FI72856B - MOEGELRESISTENTA REGLERAT FOERFUKTADE, STORA SLANGFORMIGA LIVSMEDELSHOELJEN. - Google Patents

Description

72856

Large tubular food wrappers, adjusted to pre-moistened, to prevent mold growth.

Mögelresistenta reglerat förfuktade, Stora slang-formiga livsmedelshöljen.

The invention relates to improved food casings, and in particular to large tubular cellulosic food casings, in particular fibrous food casings, which are controlled to be moistened in such a way that no further soaking is required before filling and which are treated with chloride salts as antifungal agents, bacterial formation and multiplication that could otherwise occur in such moistened coatings.

Artificial food casings, which are used throughout the world in the processing of a wide variety of meat and other food products, such as various types of sausages, cheese rolls, turkey rolls and the like, are conventionally made from regenerated cellulose and other cellulosic materials. There are a number of different types and sizes of coatings to accommodate the different types of food products to be made, and they are supplied reinforced or unreinforced, with reinforced coatings, commonly referred to as "fibrous coatings", having a fibrous material embedded in the wall of the coating.

A common feature of many processed food products, especially meat products, is that a mixture of food components, commonly referred to as an "emulsion", is filled under pressure into a wrapper and the food product is processed after it is enclosed in such a wrapper. The food product can also be stored and transported enclosed in a wrapper, although in many cases, and especially in small sausage products such as frankfurter sausages, the wrapper is removed from the food product after processing.

: A category of tubular food wrappers is commonly referred to as "small food wrappers", a term which generally refers to wrappers used in the manufacture of small sausage products such as frankfurter sausages.

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As the name suggests, this type of food wrapper has a small filled diameter, and the diameter is generally in the range of about 15 to about 40 mm, and the wrapper is generally supplied as very long thin-walled hoses. To facilitate handling, these coatings, which can be 20 to 50 meters in length or even longer, are crimped and compressed in a generally so-called "shirred" pieces of approximately 20 to 60 cm in length. Crimping 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, and produced in sizes with a filled diameter of about 50 ... mm and even larger. Such coatings generally have three times the wall thickness of small coatings and are provided with a fibrous web reinforcement embedded in their walls, although they can also be made without such reinforcement. Large hoses. These wrappers are traditionally delivered to the food processor flattened and cut to volume lengths of about 0.6 to about 2.2 m. Improvements in wrinkling and packaging methods and the increasing use of automatic filling equipment have increased the demand for large fiber and unreinforced wrappers in shrinkage. containing approximately 30 m or more of pavement.

Large-sized tubular cellulosic food casings suitable for use as coatings in accordance with the present invention can be prepared by applying any of a number of known methods. The coatings are flexible, seamless hoses made of regenerated cellulose, cellulose ethers, etc., and can be prepared by known methods such as the copper ammonia method, deacetylation of cellulose acetate, cellulose nitrate in deni t ro iris, and preferably viscose. Tubular casings that are

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3,785,66 reinforced with fibers, e.g., rice paper, etc., hemp, chaff, flax, sisal, nylon, polyethylene terephthalate, etc., are preferably used in situations where large diameter tubular food wrappers are required. Tubular fibrous coatings can be made by applying the methods and equipment described in, e.g., U.S. Patent Nos. 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 acts as a wetting agent and plasticizer to make the coating dry or crack-resistant during storage and handling prior to filling.

The glycerol treatment is generally performed by passing the coating through an aqueous solution of glycerol while the coating is still gel-like, after which the softened coating is dried to a predetermined moisture content before the next treatment or rewinding for storage.

Large tubular casings generally contain about 25 to 35% by weight of glycerol based on the weight of dry cellulose, and have a moisture content of about 5 to 10% by weight based on the total weight of the casing before the casing is moistened for filling.

In the manufacture and use of artificial food casings, and in particular small packages made of regenerated cellulose, the moisture content of the casings is a very important factor. When forming small cellulosic coatings, they generally need to be dried to a relatively low water content, which is generally in the range of about 10 to 13% by weight, in order to perform shirring treatments without damaging the coatings.

In order to easily straighten the compressed shirred casings and to avoid tearing and breaking of the casing during the filling treatment, the average moisture content of the shirred casings must be about 14 to 20% by weight.

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This relatively narrow range of moisture content is important because abundant breakage of the casings has been observed during filling at lower moisture contents, while higher moisture contents lead to excessive softness and overfilling of the casing material.

