FI62757C - UTAN BLOETNING FYLLBART STORT FOEDOAEMNESHOELJE AV CELLULOSA OCH FOERFARANDE FOER DESS FRAMSTAELLNING - Google Patents

Description

—Zr—— rci m \ patent publication * oncn tc] (I1) patentsrrift b4.ro/ (51) Kv.ll ^ / lnt.a.3 A 22 C 13/00 (21) Puenttlhtkemuf - PtMnttrxeknini 771505 v τ (22 ) HakamltpUvi - Ansöknln | td «g 12 05 77 (23) Alkuplivi - Giltlghttsdag nr FINLAND — FINLAND (41) Tuiiut | uiki * ek * i - eiiwt offmtiig ^ u ^ / Civ (44) Nthtivtksi panon | a month. pvm.— \ · / Aniökan utiagd och ucl.ikrlften publlcerad 30.11.82 (45) Patent granted - Patant maddalat 04.05.84

Patent and Registration Office

Patent · och registerstyrelsen (32) (33) (31) Requested «tuolkm» - Begird priority 13.05.76 USA (US) 686248 (73) Union Carbide Corporation, 270 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10017, USA (US) (72) David Earl Ellis, Frankfort, Illinois, Herman Shin-Gee Chiu,

Chicago, Illinois, USA (74) Oy Borenius δ Co. Ab (54) Large, non-soakable, cellulosic food packaging and method of making it - Utan blötning fyllbart stort födoämneshölje av cellulose och förfarande för dess framställning

The invention relates to a large tubular, cellulosic food casing, preferably one having a fibrous web embedded in the wall and having a diameter of at least 50 mm when filled, which casing is suitable for filling with a food emulsion without soaking, and a method of making such a casing.

Food wrappers are widely used all over the world to handle a wide variety of meat and other food products, especially sausages, cheese rolls, turkey rolls, etc. size to suit the different food products to be prepared. Tubular food casings 2 62757 are supplied reinforced or unmounted, with reinforced casings, commonly referred to as "fibrous casings", being made by embedding a fibrous reinforcing web in their wall.

A common feature of most processed food products, and especially meat products, is that the mixture of components used to make the food product, commonly referred to as an "emulsion", is filled into the wrapper under pressure and the foodstuff is treated with the wrapper closed. The food product can also be stored and transported enclosed in a wrapper, although in many cases, and especially for small sausage products such as sausages, the wrapper is removed from the food product after the processing steps have been completed.

One class of tubular food wrappers is commonly referred to as "small food wrappers," a term generally referred to as wrappers used in the manufacture of small sausage products, such as sausages. As the name suggests, this type of food casing has a small filled diameter, the diameter generally being in the range of about 15 to about 40 mm, and the casing is generally supplied in very long, thin-walled hoses. To facilitate handling, these coverings, which can be 20 to 50 meters in length or even longer, are generally folded and compressed into a so-called "pleated cover pieces" having a length of about 20 to about 60 cm Folding machines and products made therefrom are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Patent Nos. 2,983,949 and 2,984,574, etc.

"Large food packaging" means, in a common name, packaging commonly used in the manufacture of larger food products, such as salami and bolognese sausages, meat slices, cooked and smoked pork products and the like, in sizes of approximately 50,675 ... 160 mm and even larger.

Such coatings generally have a greater wall thickness than a small coating and are provided with a fibrous web reinforcement embedded in their wall, although they may also be made without such reinforcement. Most often, large tubular casings are delivered to the food processor flattened and cut to volume lengths of about 0.6 to about 2.2 m, but improvements in folding and packaging methods and the increasing use of automatic filling equipment have increased the demand for large fibrous and unreinforced casings. as pleated pieces containing about 30 m of cover or more.

