GB2340471A

GB2340471A - Packaging a two-component food product

Info

Publication number: GB2340471A
Application number: GB9817811A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Derek Northeast; Andrew Timothy James Kerr
Original assignee: St Ivel Ltd
Current assignee: St Ivel Ltd
Priority date: 1998-08-14
Filing date: 1998-08-14
Publication date: 2000-02-23
Also published as: GB9817811D0

Abstract

A first perishable component of a two-component food product receives a preservation treatment after being placed in a first container, the first component comprising a fruit and/or a vegetable. The second component is placed in a second container and the two containers are packaged together with the two components out of contact with one another. The preservation treatment comprises heating, high pressure treatment, microwave treatment, irradiation, and/or use of a controlled or modified atmosphere. The second component may be a dairy product such as yoghurt. The two containers may be separate compartments in a single tray or containers that are separate prior to packaging, eg by inserting the first container into a hole or recess defined by a compartmentalised tray constituting the second container. Each container may be releasably sealed, the seal of the second container optionally being placed over that of the first so that they are removed together. Placing of the first component in its container and its preservation treatment may occur off-line from placing of the second component in its container.

Description

1 2340471 A METHOD FOR PRODUCING A FOOD PRODUCT This invention concerns a

method for producing a food product comprising first, second and optionally further components. Using this method, perishable components can be sealed in containers separately from one another, before being packaged together. The method allows fi-uit and/or vegetable components to be packaged in a well-defined, but properly preserved state, to give a superior food product with excellent appearance and texture. Additionally, the method gives rise to an increase in flexibility, a reduction in cost and can lengthen the shelf- life of food products.

In recent years, consumer demand for food products packaged in an attractive, yet practical fashion has increased. This is particularly so with regard to ready-to-cook, or ready-to-eat food products, such as so called microwave meals and dairy-based desserts. An increasing number of such products contain more than a single food component. Microwave meals often, for instance, contain a meat or vegetable based component and a separate starchy staple, such as potato, pasta or rice. Dairy-based desserts often contain a dairy component such as a yoghurt or mousse and a separate garnish component such as a fi-uit sauce, a cereal product or a chocolatebased product. With such multi-component food products, problems of storage and packaging are more marked than with single component products. For example, the seepage of a fruit garnish into a yoghurt component may introduce micro-organisms from the ftuit component into the yoghurt component, a medium on which the micro-organisms may rapidly multiply. This can ruin the product, or dramatically reduce its shelf life. The preservation and careful packaging of individual components are thus often of paramount importance.

A wide variety Of ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook multi-component food products and containers for packaging these food products are known. GB-A2 297 536, EP-A-0 448 410, GB-A-2 295 371, FR-A-2 682 864 and GB-A-2 242 410 all disclose food products comprising two containers, each being filled with a separate food component. The food components may be subjected to conservation treatments and the packaging is generally formed from plastics material adapted to withstand cooking temperatures in a microwave oven.

2 GB-A-2 221442 discloses a multi-part container for use in a microwave oven. First and second containers are attached to each other, after adding a first food component to the first container and applying a conservation treatment to the first food component.

EP-B-0 088 255 concerns a package and a packaging method for a food product comprising two components in two separate compartments. In one embodiment the first component is introduced into its compartment, then the compartment is sealed and if desired the packaged component is subjected to a conservation treatment. In a single on-line process, after filling the first container, it is brought together with the second container, before filling the second container with the second component.

EP-A-0 755 876 discloses a two-component package for a food product, and a method for packaging. The method for packaging comprises preparing two food components, one of which comprises raw or cooked vegetables, under conditions suitable for their conservation, introducing the food components into two separate containers and packaging the two containers together.

EP-A-0 677 454 discloses a multi-compartment tray for foods and a method for forming a food package. The package comprises a plastics cup containing a first food component, which cup may be filled and scaled at a location and time remote from the location and time of its insertion into a compartment of the tray.

The above methods and food products have not been able to alleviate many of the problems encountered by manufacturers of food components and food products. One such problem is that some fruit and vegetables, especially soft fluit and vegetables are easily damaged after undergoing preservation trehtments, such as heating. When such products are processed for packaging, e.g. by pumping the products from a storage container into individual packaging containers, the soft fi-uit or vegetables in these products are crushed so that they are no longer well defined, and may be unrecognisable to the consumer. Moreover, once such food products have been heated, large quantities of stabilizers and/or thickeners must be added to ensure that the fruit or vegetables remain in suspension, thus facilitating the pumping operation for 3 packaging the products. However, increasingly the consumer is demanding products comprising low or at least reduced quantities of such additives.

