JP3464577B2 - Lipid-coated chewing gum, method for producing the same, and apparatus used therefor - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lipid-coated chewing gum having a glossy coating layer uniformly formed on the surface of the chewing gum, a method for producing the same, and an apparatus used for the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, chewing gum is formed into a plate shape, a block shape, a small granular shape or the like by heating and kneading raw materials such as a gum base, sugars, flavors and pigments, and then rolling and cutting. , Packaged and commercialized. A sugar coating layer has been conventionally provided on the surface of the chewing gum for the purpose of further imparting a texture change and a flavor expressing property to the chewing gum. As a method thereof, a method of sprinkling powdered sugar on the surface of a chewing gum formed into small particles or the like, or sprinkling powder and sugar solution while flowing the chewing gum in a coating device, and repeating drying alternately to a desired value There is a method of forming a thick coating layer. In addition to the purpose of improving the flavor and texture as described above, the sugar coating layer is formed to prevent the chewing gums from binding to each other, preventing them from adhering to the packaging material, smoothing the chewing gum surface, and providing a glossy finish. It is also effective in imparting shape retention properties. However, the sugar coating layer has a hard texture due to sugar crystals. Therefore, when it is applied to a food such as chewing gum characterized by soft viscoelasticity, the texture difference between the two is too large and the balance is lost. Further, since sweetness derived from crystalline sugar is inevitably added, it is difficult to reduce the sweetness of chewing gum. In addition, the state of sugar crystal deposition in the sugar coating layer slightly changes depending on the manufacturing conditions, storage environment, etc., making it difficult to form a uniform coating layer. After that, it is necessary to polish the surface of the sugar coating layer using carnauba wax, which complicates the process.

[0003]

Therefore, the present inventors have found that
As a result of a search for a coating material that can form a soft and glossy coating layer uniformly on the surface of chewing gum and can be stored for a long time, it was found that a specific lipid is suitable. As a coating method, it was found that a thin and uniform and soft coating layer can be formed by applying lipid to chewing gum in a specific particle size. Furthermore,
Chewing gum coated with the lipid obtained by the above method, after contact with a heating medium, subsequently, by contacting a cooling medium set to a temperature lower than the heating medium, the coating layer can be further homogenized The inventors have found that the gloss can be remarkably increased and have reached the present invention. The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a chewing gum in which a uniform coating layer having soft and gloss is formed, a method for producing the chewing gum, and an apparatus used therefor. .

[0004]

Means for Solving the Problems The above-mentioned object is to make the surface of chewing gum (A) an edible oil / fat having a melting point of 40 to 70 ° C.,
And (B) a lipid-coated chewing gum coated with at least one of the wax and a particle size of 100 to 5000 μ when coating the surface of the chewing gum with the lipid.
m of the lipid is applied to the surface of the chewing gum, and the method for producing the above-described chewing gum for lipid coating, and the method of coating the surface of the chewing gum with the lipid, the particle size is 10
The lipid-coated chewing gum is characterized in that after applying a lipid of 0 to 5000 μm to the surface of the chewing gum, the chewing gum is contacted with a heating medium, and subsequently, contacted with a cooling medium having a lower temperature than the heating medium. A manufacturing method, and an apparatus for producing a chewing gum coated with a lipid, comprising a coating means for coating the surface of the chewing gum with a lipid, and a transportation means for transporting the chewing gum after coating the lipid, The transfer means has a heating zone and a cooling zone filled with a fluid, and the chewing gum coated with the lipid is sequentially transferred from the inside of the heating zone to the inside of the cooling zone without contacting the wall surface of the apparatus. This is achieved by the above-mentioned lipid-coated chewing gum manufacturing apparatus which is so cold.

Next, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the lipid-coated chewing gum of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is chewing gum,
2 is a lipid layer and 3 is a lipid-coated chewing gum.