In the manufacture and use of artificial food casings, and in particular small casings made of regenerated cellulose, the moisture content of the casings is a very important factor. When first forming small cellulosic coatings, they generally need to be dried to a relatively low water content, which is generally in the range of about 8 to 12% by weight, in order for the pleating treatment to be performed without damaging the coatings. In order to easily straighten the compressed pleated casings and to avoid tearing and breaking of the casing during the filling treatments, the average moisture content of the pleated casings must be about 14 to 20% by weight. This relatively narrow range of moisture content is important because abundant rupture of the coatings has been observed during filling at lower moisture contents, while higher moisture contents lead to excessive softness and overfilling of the coating material.

In recent years, several patents have been issued on the problem of the water content of pleated small tubular food casings, and various methods have been proposed to achieve and maintain the desired water content during storage and transportation. Thus, U.S. Patent Nos. 2,181,329 (Hewitt); 3,250,629 (Turbak) and 3,471,305 (Marbach) describe packaging means for wetting a plurality of pleated wrapper overlays of small tubular casings when packaged, and U.S. Patent Nos. 3,222,192 (Arnold); 3,616,489 (Flow and partner); 3,657,769 (Martinek); No. 3,809,576 (Marbach et al.) Describes various means for wetting generally small tubular food wrappers before or during the pleating treatment. In F1 patent publication 57,524, in order to improve the wetting method, it has been proposed to add an aqueous solution to the casing, which contains water as a retarding agent, e.g. propylene glycol.

Large-sized casings, which are usually supplied as short flattened hose sections and which are completely rigid when dry, are usually softened for filling treatment by soaking in water, suitably for about an hour. Therefore, it has not been found necessary to supply such coatings with a predetermined water content, and the manufacturer of the coating has not guaranteed any prescribed water content. The increasing use of automatic filling equipment for products using large tubular food wrappers, and the increasing demand for the supply of such wrappings in pleated form compared to the demand for short flattened wrappers, have highlighted the wetting problems of such wrappers when soaking. In addition, there is a growing need for closer monitoring of all stages of manufacturing and the use of large food wrappers. Thus, the standard size of filled food wrappers and food products treated with these wrappers has become an increasingly important commercial requirement, and the water content of the wrappers has been identified as a factor in controlling the standard size, as well as the need to quickly and economically meet the need.

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Manufacturers of food wrappers have found it increasingly economical to manufacture or package wrappers, provided that small pleated wrappers with a moisture content evenly distributed throughout the length of the wrappers are filled as required. It has become increasingly apparent that similar benefits could be achieved even if means were developed to enable coating manufacturers to supply large coatings, both flattened and pleated, so that they could be easily used in coating filling operations, especially mechanical filling operations without the need for food. excessive manual action.

Although it has not previously been considered necessary to keep the water content of large food wrappers within relatively narrow limits, somewhat higher water contents are required to achieve the desired flexibility of such wrappers compared to the required water content of small wrappers. In addition, one problem that can occur in the handling and use of such water-rich cellulosic food casings is the growth of molds, fungi and other microorganisms, as high water content is one of the necessary factors to cause such growth in cellulosic casings. Thus, it is known that food wrappers with a critical water content and located above the level required for the growth of molds or fungi are at increasing risk during storage. Keeping the water content of cellulose coatings below a predetermined level, generally about 20% by weight less than the total weight of the coating, is an effective measure that can be used to prevent the development of such growth. In the event that the water content cannot be properly adjusted to prevent such growth, it is necessary to devise other means to prevent the growth of molds or fungi.

Therefore, large tubular cellulosic food casings, and in particular tubular fibrous casings, which must be easy to fill without damaging or breaking the casings, must be supplied with a water content which guarantees adequate flexibility and must use suitable means for controlling fungi or other micro-organisms. during transport and long-term storage.