In recent years, several patents have been issued on the problem of the water content of crumpled small tubular food wrappers, and various methods have been proposed to achieve and maintain the desired water content during storage and transportation. Accordingly, U.S. Patents 2,181,329 (Hewitt), 3,250,629 (Turbak) and 3,471,305 (Marbach) disclose packaging means for wetting a plurality of shirred patches of small tubular casings when packaged, and U.S. Patents 3,222,192 ( Arnold), 3,616,489 (Voo et al.), 3,657,769 (Martinez), and 3,809,576 (Marbach et al.) Have described various means for wetting generally small tubular food casings before or during crimping.

The present invention relates to so-called "large food packaging", which must have a relatively high moisture content, usually more than about 20%, in order to be filled from the person concerned. Large food wrappers are characterized by relatively thicker walls than the walls of small food wrappers, so higher moisture contents are needed to achieve the extensibility required in filling treatments without causing too much harmful internal pressure. The present invention relates to wrappers belonging to the class of large-sized food wrappers, in particular fibrous wrappers.

Large-sized casings, which are usually supplied mainly as short pieces of dry flattened hoses, are quite rigid in dryness, so they are softened for filling treatments in water by soaking to raise the moisture content close to or up to the saturation point. To date, there has been no need to supply full 5 72856 casings with a predetermined moisture content and controlled humidification, and no regulated moisture content has been guaranteed by the casing manufacturer in the manufacture of such large casings, either in short cuts or lengths.

Recently, however, the wider use of automatic filling equipment for the manufacture of products using large tubular casings, as well as the increased demand for supplying such casings in shorter lengths compared to long-used short flat lengths, has highlighted the problems associated with wetting such casings just before wetting. . In addition, the need for better quality control of the production and use of large food packaging in all respects has become increasingly clear. Thus, the constant dimensions of filled food wrappers and the food products processed therein have become increasingly important commercially, especially if in subsequent treatments the product is automatically weighed and a certain number of slices are packaged. The moisture content of the casings has been identified as a factor influencing the adjustment of the evenness of the product as well as the ability to easily fill the casings economically without damaging or breaking the casings, and reproducible results must be achieved continuously during filling.

The supply of small shirred casings with a uniformly distributed moisture content within relatively narrow limits, as required by the filling treatments, is most efficiently and economically achieved by the casing manufacturer during the manufacture, shirring or packaging of the casings. It has become increasingly clear that the benefits of controlled wetting in the area of small coatings could also be realized in the case of large coatings by developing means for supplying large coatings, both flattened and crumpled, so that these large coatings could be easily used for filling. in automatic filling operations without the need for a soaking treatment just before filling and without any other harmful manual handling by the food handler.

As it is generally accepted to soak large wrappers before filling, it has not previously been considered necessary for the manufacturer to maintain the moisture content of large food wrappers within any particular critical range, but it is known, as mentioned above, that somewhat higher moisture contents are required to achieve such coatings. compared to the moisture contents required for small packages. Because higher volumes of water, and thus increased weight, significantly increase the cost of packaging, handling, storage, and transportation of the coatings, it is important to perform wetting to just the required concentration, but not more than is necessary.

Another problem encountered in the handling and use of large cellulosic food casings with a high moisture content is the growth of mold, yeast or bacteria, as high moisture content is one of the essential factors causing such growth in cellulose casings. Thus, it is already known that in the case of cellulosic food casings, there is a critical moisture content · above which the growth of perishable microorganisms during storage greatly increases.

The critical moisture content is generally lower for mold than for yeasts and bacteria, so a moisture content that protects the coating from mold damage also prevents the damaging effect of yeasts or bacteria. It has been found that keeping the moisture content of cellulosic coatings below a certain moisture level, generally less than about 20% by weight of moisture based on the total weight of the coating, is an effective measure to prevent the development of such growth. In cases where moisture limitation cannot be used to prevent such growth, eg in cases where higher moisture contents are intentionally used or where higher moisture contents may be present in stored coatings due to accidental temperature differences in the cross-sections of the coatings, it is necessary to inhibition of microbial growth.

7 72856 Thus, large tubular cellulosic food casings, especially tubular fibrous casings that can be easily filled in modern substantially fully automatic filling machines without breaking or damaging the casings can be advantageously supplied so that (1) their moisture content is such that resort to the hitherto conventional preparation step just before filling, and in such a way that (2) suitable means are also obtained to prevent the growth of mold or other microorganisms during the transport, handling and storage periods.