First, the composition of the chewing gum 1 is not particularly limited, and for example, one using a bubble gum type gum base or one using a plate gum type gum base may be appropriately selected and used. The content of rubber in the gum base of chewing gum 1 (for example, natural rubber, polyisobutylene, isoprene-isobutylene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, etc.) is preferably 18% by weight based on the weight of the gum base.
If it is less than (hereinafter referred to as%), more preferably 12 to 17%, the elasticity of the chewing gum 1 and the softness of the lipid layer 2 are well balanced, which is preferable. In addition, the chewing gum 1 may contain nutritional components and functional components as optional raw materials, and these may be kneaded into the chewing gum in liquid or powder form, or may be dispersed in granular form. Good. For example, microcapsules containing various flavors, nutrients, functional ingredients and the like may be dispersed in chewing gum. Further, the shape of the chewing gum is not particularly limited, for example, spherical, chip-shaped, plate-shaped,
A round shape, a square shape or the like may be appropriately selected and used. Further, as a manufacturing method, a commonly used method may be used.

[0007] On the other hand as a raw material of the lipid layer 2, food for fats and oils,
Wax vinegar and the like. First, edible oils and fats are not particularly limited, for example, hardened palm oil, hardened coconut oil,
Examples include hardened rapeseed oil and the like, which may be used alone or in combination of two or more kinds. Among them, hydrogenated palm oil,
Hardened rapeseed oil is suitable as it does not affect the flavor of the chewing gum. Further, among the above fats and oils, the melting point is 4
It is preferable to use one having a temperature of 0 to 70 ° C., more preferably 50 to 65 ° C. When the melting point is lower than 40 ° C., for example during storage and distribution in a high-temperature environment, greatly impaired or the commercial value oil ends up melting, also fat is melted by body temperature during eating, have easy dirty hands. Conversely, when the melting point exceeds 70 ° C., for lipid (oil) layer does not melt in the mouth of the temperature at the time of eating, the remaining lipid layer is in the mouth, such that poor texture. In addition, if necessary, pigments, fragrances, micronutrients,
A functional component or the like may be contained. In that case, the melting point may be measured after mixing the various components, and this value may be used as the melting point of the fat or oil. Oils and fats are preferably used when coating chewing gum as described below. That is, the composition of the chewing gum is rubbery (preferably a molecular weight of 70,000 to
90,000) containing a gum base containing 10 to 17% (preferably 70 to 95%),
Chewing gum becomes slightly poor in elasticity (the force to return to its original state when deformed by chewing), and tends to be broken into small pieces by chewing. When fats and oils are used as a coating material for such a chewing gum, the physical properties of the chewing gum and the physical properties of the fat and oil layer are well balanced, so that the lipid (fats and oils) layer is cracked according to how the chewing gum is crushed by chewing,
It is preferable because the chewing gum piece and the lipid layer can always be chewed together. At this time, if the rubber content in the gum base is 18% or more, and the amount of the gum base is less than 70% of the total weight of the chewing gum, the hardness of the chewing gum becomes too fragile due to chewing and the oil layer becomes When the chewing gum is chewed, the oil and fat layer tends to peel off from the surface of the gum when the chewing gum is chewed.

Next, examples of the wax include microcrystalline wax, carnauba wax, candilla wax, and paraffin wax. In particular, microcrystalline wax is suitable because it has a peculiar odor and does not affect the flavor of chewing gum. The wax is preferably used when coating a chewing gum as shown below. That is, the composition of the chewing gum is rubbery (preferably a molecular weight of 95,000).
(110,000) is contained in a gum base containing 20 to 30% (preferably 70 to 95%), the chewing gum has elasticity (a force to return to the original state due to deformation by chewing). Become stronger. When wax is used as a coating material for such a chewing gum, the lipid (wax) layer is flexibly deformed in accordance with various deformations of the chewing gum due to chewing, so that only the wax layer does not peel off during chewing, and the chewing gum and the wax do not fall off. It is preferable because the layer and the layer can always be chewed together.

The above fats and oils and waxes may be used in combination, and in that case, the texture of the lipid layer is soft and supple, which is preferable. Further, by suitably changing the ratio of fats and oils and wax, the chewing gum can be coated regardless of its physical properties, and the lipid layer does not easily peel off from the chewing gum during eating, which is preferable because it can always be chewed as a unit. In addition, a suitable ratio when the oil and fat and the wax are used together is 0.05 to 0.
It is preferably set to 3.