A further problem is that it is difficult to store perishable components and yet still ensure that they are in a suitable form for packaging. Accordingly, as soon as possible after their manufacture, generally such components are packaged for distribution together with the finther components of the food product. Additionally, in (for example) food products containing a main food component and a variety of different gamishes, if large quantities of perishable garnish cannot be stored for a suitable length of time, then equipment in an on-line process for packaging the garnish must be cleaned out and sterilized so that a new type of garnish can be packaged as soon as possible after it has been delivered to the packager. This is expensive, since the percentage of garnish that is wasted is high, the cost of repeatedly cleaning packaging equipment is high and there is significant down-time during which the online process cannot be operated, which reduces productivity.

It is an object of the present invention to solve the above problems. Accordingly, the present invention provides a method for producing a food product, which product comprises a first perishable component packaged together with a second component such that the first and second components are not in contact with each other, which method comprises introducing the first component into a first container and then subjecting the first component to a preservation treatinent, introducing the second component into a second container, and packaging the first and second containers together, wherein the first component comprises a fruit and/or a vegetable.

The present invention also provides a food product obtainable according to the method defined above.

Since the first component comprising the fruit and/or vegetable is subjected to a preservation treatment after being introduced into the first container, then the fruit and vegetables have not it the time of packaging been exposed to a treatment which will cause them to be damaged during the packaging operation. Accordingly the fi-uit and vegetables contained in the first 4 container are well-defined and remain well-defined even after being subjected to the preservation treatment so that their appearance to the consumer is greatly improved. By well-defined it is meant that whole or part pieces of the fi-uit or vegetable are readily recognised as being that fruit or vegetable by the consumer. For instance, the characteristic pitted surface of strawberries remains visible to the consumer in the finished food product, allowing the f1ruit to be recognised. Using previously known methods this has not been possible.

An advantage of this invention is that it can eliminate the necessity for having to pump the first component comprising the fiuit and/or vegetable during packaging. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the first component comprises whole fruits or vegetables, or diced portions of fruit or vegetables which are deposited in the first container, and a sauce or syrup which is deposited on top of the fruit or vegetables. This sauce or syrup need only contain sufficient amounts of stabilizers and/or thickeners to provide the required texture, rather than the large amounts of stabilizers and/or thickeners required to keep fruit or vegetables in suspension in order to allow them to be pumped. Thus, the products of the present invention are more attractive to the consumer than the prior art products, because in comparison to known products they contain a low or reduced quantity of additives, as well as having superior appearence and texture.

In a preferred embodiment of this invention, packaging and preservation of the first perishable component take place off-line from the packaging together of all of the components of the food product. This preferred method is superior to known methods, since large quantities of perishable food components (such as a f1ruit garnish) can be stored giving manufacturers greater flexibility in manufacturing multi-component food products. This preferred method gives rise to a number of advantages. As alluded to above, there are large savings for manufacturers in reduced waste, reduced cleaning costs and increased productivity. Furthermore, if quantities of a variety of fruit garnishes for a yoghurt product (for example) can be stored, then it is not necessary to store the yoghurt component whilst each separate garnish is brought into an on-line process. The garnish components can all be introduced into identical containers, and if desired preserved and sealed prior to delivery to the packager, and the identical containers can all be packaged together with the yoghurt component in the same on-line process, without the necessity of halting the on-line process every time each new garnish component is introduced.

Since, in this preferred embodiment, the components are packaged separately, almost any combinations can be brought together for packaging, such that a wide variety of products can be packaged using the same online process. Such products may include: yoghurts with fiuit-based garnishes; puddings with fi-uit-based sauces; and meals comprising a starchy staple such as potato, pasta or rice and a fi-uit and/or vegetable-based sauce, if desired the meals also comprising meat. In a preferred embodiment, after packaging together, the containers can be detached from each other, if desired, such that one or more of the components may be cooked separately from the remaining components, e.g. in a microwave.

In one preferred embodiment of the invention, separate compartments in a single compartmentalised tray form the first and second containers. The first component is preserved after being introduced into a first compartment in the tray (the first container), and the second component is introduced into a fiulher compartment of the tray (the second container).

In a preferred embodiment, the first and second containers are not initially attached, but rather are separate. In this preferred embodiment the second container may, for example, comprise a recess or hole, which is adapted to receive the first container. In this way the first container, although initially separate from the second container, can be attached to the second container when the first and second containers are packaged together. It is preferred that the first container is releasably attached to the second container. However, the first container does not need to be releasably attached to the second container and both together may form part of a single tray, as described above, or the first container may be attached to the second container non-releasably. When the containers are formed from a plastics material, as discussed below, such a nonreleasable attachment can be achieved by ultrasonically welding the two plastics containers together, or by using an adhesive to join the two plastics containers together.