Over the years, the problem of mold growth in food products has been studied numerous times, as this growth is due to the presence of nutrients that promote the growth of microorganisms and cause food spoilage. Various treatments have been studied and recommended, including the addition of combinations of sugars and polyhydric alcohols as inhibitors to inhibit the growth of microorganisms commonly known to cause food spoilage. However, the antifungal treatment of cellulosic food casings has caused other and more complex problems related to the technical treatments used to make and fill the casings. Several patents have addressed some proposals to overcome these problems and to perform anti-mycotic treatments on coatings used in the manufacture of food products, or in some cases. to prevent the growth of mold on the surface of the sausage product after filling. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 3,617,312 (Rose) adds an anti-mycotic agent to a cellulosic coating as a component of a water-insoluble coating, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,935,320 (Chiu et al.) Reduces the formation of cured water-insoluble cationic thermosetting resin coatings. 8 72856 yellowing. FI patent publication 62758 discloses the antifungal treatment of adjustable wetted coatings with various substances, of which e.g. propylene glycol and salts of propionic and sorbic acid.

An important difference that should be noted in connection with the above references is that U.S. Patent 3,617,312 relates to the prevention of mold growth on the surface of a sausage product after filling and does not address the prevention of the growth of perishable microorganisms in sausage casings prior to filling.

The inclusion of moisture to a greater extent in the casing makes it necessary to examine, among other things, a phenomenon known as "water activity". The activity of water, denoted by the symbol Aw, is defined as the ratio of the partial pressure of water vapor in solution to the vapor pressure of pure water, both measured at the same temperature. This term is used in connection with the description of the present invention because it is a convenient and useful parameter for indicating the amount of moisture content in coatings treated with chloride salts in the manner of the present invention. Suitable literature references that discuss the water activity phenomenon in more detail can be found in Ross, Estimation of Water Activity In Intermediate Moisture Foods, Food Technology, March 1975, pages 26 and 41 Journal of Food Science, page 352, May-June 1976.

The invention is based on the use of chloride salts together with predetermined amounts of water added to a coating treated according to the invention to reduce water activity A in a controllable manner to a level that adapts to the particular coating wetting level used to inhibit mold growth during presumed storage of the coating.

More specific objects of the invention appear from the appended claims.

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The present invention relates to a generally large tubular fiber-reinforced cellulosic food casing which has been pre-moistened by adding a carefully controlled amount of moistening water to such an extent that the casing can be filled without any soaking prior to filling. The amount of water added to your control can range from as little as about 20% to as much as about 40% of the total weight of the casing. The preferred range of moisture content for the coatings is in the range of about 20% to 25%. The chloride salt selected from sodium chloride, magnesium chloride, ammonium chloride, calcium chloride and potassium chloride is preferably added dissolved in wetting water, and the solution is added to the coating by any method known in the art, e.g., by spraying or passing a solution bubble through them, both methods together. The chloride salt used in each case, the moisture content selected for the coating and, to some extent, the estimated storage time of the coating determine the salt concentration required to keep the water activity Aw sufficiently low in the coating, preferably up to about 0.75 to prevent mold growth.

Sodium chloride has been found to be the most effective salt because relatively small amounts, about 2 to about 22.6% by weight of the cellulose in the coating, protect the coatings from mold growth if the moisture contents are in the range of about 20 to about 40% of the total weight of the coating. when cover A is kept at about 0.75. In addition, sodium chloride is a normal component of processed foods, and its addition to packaging is readily acceptable.

Higher concentrations of other chloride salts are needed to prevent mold in coatings similarly moistened by keeping Aw at a maximum of about 0.75. Thus, about 2.9 to 22.0% of magnesium chloride, about 3.1 to about 33.2% of ammonium chloride, about 4.1 to about 35.9% of calcium chloride, and about 2.6 to 22 ...% of potassium chloride are needed. about 68.7% by weight of the cellulose in the coating to achieve the same general results.

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Example I

In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of sodium chloride as an anti-mold growth agent, a mold culture experiment was performed using a culture plate.

A conventional potato-dextrose agar solution to which sodium chloride and polyol were added in varying proportions was used as the culture medium. The agar and solutions of the salt and polyol component were sterilized, and tartaric acid was added to the combined solutions so that the pH of the final agar medium was about 3.5.

The mold culture used as inoculum in the experiment was prepared as follows:

A mixture of spores of thirty-one different molds in a 1% solution of sodium citrate was prepared using conventional aseptic methods at a concentration of about 1 to 5 million mold spores per milliliter of solution. Among the molds in the mixture were the following mold cultures: Aspergillus niger (ATCC t 1004), Chaetonium globosum (ATCC # 16021), Memnoniella echinata (ATCC H 11973), Myrothecium verrucaria (ATCC M-9095), Trichoderma viride (ATCC # 26921), and Whet sclerotiorum (ATCC # 18657), all purchased from the American Type Culture Collection, Rockville, Maryland. Mold spores from nine mold cultures isolated from mold contaminants found in various cellulosic food wrappers were also added, and spores from sixteen mold cultures isolated from naturally occurring airborne contaminants obtained from the coating factory were also added.

