-drying under bonding or stratifying of the material, while preserving the intrinsic quality and properties, etc., of the original material using a simple apparatus by simple procedures without suffering from denaturing of the material due to the actions of oxygen, enzymes, heat and so on; an apparatus therefor; and a freeze-dried product obtained therefrom.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present invention consists of the following process for freeze-drying, apparatus therefor and freeze-dried product:
(1) A process for freeze-drying, comprising cooling one or more materials to be treated, in a state separated from or in contact with each other, by dry ice to freeze the material(s) and subjecting the frozen product to vacuum drying.
(2) A process for freeze-drying, comprising stratifying materials of the same or different kind to be treated into multilayers, freezing the multilayers in a state in which dry ice is interposed between the layers and subjecting the frozen multilayers to vacuum drying.
(3) The process as defined in the above (2), wherein dry ice is interposed between the layers partly so as to leave the portions devoid of dry ice in a state adhered to each other, in order to form a vacant space at the portion where dry ice is interposed.
(4) The process as defined in any one of the above (1) to (3), wherein the freezing is effected under a condition pressurized by the material's own weight or by an external pressure.
(5) The process as defined in any one of the above (1) to (4), wherein the freezing is effected while breaking the material to be treated by pressurizing it so as to cause formation of cracks.
(6) A freeze-dried product obtained by the process as defined in any one of the above (1) to (5).
(7) Foods and drinks comprising the freeze-dried product as defined in the above (6).
(8) A composite product in which the freeze-dried product as defined in the above (6) is compounded with other material(s).
(9) A hydrated product obtained by hydrating the freeze-dried product as defined in the above (6).
(10) A composite product in which the hydrated product as defined in the above (9) is compounded with other material(s).
(11) An apparatus for effecting freeze-drying, comprising
a freezing apparatus in which one or more materials to be treated are cooled in a state in which they are separated from or in contact with each other by dry ice to freeze the material(s) and
a vacuum drying apparatus in which the frozen product obtained in the freezing apparatus is subjected to vacuum drying.
(12) The apparatus as defined in the above (11), wherein the freezing apparatus operates to freeze multilayers of the material to be treated under a condition in which dry ice is interposed between the layers partly.
(13) The apparatus as defined in the above (11) or (12), wherein the freezing apparatus comprises a pressurizing means.
(14) The apparatus as defined in the above (13), wherein the freezing apparatus comprises pressurizing elements which operate to impress a pressure onto a single layer or multilayers of the material placed therebetween together with dry ice.
(15) The apparatus as defined in the above (14), wherein the freezing apparatus comprises a traveling means operable to cause the pressurizing elements to travel within a pressurization unit.
(16) A method of analysis, in which the freeze-dried product defined in the above (6) is used as the analytical sample.
(17) An apparatus for analysis, in which the freeze-dried product defined in the above (6) is used as the analytical sample.
The materials to be treated by freeze-drying according to the present invention are those susceptible to denaturation, including foods and drinks, organisms, organic materials, drugs, biological samples, feeds and industrial raw materials, in particular those comprising organic materials having reducing functional groups susceptible to denaturing by the actions of oxygen, enzymes, heat and so on. They may be present in any voluntary form, such as a lump, liquid, jelly, paste or slurry, including crushed or pulverized form. Typical materials to be treated may be in a hydrated state, though dried materials m
Flynn ,Thiel, Boutell & Tanis, P.C.
National Agricultural Research Organization
Weier Anthony J.
LandOfFree
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