It is preferred that the containers, and where appropriate the tray, are formed from a food-grade 6 plastics material. The material can be, for example, a sheet comprising one, two, three or more layers. Typical plastics materials include polyethene, polypropylene and polystyrene. If the food product is to have a long shelf life, then a barrier material such as EVOH may be required, in a combination material such as polystyrene/EVOHJpolyethylene, or polypropylene/EVOIVpolypropylene. If the preservation treatment to be applied is a heat treatment, then the plastics material must be a heat- resistant material such as polypropylene.

The containers, when formed from a plastics material, are preferably produced by a thermoforming, an injection moulding, or an extrusion blowing operation.

Alternatively, the containers can be formed from a metal-based laminate, or a paper-based laminate.

It is preferred that the first and/or second components are releasably sealed in their respective containers. In this latter preferred embodiment, it is advantageous if the seal of the second container is placed over the seal of the first container in such a manner that removal of the seal of the second container also removes the seal of the first container. In this way, the final product is easier for the consumer to use.

In the present invention, the first component can be subjected to any preservation treatment appropriate for the particular food that the component contains, provided that the first container (in which the first component is situated at the time of preservation) can withstand the treatment. The treatment is preferably capable of being effective through the wall of the container, so that if desired preservation can take place after sealing the first component in the first container. Preferred preservation treatments for the first, and if desired also for the second component, include heating, high pressure treatment, microwave treatment, irradiation, use of a controlled or modified atmosphere, or a combination thereof. The skilled person will be aware of the conditions required for employing each preservation treatment that can be used in this invention. For example, the skilled person will be aware of the requirement to use a heat resistant plastics material for the container when employing a heat preservation treatment or the need to minimise 7 the headspace when employing a high pressure preservation treatment.

In the method of the present invention, the order of addition of the components into their respective containers is not particularly limited. However, in the more preferred embodiment the first component is introduced into the first container, prior to introducing the second component into the second container.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first component comprises soft fruit and/or soft vegetables. By sot it is meant that after being subjected to a preservation treatment (such as heating), the appearance of a fi-uit or vegetable would be affected by a packaging operation (such as pumping) to the extent that whole or part pieces of the fi-uit or vegetable would not be readily recognisable as being that fi-uit or vegetable by their appearance alone. Preferably, the first component comprises raspberry, strawberry, blackberry, loganberry, blueberry, orange, grapefruit, banana, rhubarb, or a mixture thereof However, the first component may also comprise a vegetable or a mixture of vegetables.

Preferably, the first component comprises a medium containing a low or reduced quantity of a stabilizer and/or a thickener. When the first component comprises a tuit, then the medium is preferably a syrup.

It is preferred that the second component is a perishable component, such as a dairy product. Preferred dairy products include yoghurt, fromage fiais, soft cheese, cottage cheese, cream, a dairy dessert or a dairy-based dip.

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Claims

Claims:

1. A method for producing a food product, which product comprises a first perishable component packaged together with a second component such that the first and second components are not in contact with each other, which method comprises introducing the first component into a first container and then subjecting the first component to a preservation treatment, introducing the second component into a second container, and packaging the first and second containers together, wherein the first component comprises a fruit and/or a vegetable.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first and second containers are separate compartments of a single compartmentalised tray.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein prior to packaging the containers together the first and second containers are not attached to each other.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the step of packaging the first and second containers together comprises inserting the first container into a recess or hole defined by a compartmentalised tray comprising the second container.

5. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the first component is releasably sealed in the first container prior to carrying out the preservation treatment.

6. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the second component is releasably sealed in the second container.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the seal of the second container is placed over the seal of the first container, in such a manner that removal of the seal of the second container also removes the seal of the first container.

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8. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the preservation treatment comprises heating, high pressure treatment, microwave treatment irradiation, use of a controlled or modified atmosphere, or a combination thereof.

9. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the first component comprises welldefined pieces of a fruit and/or well-defined pieces of a vegetable.

10. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the first component comprises raspberry, strawberry, blackberry, loganberry, blueberry, orange, grapefruit, banana, rhubarb, or a mixture thereof.

11. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the first component has a low or reduced stabilizer and/or thickener content.

12. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the second component is perishable.

13. A method according to any preceding clain-4 wherein the second component comprises a dairy product.

14. A method according to claim 13, wherein the second component comprises yoghurt, fromage frais, soft cheese, cottage cheese, cream, a dairy dessert or a dairy-based dip.

15. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the introduction of the first component into the fir-st container and the preservation treatment are carried out off-line from the introduction of the second component into the second container.

16. A food product obtainable according to a method as defined in any preceding claim.