Agar medium and mold inoculum test solutions were prepared separately with sodium chloride and propylene glycol using crosswise combined concentration variations of 0%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, 10%, 12.5% and an additional solution of 15% propylene glycol alone. the size of the test solution, calculated on the weight of il 72856.

The test solutions were stored in covered culture media for seven days at room temperature, and mold growth was examined visually. The results of the experiments are shown in Table 1 below.

table 1

Mold growth studies in culture media - effect of salt and propylene glycol.

NaCl- Propylene glycol concentration,% concentration, £ £ 7.5 10 12.5 15% 0 + + + + + 2.5 + + + + 5.0 + + + - - - 7.5 + + 10.0 + - 12.5 + - blind negative control = no increase in symbols: + = mold growth occurs - = mold growth inhibited These test results show that sodium chloride has clearly detectable anti-mold properties when this sodium chloride is present in relatively small amounts together with another antifungal agent, in this case propylene glycol.

Example II

This example demonstrates that sodium chloride at a concentration as low as 4% and calcium chloride at a concentration of 7% of the cellulose content of the coating 12 72856 act as effective antifungals in fibrous coatings having moisture contents in excess of about 30% of the total weight of the coating.

This example also shows that coatings containing glycerol and water can be protected from mold-induced deterioration in the event that the water activity Aw is reduced to a controllable extent by the inclusion of chloride salts in the coating. Thus, a relatively richly moistened large fibrous cellulosic wrapper containing sufficient moisture so that the wrapper can be filled without any pre-soaking, or without the addition of water in any other way, can be made storage stable and antifungal protected by the addition of salts.

For the experiments of this example, a set of size 8 crumpled tubular fibrous cellulosic sausage casings with a maximum fill diameter of 12.1 cm was prepared and using the components listed in Table 2 below to the extent indicated in the table, removing the casing lengths from the flat wound stock, adding salt to the brine. and raising the moisture content to the target level by spraying water on the outer surface of the casing just prior to wrinkling. The glycerol contents of these coatings used in this experiment were the same as the glycerol contents used as a soft impregnant in conventional fibrous cellulosic coatings that must be soaked in water before filling. No propylene glycol was added to any of the sample coatings in this example.

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The mold inoculum for this experiment was prepared as follows: Five separate suspensions of mold inoculum were used. Species Aspergillus niger (ATCC fr 1004), Aspergillus glaucus, Geotricum candidum, and Penicillium mold species found in high moisture cover were used separately. All of these were used separately, after which they were all added to another mixed suspension of the following species Chaetonium globosum (ATCC fr 16021), Memnoniella echinata (ATCC fr 11973), Myrothecium verrucaria (ATCC fr 9095), Trichoderma viride (ATCC fr 26921) , and Whetzelinia slerotiorum (ATCC fr 18657).

To this fifth seed lot was also added mold spores from nine mold cultures isolated from mold contaminants found in various cellulosic food casings, and further mold spores from sixteen mold cultures isolated from ambient airborne contaminants obtained from the coating manufacturer.

The suspension contained 1 to 5 million clustering units per milliliter of 1% sodium citrate solution, and was prepared using standard aseptic techniques.

Cultures identified as "ATCC" were purchased from the American Type Culture Collection, Rockville, Maryland.

The overlay samples were inoculated by brushing several milliliters of each of the above-described mold suspensions in 1.27 cm wide streaks onto the shirred surface along the length of each shirred section. Each of the five mold suspensions was inoculated into a separate line of one shirred cover piece. After yin plating, each inoculated cover was cut into five slices perpendicular to the wrinkled cover piece. Each slice was placed in a separate 0.95 liter Jeveäsu container.

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is 72856 cans, which were sealed and stored at a constant temperature of 35 ° C. Table 2 above shows the mold growth results achieved. Results were marked as positive (+) if visible mold growth occurred in any of the five areas inoculated with the different mold suspensions, and negative (-) if no mold growth was visible in any of the inoculated areas.

The results in Table 2 show that Cover Sample A, the only sample to which no salt was added as an antifungal, was the only sample that showed visible mold growth within three months. Coatings B ... I, to which sufficient sodium chloride (NaCl) was added as an antifungal agent, did not show any visible mold growth within three months. The addition of sodium chloride to coatings B ... I reduced the water activity Aw in these samples from the values that would have occurred in the absence of any salt, i.e. 0.89 to 0.91, at which values mold growth would occur to 0.73. ... 0.86, at which values no mold growth occurred within three months.