Further, double coupling lipids (phospholipids (lecithin, sphingomyelin phospholipids, etc.), glycolipids,硫脂quality), and the like, may be used in combination with oil or wax as needed.

In addition, for example, ester gum, flavors, emulsifiers, pigments and the like may be added to the lipid layer as optional components. Further, for example, microcapsules containing various flavors, nutrients, and functional ingredients may be dispersed in the lipid layer. In particular, when ester gum is added to the lipid layer, it is possible to provide the lipid-coated chewing gum in which the elasticity of the chewing gum is emphasized by imparting appropriate strength to the softness of the lipid layer. The amount of addition is 0.05 to 0.1 per weight of lipid 1.
5 is preferable. When it is less than 0.05, it tends to be difficult to impart appropriate strength to the lipid layer, and when it is more than 0.15, it tends to adhere to teeth during eating, or it tends to be too hard and brittle. .

In the lipid-coated chewing gum of the present invention, the lipid layer is preferably 0.05 to 0.2, more preferably 0.08 to 0.15 in weight ratio to 1 lipid-coated chewing gum. It may be covered. If the weight ratio of the lipid layer is less than 0.05, it is difficult to uniformly coat the entire surface of the chewing gum, and conversely, if it exceeds 0.2,
During chewing, only the lipid layer tends to come off the chewing gum, and the chewing gum tends to be softened by the lipid. For the lipid-coated chewing gum of the present invention, sugarless or chewing gum having a low content of various sugar sweeteners is preferably used. In addition, it is preferable to use a chewing gum having a gum base amount of 50% or more, more preferably 70% or more based on the total weight of the chewing gum , because the lipid does not impair the texture of the chewing gum. Further, in particular, in the case of chewing gum having a smaller grain size (weight per unit is 1 g or less) than the usual chewing gum (weight per unit is 3 to 5 g), not only the texture is good, but also the shape retention and the binding are excellent. It is also preferably used from the viewpoint of prevention. That is, in terms of texture,
Small chewing gums tend to be finely crushed at the beginning of chewing, but the lipid coating allows even small particles to be chewed as a chewing gum mass during chewing. In terms of shape retention, small chewing gum is liable to be deformed by external impact during packaging and distribution, and a slight deformation may impair the commercial value, but lipid coating improves shape retention. be able to. Further, in terms of prevention of binding, chewing gum having a particularly large amount of gum base tends to bind to each other, but the lipid coating can suppress binding. Furthermore, by selecting a lipid according to the composition of the gum base, it is possible to impart the integrity of the chewing gum and the lipid at the time of chewing.

Next, when the chewing gum of the present invention is produced using the above chewing gum and lipid, for example, the following method is preferably used. That is, first, chewing gum raw materials such as gum base, saccharides, flavors and pigments are heated and kneaded, and then cooled and molded into a predetermined shape such as rolling and cutting to obtain a chewing gum.

Next, a lipid to be applied to the above chewing gum is prepared, heated and melted. The heating temperature may be appropriately set according to the lipid to be used, but when coating the chewing gum, a particularly suitable temperature is preferably 40 to 70 ° C. If the heat retention temperature is lower than the above temperature, the lipid will be applied to the chewing gum without being sufficiently melted, and the coating tends to become non-uniform as shown in FIG. 4 (B), for example. As a result, the lipid layer is cracked by a slight impact to deteriorate the appearance, and the chewing gum inside is exposed and tends to adhere to the packaging material. On the other hand, if the heat retention temperature is higher than the above temperature, excessive heat is applied to the chewing gum during coating, so that FIG.
As shown in, the chewing gum after the lipid coating tends to be softened and easily deformed.

Next, the molten lipid is applied to chewing gum. The application method is not particularly limited, but among them, a method of forming a droplet shape and attaching it to the chewing gum is particularly preferably used. At this time, it is desirable to apply lipids preferably with a particle size of 100 to 5000 μm. More preferably, it is 200 to 2000 μm. If the particle size of the lipid is less than 100 μm, the droplets are too small, and when they adhere to the chewing gum, they tend to instantly solidify and become powdery. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4 (C), unevenness due to the lipid powder was generated on the surface of the lipid layer,
In addition to the poor appearance, the lipid layer tends to peel off or crack easily due to slight impacts. vice versa,
If the particle size of the lipid is larger than 5000 μm, the droplets are too large and it takes time to solidify, while the liquid lipid acts as a binder and the lipid coating is performed as shown in FIG. 4 (D). The later chewing gums tend to bond together.