Over the years, numerous studies have investigated the growth of mold in food products due to the presence of nutrients that promote the growth of microorganisms and cause food spoilage. As a result of these studies, various treatments have been criticized and recommended, including the use of a combination of sugars and polyhydric alcohols as inhibitors to inhibit the growth of microorganisms that have been generally found to cause food spoilage. However, the antifungal treatment of cellulosic food casings has caused problems related to the technical treatments used to make and fill the casings. Several recent patents have addressed some proposals to overcome these problems and to perform antifungal treatments on coatings used in the manufacture of food products, e.g., dry sausages. Accordingly, U.S. Patent No. 3,617,312 (Rose) adds an antifungal agent to a cellulosic coating as a component of a water-insoluble coating, and U.S. Patent No. 3,935,320 (Chiu et al.) Reduces the formation of coatings on cured water-insoluble cationic resin coatings. damage caused by the effect.

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The additional processing steps required to antifungal coatings with curable coating compositions increase the cost and complexity of the coating process, so there is still a need to develop large coatings suitable for filling without the food filler performing additional soaking, especially if do not say increase the complexity and cost of manufacturing and storage.

According to the invention, a large tubular cellulosic food casing is obtained, preferably one having a fibrous web embedded in the wall and having a diameter of at least 50 mm when filled, which casing is suitable for filling with a food emulsion without soaking and in which a glycerol plasticizer is incorporated. The invention is characterized in that an amount of water is included in the coating such that the water content is at least about 20% by weight of the coating and that at least about 15% by weight of dry cellulose and at least about 15% by weight of propylene glycol are uniformly dispersed in the coating. 20% by weight of the liquid component. It has surprisingly been found that large tubular cellulosic casings, including tubular fibrous casings with a water content and a propylene glycol content within the limits described above, are surprisingly suitable for full filling by means of mechanical filling devices and other times without the growth of molds, fungi or other microorganisms.

According to the invention, there is also provided a method of making and treating a large tubular cellulosic food casing to achieve such extensibility and flexibility that the casing is suitable for filling with a food emulsion. The tubular cellulosic coating 8 62757 is suitably treated with an aqueous solution of propylene glycol at a concentration such that the desired water content and the desired amount of propylene glycol are simultaneously generated in the coating.

The terms "water content", "propylene glycol content", "glycerol content", "polyol content" as used in this specification and the appended claims mean, unless otherwise specified, "moisture or water content":% by weight of water or moisture in the coating. , calculated on the total weight of all components of the coating, "propylene glycol content", "glycerol content", polyol content ": the weight of the polyol in the coating, divided by the dry weight of the cellulose and any surface coating in the coating and expressed as a percentage by weight.

By "weight of the liquid components of the coating" is meant the weight of the liquid components in the coating, including water, polyols, and / or other soluble antimicrobial agents, but without mineral oil and other water-immiscible lubricants.

Large-sized tubular cellulosic food casings that can be used in the casings of the invention can be prepared by applying any method known in the art. Tubular liners are generally flexible, seamless tubing formed from regenerated cellulose, cellulose ethers such as "cuprammonium", deacetylated cellulose acetate, denitrated cellulose, and especially viscose. In cases where large diameter tubular food casings are required, tubular casings reinforced with fibers are suitably used, such as rice paper and the like, hemp, artificial silk, flax, sisal, nyIon, polyethylene terephthalate, etc. can be made. - 9,627,757 and using the devices described in e.g. U.S. Patents 2,105,273; 2,144,899; 2,910,380; 3,135,613 and 3,433,663.

As is known in the art, tubular cellulosic coatings prepared in a manner known in the art are generally treated with glycerol, which is used as a wetting and plasticizing agent, to prevent the coating from drying out or cracking during storage prior to filling. The glycerol treatment is generally performed by passing the coating, while still in a gel-like state, through an aqueous solution of glycerol, after which the softened coating is dried to a predetermined water content before further processing or winding on rolls for storage. Large tubular casings generally contain about 25 to 40% glycerol and have a water content of about 5 to 10%.