Calcium chloride had been added to the top sample J as an antifungal agent and showed no mold growth. Calcium chloride in Sample J reduced the water activity Aw from 0.90, at which mold growth could be expected, to 0.79, at which no mold growth occurred.

This example shows that large moisture-rich fibrous sausage casings can be protected by adding chloride salts to them in relatively small amounts.

: Example III

; This example demonstrates experiments performed to demonstrate that chloride salts other than sodium chloride can be used as antifungals in high moisture, high fiber fibrous cellulose sausage casings.

72856 BC

Using known methods, basic data calculations were performed to show the salinity and water activity A, and the water activity Aw was also determined experimentally if necessary. These ratios were used to calculate the various amounts of chloride salts required to protect high moisture fibrous sausage casings, and these calculations were based on the assumption supported by other experiments of this invention that water activity A = 0.75 indicates effective coating antifungal protection.

In the experiments of this example, the water activity A of the solutions of the chloride salts HgCl 2, NH 2 Cl and CaCl 2 was determined by measuring the relative humidity with a moisture meter of the "Sina" type, and the water activity values of the KCl and NaCl solutions were included as they were. reported (Sloan and Labuza, Food Product Development, December, 1975, page 68).

Figure 1 of the drawing support

The numerical values were plotted in a rectangular coordinate system as a graph, each curve depicting one of the chloride salts and showing the water activity Aw and the water to salt ratio expressed in grams of water / 100 g of anhydrous solid salt. These numerical values are indicated in Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings.

Using this Figure 1, the known composition of the fibrous sausage casing and the method for calculating the water activity A explained by Ross, the amount of each different chloride salt required to protect the high moisture fiber casing at different moisture levels and Gly serol content was 33%. The calculations were based on the use of a single chloride salt in each case, and it was assumed that the water activity of 0.75 was low enough to preserve the coating during 10 months of storage at 35 ° C.

The following Table 3 summarizes the calculations in this example.

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The numerical values in Table 3 show that the amount of chloride salt required to protect a high moisture fibrous sausage casing that can be filled without any soaking or wetting prior to filling depends on the moisture content of the casing. In general, a moisture content of about 20-25% of the total weight of the casing has been found to be a practical range of moisture contents for large fibrous cellulosic casings so that these can be used without any other soaking or wetting prior to filling.

From the values listed in Table 3, it can be seen that the amount of chloride salt required to protect the coating from mold growth differs depending on which of the different chloride salts used in this example is used. It should be noted that less sodium chloride is required to achieve an antifungal effect than with other chloride salts. An amount as low as 2% by weight of the weight of the cellulose of the casing is sufficient to protect a casing with a moisture content of 20%. In contrast, it is seen that other salts are needed to a greater extent to protect the coating. It will be seen that at a moisture content in the range of about 20-25% and using the most preferred chloride salt, i.e. sodium chloride, this salt is required in an amount of 2.0-5.4% by weight of the coating cellulose to protect the coating.

Example IV

An experiment was performed to compare the usefulness of a tubular fibrous cellulosic coating containing 5% sodium chloride and 25% moisture according to the invention to an identical coating containing propylene glycol as an antifungal agent prepared according to FI patent publication 62757.

To prepare the salt-protected top sample, a size 4 fibrous cellulose sausage casing with a maximum filled diameter of 8.28 cm was treated with a solution of 19 72 8 5 6 containing 8.8% sodium chloride, 2% glycerol and 89.2% water to give the target values for the casing, ie 5% sodium chloride by weight of cellulose and 25% moisture by weight of the total weight of the casing.

The cover samples Δ and B of this example were crimped and compressed to obtain a cover of 53.34 m in length in a 61 cm length which was enclosed in a flexible sheath. A plastic sizing disc was inserted at one end of each shirred piece, and this end was sealed with a metal zinc. Both samples behaved in exactly the same way in different work steps, thus wrinkling, compressing, protecting with a flexible sheath, pushing the sizing disc into place and galvanizing.

The sodium chloride propylene glycol and moisture contents of both cover samples A and B are summarized in Table 4 below:

Table 4

Composition of coatings containing sodium chloride and propylene glycol as antifungals Coating Sodium Water Glycerol Propylene sample chloride (% of the coating (% cellulose glycol (% cellulose by weight)) (% of cellulose) of the loose A 4, 9. 25, 5 39, 3 0 B 0 24, 0 37, 9 7, 2 The coating samples according to this example were then filled with: bolognese sausage emulsion in an automatic filling machine. Both samples • behaved in exactly the same way during filling. The diameters of the sausage lengths filled into the salt-treated casings A were completely similar to the diameters of the propylene glycol-treated casings, measured both before and after treatment of the products in the smokehouse. The colors and appearance of the sausage samples in coatings A and B were also completely similar.