The lipid-coated chewing gum obtained by the above method may be used as a product as it is, but by further performing the following steps, the thickness of the lipid layer can be made more uniform, and
The gloss of the lipid layer surface can be remarkably increased. That is, the chewing gum is first heated to remelt only the surface of the lipid layer, and subsequently cooled to solidify the once melted lipid layer surface. The lipid applied in the form of droplets is partially solidified on the surface of the chewing gum. By the heating treatment, the lipids solidified in the form of particles are melted and bound to each other, and changed into a uniform film on the surface of the chewing gum. Then, by the cooling treatment, it is solidified in a film form to make the lipid layer more uniform and to exhibit gloss.

As a concrete method, first, the lipid-coated chewing gum is brought into contact with a heating medium. As a heating medium,
An aqueous medium or an inert gas or the like is preferable in that it can uniformly control the temperature of the lipid layer surface, does not react with lipid, and does not cause changes in physical properties, and specific examples thereof include hot water and hot air. To be The temperature of the heating medium is preferably set to ± 5 ° C, which is the melting point of the lipid. When the temperature of the heating medium exceeds + 5 ° C higher than the melting point of the lipid to increase the production speed, in order to increase the production speed, when the lipid-coated chewing gum is transferred in units of several to several tens at a time, for example, (D in Fig. 4). As shown in (), the lipid-coated chewing gums tend to bind to each other in a heating medium. On the other hand, when the temperature is lower than the melting point of the lipid by more than -5 ° C, the surface of the lipid layer is insufficiently melted, which makes it difficult to improve the homogenization of the lipid layer and tends to increase the gloss. The contact time between the heating medium and the lipid-coated chewing gum is not particularly limited and may be appropriately adjusted so as to melt only the surface of the lipid layer. When a plurality of lipids having different melting points are used, the melting point of the lipid after mixing may be measured and the temperature of the heating medium may be set based on the melting point.

Next, following the heating treatment, the lipid-coated chewing gum is brought into contact with a cooling medium. The cooling medium is not particularly limited as long as it is a fluid,
An aqueous medium or an inert gas is suitable in that the entire surface of the lipid layer of the lipid-coated chewing gum can be uniformly cooled, does not react with the lipid, and does not cause changes in physical properties, and examples thereof include water and air. The temperature of the cooling medium is preferably set lower than that of the heating medium in order to quickly solidify the lipid layer once melted, and more preferably lower than the melting point of the lipid used. When the temperature is higher than that of the heating medium, the once-melted lipid tends to be hard to solidify rapidly. The lower limit of the cooling temperature is not particularly limited, but it is preferable that the lower limit of the cooling temperature is in a temperature range in which the lipid layer is not destroyed by supercooling. In addition,
The contact time between the cooling medium and the lipid-coated chewing gum is not particularly limited and may be appropriately set so that the molten lipid layer can be rapidly solidified. As described above, it is desirable that the cooling process be performed subsequently to the heating process. If the lipid-coated chewing gum is taken out of the transfer means after the heating process without performing the cooling process continuously, the surface of the lipid layer melted by the heating process is deformed before the cooling process and cooled in that state. To solidify,
The lipid layer tends to be uneven, and gloss tends to be less likely to appear.

Next, the lipid-coated chewing gum prepared as described above is taken out from the cooling medium, and if necessary, the cooling medium is removed by drying or the like, and the steps such as packaging are performed to make it soft and uniform, Moreover, a shiny lipid-coated chewing gum is obtained.

Next, an example of an apparatus preferably used for producing the lipid-coated chewing gum of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The lipid-coated chewing gum manufacturing apparatus of the present invention comprises a coating means and a transfer means.

First, a preferred example of the covering means will be described with reference to FIG. From the right side of FIG. 2, 7 is a heat-retaining tank for heating and melting lipids for storage, 4 is lipids melted by being put therein, 9 is a liquid supply pipe for supplying lipids to the nozzle 10, and 10 is a jet of lipids. Nozzles, 11 is a rotary tank, 1 is a chewing gum charged in the rotary tank, and 14 is an air chamber.