Large tubular cellulosic food wrappers must have an average water content of at least about 13, and suitably about 17.5% by weight of the wrapper weight, and at least about 27%, suitably about 30% by weight of dry cellulose, to achieve the desired flexibility. Although the lower limit of the water content of the casing is important, there is no critical upper limit, and water concentrations that exceed the actual need are usually decided on the basis of economic considerations. However, water contents of coatings in excess of about 35% by weight can adversely affect the beneficial properties required for certain uses of the coatings, and such water content should be avoided.

Given that in order to achieve the desired flexibility and other filling properties, an amount of water must be added to the package that the water content can rise above about 20% by weight, treatment of molds with mold, fungi or other antitumor agents is essential to improve storage and storage life. during delivery. Suitable antimicrobial agents that have been found to have the protective effect of at least some veccan include polyhydric alcohols, which are normally liquid at room temperature, and further solutions of normally solid polyols. Particularly suitable and particularly preferred are propylene glycol and mixtures of propylene glycol and glycerol.

Inhibiting the growth of fungi and molds in cellulosic coatings also inhibits the growth of bacteria and yeasts, as it is known that molds generally require less moisture for their growth than yeasts and bacteria.

The tubular cellulosic food casings of the invention can be prepared by adding substantial amounts of water and antitumor agent to suitably "dried" tubular food casings and using any method known in the art. The casings can generally be treated by spraying, brushing, dipping, dipping, etc. Suitably, the wrapper should be treated with the desired amounts of water and barrier as a flattened wrapper in storage rolls when the wrapper is pre-packaged in short lengths, or the wrapper is rewound to roll the wrapper to advance through the pleating machine. achieve a relatively precise control of the water content and the barrier content of the coatings according to the invention.

Various other materials or treatments known in the art may be used in the manufacture of the tubular cellulosic food casings of the invention to impart certain properties to the casings, provided, of course, that such material or treatment adapts to and does not adversely affect the food casings. Examples of other treatments that may be used include coatings formed to better peel coatings from encapsulated food products, as described, e.g., in U.S. Patent No. 2,901,358 (Under 62757 wood), coatings formed to better adhere the coating to dry sausage products. , as described in U.S. Patent No. 3,378,379 (Shiner et al.), coatings formed to provide vapor barrier properties, as described in U.S. Patent No. 3,886,979 (Rasmussen), etc. Thus, the tubular coatings of the invention can be pleated and compressed. size using conventional folding machines and applying the methods described in, e.g., U.S. Patent Nos. 2,984,574 (Matecki); 3,110,058 (Marbach) and 3,397,069 (Urbu-tis et al.).

The invention is illustrated by the following examples. Example 1

A certain amount of tubular cellulosic fiber coating was prepared using conventional methods, and the coating was internally coated with an easily peelable coating, as described in U.S. Patent No. 2,901,358 (Underwood), and glycerin was added at about 30% by weight of the dry cellulose. Coating samples of this example were prepared from this coating. The average dry and flat width of the casing was about 155 mm and the recommended filling diameter was 117 mm.

The coating was treated with an aqueous solution of propylene glycol by brushing the solution onto the outer surface of the flattened coating fed to a standard type folding machine. Three pleated pavement sections were prepared, each with approximately 60 m of pavement. Each pleated cover piece was placed in a flexible sheath material and then packed in polyethylene lined cardboard. The water content of the coating samples was found to be 21.8% by weight of the coating, and 40.9% by weight of dry cellulose, and the content of propylene glycol was 18.8% by weight of dry cellulose and 20.7% by weight of liquid components.

Each pleated cover piece was filled without soaking using the device 12 6275 7 described in said patent publication 4,017,914. A Bologna-type meat emulsion was used to make 150 cm long sausage bars, which were then processed by conventional methods. The filled diameter of the Bologna · * sausages produced was essentially uniform, and no damage or breakage occurred when using these overlays.

Example 2 The storage experiments of this example illustrate the effectiveness of the anti-mold agents used to varying degrees when these agents were used to treat large tubular cellulosic liners with varying high water contents.