This example shows that a crumpled fibrous sausage casing with 5% by weight sodium chloride based on the cellulose of the casing and 25% by weight moisture based on the total weight of the casing is functionally completely similar to a casing containing propylene glycol as an antifungal when these casings are used. in a modern filling machine for large sausage products, where the wrapper is filled without any soaking before filling.

Example V

This example shows that a chloride salt placed on the inner surface of a fibrous cellulosic sausage casing migrates through the casing wall and is observed on the outer surface of the casing. Such migration of chloride salts is necessary in case it is desired to place the salt on one surface of the coating to prevent the growth of mold on both surfaces.

In carrying out this example, an 83.8 cm long fibrous sausage casing of size 2J with a moisture content of 6% of the total weight of the casing was treated on its inner surface with 75 ml of saturated sodium chloride solution using a bubble progression method. The cover was opened and a 75 ml saline bubble was allowed to contact all parts of the inner surface for a short time, after which the excess saline was removed.

At intervals from the salt bubble treatment, the outer surface of the cover was tested with the tongue and the taste sensation observed was recorded. At each interval, different points on the surface of the coating were tasted. The results are shown in Table 5 below.

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Table 5 2i 72856

Sodium chloride migration from the inner surface of the casing to the outer surface

The time (in seconds) after the inner surface of the wrapper has been contacted with a saturated saline bubble on the outer surface of the wrapper 5 Sweet only, not salty 20 Only sweet, not salty 30 More sweet than salty 45 More sweet than salty 55 More sweet than salty 80 More sweet than salty 100 More salty than sweet 120 More salty than sweet 150 Only salty, not sweet 180 Only strongly salty, not sweet This example illustrates the migration of internally added saturated sodium chloride solution to the outer surface of the casing. After the first 20 seconds of the addition of saline, only the sweet taste of glycerol could be detected on the outer surface of the coating. Between 30 and 80 seconds, a taste of salt and at the same time a strong sweet taste of glycerol were observed. Between 80 and 120 seconds, the salty taste was stronger than the sweet taste of glycerol. After 150 seconds, the salty taste was so intense that the sweet taste of glycerol could no longer be detected. After 180 seconds, the salty taste was even stronger. After 180 seconds, the casing was split so that both the inner and outer surfaces could be tasted. Both the inner and outer surfaces had the same strong taste of salt, completely masking the sweet taste of glycerol.

22 7285 6 The salt placed on the inner surface of the casing could thus be easily detected on the outer surface of the casing, so that this salt prevents the growth of mold on both surfaces of the casing.

Example VI

This example shows that the inclusion of chloride salts in a high moisture fibrous cellulosic sausage casing does not adversely affect the puncture resistance of the casing in any way.

In the manufacture of fibrous cellulose sausage casings, the casing is washed thoroughly before drying. One purpose of this washing step is to remove sulfate salts from the gel-like coating. Prior to the present invention, these salts have been considered by those skilled in the art as possible contributing factors in reducing the strength of the coating. This example shows that no detrimental decrease in strength is caused by the addition of chloride salts as antifungal agents to high moisture fibrous cellulosic sausage casings that can be filled without any prior soaking in water or any other addition of moisture.

For this example, the fibrous coatings of Examples II and IV were selected to measure the burst pressure. Air was blown into the casings, and the pressure that caused the casings to burst was recorded. The results are shown in Table 6 below.

n 23 7285 6

Table 6

Effect of chloride salts on the puncture pressure of high moisture non-soaking fibrous cellulosic sausage casings

Salt Salt Coating Type Quantity Puncture pressure (KPa) sample (% of cellulose) 1 mm Hg = 133.3 Pa IIA - 0 70.65 IIE NaCl 9.4 71.18 IIH NaCl 18.1 68.65 IIJ CaCl2 16.5 69.58 IVA NaCl 4.9 102.8 IVB - 0 99.31

The burst pressures of coatings IIE, IIH, IIJ and IVA containing chloride salts did not differ significantly from control coatings IIA and IVB, which did not contain any chloride salts. Virtually identical values of the burst pressure indicate that the chloride salts have no detrimental effect on the strength of the coating. No embrittlement of the coating was observed in the test samples due to the presence of chloride salts.

'Example VII

This example shows that the protection of non-soakable fibrous coatings with a high moisture content from mold damage is achieved by adding chloride-saline solution directly as an antifungal to the opening of the shirred coating. Effective protection is achieved despite: the detection of uneven: addition of saline used as an antifungal. Such addition of the antifungal to the wrinkled coating directly is in contrast to the conventional method of uniformly adding the solution to the wrapper prior to wrinkling, and thus provides an alternative method 211 72856 for practicing the invention.