First, the heat-retaining tank 7 stores the lipid 4 in a molten state. Its structure is preferably a double structure such as a jacket tank.
A heater 6 selected by means such as steam may be provided so that the internal lipid 4 can be kept at a predetermined temperature.
The heat-retaining tank 7 is equipped with a liquid-feeding pipe 9 for sending the lipid 4 to the rotary tank 11. Further, the liquid delivery pipe 9 may be provided with a pump 8 for assisting the liquid delivery.
A nozzle 10 for ejecting the fed lipid 4 into droplets 4a is provided at the tip of the liquid feeding pipe 9. The liquid supply pipe 9 and the nozzle 10 are preferably temperature-controlled or have a heat insulating structure.

The nozzle 10 is inserted into a rotary tank 11 shown below. The rotary tank 11 is attached to the shaft 18 and rotates, for example, in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2 to flow the chewing gum 1 charged therein. The rotary tank 11 may be rotated in the horizontal direction or may be rotated in the vertical direction. Alternatively, instead of rotating the rotating tank 11, the chewing gum 1 may be fluidized by applying vibration using a vibrator or the like. Also, rotation and vibration may be combined. Furthermore, this rotating tank 1
It is preferable to provide the temperature sensor 16 in 1 because the internal temperature control becomes easy.

Further, an air chamber 14 may be provided alongside the rotary tank 11 so that the air 5 is sent into and discharged from the rotary tank 11. The air chamber 14 is provided with a plurality of openings, for example, as shown in FIG.
When the two are provided as described above, the introduction pipe 19 for introducing air from the outside is connected to one of the two, and the introduction pipe 19 is provided with the air conditioner 13. And the introduction pipe 1
The air sucked from the suction port 12 of the air conditioner 9 is adjusted to a predetermined temperature in the air conditioner 13 and then supplied into the air chamber 14. After that, the air 5 is supplied to the rotary tank 11
It is sent into the rotary tank 11 through any of the ventilation ports 15 provided on the wall surface of the. The other opening is the exhaust port 17, and the air exhausted into the air chamber 14 from any of the ventilation ports 15 of the rotating rotary tank is exhausted to the outside.

The coating means is constructed as described above, and its operation will be described below. By the heat insulation tank 7,
The lipid 4 adjusted to a predetermined temperature is supplied to the nozzle 10 through the liquid supply pipe 9 by the pressure of the pump 8. And
The lipid 4 is jetted from the tip of the nozzle 10 onto the surface of the chewing gum 1 flowing in the rotary tank 11 as a droplet 4a. The injection amount of the droplet 4a may be appropriately adjusted according to the liquid feeding pressure of the pump 8, the rotation speed of the rotary tank 11, the residence time of the chewing gum 1 in the rotary tank 11, and the like. Further, the overall shape and cross-sectional area of the nozzle 10 may be appropriately set so that the particle diameter of the droplet 4a falls within a predetermined range. The droplet 4a
And air may be mixed and ejected. In that case, an air ejecting nozzle (not shown) is provided on the side of the droplet ejecting nozzle 10 so that the droplet ejected from the droplet ejecting nozzle 10 is ejected. Alternatively, air may be jetted from an air jet nozzle to mix them.

Next, the droplets 4a adhering to the surface of the chewing gum 1 are cooled and solidified by the air 5 sent from the air chamber 14 into the rotary tank 11 to form a lipid layer.

The chewing gum 1 in the rotary tank 11
May generate heat when it collides with the wall of the rotating tank or other chewing gum due to flow, so the temperature in the rotating tank 11 is detected by the temperature sensor 16 or the like, and the temperature is kept at 35 ° C or lower, preferably 20 to 30 ° C. It is desirable to control it.