A group of tubular cover samples were prepared using different components in the following amounts: regenerated cellulose 72.5 parts by weight glycerol 22 "varying amounts of water anti-mold agent" The storage experiments of this example used fiber coverings of size 8 with a recommended fill diameter of about 121.5 mm.

Coating samples were prepared by adding varying amounts of water and anti-mold agents by brushing their aqueous solutions to the surface of the coating using the following amounts:

The first batch of coating samples contained about 20, 25, 35 and 45% by weight of water by weight of the coating, and varying amounts of propylene glycol. For each water content, the samples contained propylene glycol in amounts of about 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40% by weight of the liquid components of the coating.

For comparison, a second batch of overlay samples was prepared with water contents of 21.0; 26.2; 37.2 and 59.2% by weight and no anti-mold agents were added.

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If possible, pleated and compressed pieces of wetted and anti-mold treated coatings about 15 cm long were obtained to obtain a pleated cover piece about 30 cm long, which was then sealed in a flexible sheath material. In those cases where water and anti-mold agents were used to a greater extent, flat cover samples with a flattened length of about 1.5 mm were prepared.

A mixture of thirty-one different mold spores in a 1% sodium citrate solution was prepared using conventional aseptic methods to a concentration of about 1 to 5 million mold spores per milliliter of solution. The mixture included e.g. cultures of the following mold species Aspergillus niger (ATCC φ 1004), Chaetonium globosum (ATCC φ 16021), Memnoniella echinata (ATCC φ 11973), Myrothecium verrucaria (ATCC φ 9095), Trichoderma viride (ATCC / 26921) and Whetze-1inia (1) 18657), all purchased from the American Type Culture Collection, Rockville, Maryland. In addition, nine unknown culture mold spores isolated from mold contaminants found in various cellulosic food casings and a further sixteen unknown culture mold spores isolated as natural airborne contaminants from the coating manufacturing sites were also included in the mixture.

The solution was used as an inoculant to evaluate the anti-mold ability of the various coating samples of this example.

All overlay samples were inoculated by brushing several milliliters of solution with mold spores over an area of approximately 7.5 x 15 cm of bare overlay. The inoculated overlay samples were then packed in sealed polyethylene bags and stored at room temperature for long periods of time.

After 10 weeks of storage, an increase in mold was observed in the control samples without mold inhibitor and having a water content of 26.2% (55% by weight).

Claims (7)

1. A large-format tubular food casing of preferably cellulose preferably a casing, in which a fiber web is embedded and whose diameter is filled at least 50 mm, which casing is suitable for filling with food emulsion without soaking and in which casing glycerol softener is added; characterized in that in the casing a Seidan amount of water is included that the moisture content of the casing is at least about 20% by weight of the casing weight, and that to prevent the growth of microorganisms in the casing is evenly dispersed propylene glycol m 62757 in an amount of at least about 17% by weight -% of the weight of the cellulose cellulose and at least about 20% by weight of the liquid components of the housing in the housing. 2. A casing according to claim 1, characterized in that its moisture content is up to about 35% by weight of the weight of the casing. Housing according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a continuous length of said hose-shaped housing is pleated and compressed to a shortened length. 4. A casing according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a cover is attached to a surface thereof. A method of preparing and treating a food casing to provide such a stretchability and flexibility that the casing is suitable for being filled with a food emulsion, characterized in that: a) providing a tubular food casing of cellulose said, in whose wall a glycerol softener is absorbed in a known manner, b) treating the housing with water to achieve a moisture content of at least about 20% by weight of the weight of the housing and c) treating the housing to prevent the growth of microorganisms with a sufficient amount of propylene glycol to evenly disperse in the casing propylene glycol in an amount of at least about 15% by weight of the dry cellulose and at least about 20% by weight of the liquid components of the casing. Process according to claim 5, characterized in that the casing is treated simultaneously with water and propylene glycol by treating the casing with an aqueous solution of propylene glycol. Process according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the casing is treated while in the flattened state.