Coatings for this example were made using size 8 crimped pieces of approximately 15.2 cm long tubular fibrous cellulosic coating with a maximum fill diameter of 12.1 cm, a moisture content of 12% of the total weight of the coating and a glycerol content of 29.5% of the coating. by weight of cellulose. To prepare coatings with varying moisture contents and chloride salt concentrations, test solutions were added to the openings of the shirred coatings. The addition was made as evenly as possible along the length of the shirred casing, and the casing was rotated about its longitudinal axis after the addition so that the solution could be absorbed into the casing as evenly as possible. Despite all these precautions, the tendency of the solution to accumulate in wrinkled folds or "pockets" was observed.

After four weeks of equilibration during the equilibration period in the plastic bag, the samples were inoculated with mold cultures, aliquoted, stored at 35 ° C, and inspected for visible mold growth as described in Example II above.

It is noted that the mold growth results obtained in this example, shown in Table 7 below, are comparable to and equivalent to those described in Example II, with the saline solution in this Example II applied evenly to the surface of the coating prior to wrinkling. Coating sample A, to which no salt antimycot was added, showed visible mold growth due to its high water activity of 0.89. Coating sample B, to which no salt was added, showed no mold growth due to its lower water activity of 0.84. Coat samples C ... G contained salt as an antifungal agent and no mold growth was observed due to their low water activities. The observed uneven addition of saline used as an antifungal directly to the opening of the shirred casing does not affect the interpretation of the antifungal results as a function of the water activity of the casing. Thus, the uneven addition of the chloride salt solution does not prevent the chloride salt from acting as an antifungal agent in the non-soakable coating.

Table 7

Protection of a non-soakable coating by adding sodium chloride-saline solution to the opening of the crumpled coating Variation of the coating Coating Moisture Glycerol Sodium Calculated Visible sample concentration concentration of chloride water (% size (% of pulp salt silico-active part by weight) weight (% increase in growth) of cellulose) after 13 months at 35 ° C A 34, 0 29, 5 0 0, 89 +.

B 24, 0 29, 5 0 0, 84 C 34, 0 29, 5 5, 9 0, 83 D 24, 0 29, 5 2, 4 0, 80 E 34, 0 29, 5 9, 8 0 .79 F 24, 0 29, 5 4, 5 0, 78 G 34, 0 29, 5 14, 4 0, 76 »

Example VIII

In this example, the coatings of Example II were re-examined, the mold growth of which was examined after three months of storage at 35 ° C and after subsequent time periods, i.e., six months, eight months and ten months. Table 8 below lists Example II; identical cover samples of Table 2, where. all other calculated values in Table 2 are the same in this Example VIII as in Example II, and the visible mold growth - ** results are listed for additional time periods, and the original results for the three-month period are repeated.

Table 8 26 7285 6

Periodic mold growth observations in high moisture fibrous cellulose sausage casings protected with chloride salts.

Calculated water activity (A ^ Coating- Not added Added Visible mold growth sample no salt 3 months 6 months 8 months salt.,.

after A 0 -91 0.91 + + + + B 0.90 0 '86 - - + + C 0, 89 0, 84 - D 0 90 0, 83 + + * E 090 081- 5> F 089 080- G 0.89 0.78 - H 091 0.77- I 0, 90 0, 73 - J 0, 90 0, 79 - * 3 at 5 ° C + = visible mold growth - = no visible mold growth

It can be seen from Table 8 that chloride salts prevent or slow down mold-induced spoilage in high moisture fibrous cellulosic sausage casings. The reduction in mold-induced spoilage usually occurs in chloride-salt coatings with water activity Aw values of 0.83 or higher. Saline coatings with Aw values of 0.81 or less were maintained throughout the 10-month storage period.

In the cover A of Table 8, i.e. visible mold growth after 3 months of storage, as no chloride protection

II

27 72856 laa no antifungal was added. The addition of the chloride salt used as an antifungal to coating B reduced the Aw to 0.86 and slowed the occurrence of visible mold growth until eight months of storage. The chloride salt added to the coating D as an antifungal agent further reduced the Aw to 0.83 and also slowed the occurrence of visible mold growth until 8 months of storage. Coating C, to which salt was added as an antifungal to adjust Aw to 0.84, showed no visible mold growth after 10 months of storage, although Coating D, which had a lower Aw value of 0.83, showed visible mold growth. This indicates that the A value = 0.84 is close enough to the minimum value w that allows mold growth so that no visible mold growth may occur. There was no visible mold growth in the coatings E ... I even after 10 months of storage, because enough chloride salt had been added as an antifungal to reduce the Aw to 0.81 and less.

Example IX

This example demonstrates that a water activity of the coating that does not exceed about 0.75 is preferably used in the event that long-term storage is required under commercial conditions and their varying temperatures.

| This example is re-examined in Examples II

- and the covers described in VIII.

Surprising mold growth visible to the naked eye was surprisingly observed after 12 months of storage in coatings containing salt as an antifungal agent and water activity as low as 0.73 (Sample I). These coatings were stored uninoculated in a storage room with temperatures ranging from about 18 to 27 ° C. No mold growth was observed in the inoculated samples from the same coating set stored at a constant temperature of 35 ° C until the water activity reached 0.83 (sample D). Temperature fluctuations apparently caused water vapor to migrate from the warmest areas of the casing to the colder areas, thus increasing the value of the water activity in some area of the casing sufficiently to allow mold growth. Mold growth results are shown in detail in Table 9.

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The most preferred way to practice the invention is to use a sodium chloride concentration of about 2 to 10% by weight of the coating cellulose, and at the same time a coating moisture content of about 20 to 25% of the total weight of the coating, and adjusting these parameters to achieve the final calculated coating activity. A = about 0.75 or less.

The above description and examples, as well as experimental results, show that chloride salts are effective antifungal agents in large fibrous cellulosic sausage casings, and that these salts can be successfully used in place of the large amounts of expensive plasticizer used heretofore. The use of chloride salts instead of known and currently used plasticizers, such as propylene glycol, as an anti-mycotic agent provides an economic advantage to both coating manufacturers and users and also eliminates the problem of regulated controls or bans on the use of polyol plasticizers in some countries, especially in Europe. The use of polyol plasticizers is strictly controlled by food laws in some countries, and the use of propylene glycol as a plasticizer in food packaging is not approved in some European countries. In some cases, the amount of glycerol allowed is so small that its protective effect cannot be relied upon in high moisture fibrous cellulosic coatings.

The present invention thus overcomes the problems listed above and provides the above advantages and new and advantageous features. The foregoing description of the invention is to be construed as merely illustrative, and does not limit the scope of the invention in any way.

Il

Claims (11)

1. Mold resistant tubular food casing of large format of cellulose, which casing is regulated pre-moistened to such a moisture content that it can be filled without adding more moisture before filling, characterized in that mold resistance is achieved by adapting the water's activity to the casing not more than 0.81 by adding in the housing chloride salt, the concentration of which corresponds to 2.0 ... 22.6% sodium chloride, 2.9 ... 22.0% magnesium chloride, 3.1 ... 33.2% ammonium chloride, 4.1 ... 35.9% calcium chloride and / or 2.6 ... 68.7% potassium chloride calculated ρδ weight of the cellulose in the housing. A casing according to claim 1, characterized in that the moisture content is not more than 40% of the entire weight of the casing. Enclosure according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the water activity in the enclosure is poured at a value of not more than 0.75. Housing according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that a fiber reinforcing web is embedded in its walls. 5. A process for making a mold-resistant tubular cellulosic food wrap in large format, which wrap can be filled with food without adding more moisture before filling, characterized in that in the casing, moisture is added so that you get about 20. .ca 40% moisture in the casing calculated on the total weight of the casing, and adding chloride salt in an amount corresponding to that of 2.0% ... 22.6% NaCl, 2.9%. . .22.0% MgCl2, 3.1%. .3.3.2% NH 4 Cl, 35 ° C 72856 4.1%. ..35.9% CaCl2f 2.6% ... 68.7% KCl, selected amount calculated as weight percent of cellulose in the casing s, that the water activity in the casing, depending on the moisture content of the casing, is poured at a value not exceeding 0.81. Method according to claim 5, characterized in that the water activity in the housing is poured at a value of not more than 0.75. 7. A method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that a fiber reinforcing web is embedded in the walls of the housing. Process according to claim 5, characterized in that moisture is added to the housing to achieve a total moisture content of about 20 ... about 25% of the total weight of the housing, and sodium chloride is added about 2 ... about 10% by weight of cellulose in the housing. 9. A process for preparing a food product enclosed in a large format tubular cellulosic casing, characterized in that a casing containing about 20 ... about 50% moisture of the total weight of the casing is used, and which contains a chloride salt selected from sodium chloride, magnesium chloride, ammonium chloride, calcium chloride, and / or potassium chloride in such a concentration in weight percent calculated on the cellulose in the casing that the water activity in the casing is poured at a value of not more than 0.81, the casing with a food product without adding more moisture to the casing by soaking the casing before filling. Method according to claim 9, characterized in that the water activity in the housing is poured at a value of not more than 0.75.