Next, a preferred example of the transfer means will be described with reference to FIG. According to this means, it is possible to further homogenize the lipid layer 2 while transporting the lipid-coated chewing gum 3 on which the lipid layer 2 is formed as described above, and to significantly increase the gloss. FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing an example of the transfer means. In FIG. 3, 23 is a heating medium, 25 is a cooling medium, 22 is a heater, and 32 is a take-out conveyor. The transfer means is filled with a medium for heating or cooling the lipid-coated chewing gum 3 passing through it, forming a series of zones. The medium is not particularly limited as long as it is a fluid, but among them, water or air is preferable in terms of uniformity of heating / cooling effect.

A heating zone 24 and a cooling zone 26 are formed in the series of zones formed by the above medium. First,
The heating zone 24 is formed at the transfer start portion of the transfer device. For example, the heating zone 24 is provided with a heater 22 on the wall surface of the transfer start portion of the transfer means, and the medium is heated by heating the wall surface with the heater. Good. At this time,
The temperature of the heating zone is preferably ± 5 ° C relative to the melting point of the lipid
It is desirable to set within. When the temperature of the warming zone is higher than the melting point of the lipid by more than + 5 ° C., for example, when transferring the lipid-coated chewing gum 3 in units of several to several tens at a time in order to increase the production speed, the temperature of FIG. (D)
As shown in Figure 3, lipid-coated chewing gum 3 in a heating medium
They tend to bond together. When the temperature of the heating zone is lower than the melting point of the lipid by −5 ° C., the surface of the lipid layer can hardly be melted and it tends to be difficult to impart sufficient gloss. As another method for forming the heating zone, the heater 22 is not directly attached to the transfer means, but the medium heated in advance at another place is flowed into the transfer start portion in the transfer device and circulated so that the medium is heated. Bands may be formed. The length of the heating zone may be appropriately set so that the lipid layer surface of the chewing gum is melted, but the chewing gum is preferably 2 to 20 seconds,
More preferably, it may be set so as to pass in 5 to 10 seconds.

Further, a cooling zone 26 is separately formed in front of the heating zone 24 in the transfer direction (direction of arrow P). As a method of forming the cooling medium 25, for example, the cooling medium 25 is introduced into the transfer means through an inlet 28 provided on the wall surface of the transfer device and discharged through an outlet 29.
May be constantly circulated in the formation region of the cooling zone 26.

Further, a take-out conveyor 32 for the lipid-coated chewing gum 3 is provided at the transfer end of the transfer means. A partition plate 33 is provided on the take-out conveyor 32, and several lipid-coated chewing gums 3 that have sequentially passed through the heating zone and the cooling zone are accommodated in a small chamber partitioned by the partition plate 33 and automatically conveyed (arrows). Circulate in Q direction). It should be noted that, instead of the automatic transfer conveyor as described above,
It is also possible to use a means having a storage container provided at the bottom of the transfer means and having a mechanism for periodically pulling it up. Also,
It is preferable to provide a shooter 31 in the cooling zone 26 for guiding the lipid-coated chewing gum 3 transferred through the cooling zone 26 to the take-out means described later because the transfer from the cooling zone 26 to the take-out conveyor 32 described later becomes smooth. .

The transfer means is constructed as described above, and its operation will be described below with reference to FIG. The lipid-coated chewing gum 3 obtained by the coating means is, for example, in the unit of several tens to several hundreds, charged into the transfer means at one time, sent to the heating zone 24, and passes through the same zone while falling. In the meantime, the heating medium 23 in the same zone is used for heating. Then, it continuously drops and is sent to the cooling zone 26, cooled by the cooling medium 25 in the same zone, and reaches the small chamber between the partition plates 33 on the takeout conveyor 32 along the shooter 31. Then, it is discharged to the outside of the transfer means by the carrying operation of the take-out conveyor 32. After discharge, the lipid layer becomes smooth and shiny.

As described above, the transfer means in the manufacturing apparatus of the present invention uses a fluid as a heating medium or a cooling medium, and the chewing gum can be transferred in the coating step without contacting the wall surface of the apparatus. There is no problem that the lipid layer is damaged by contact with the wall surface and the chewing gum inside is exposed.

Incidentally, regarding the shape of the transfer means, the example shown in FIG. 4 is a substantially V-shaped cylindrical body. With such a shape, by utilizing the natural fall of the lipid-coated chewing gum 3, the lipid-coated chewing gum 3 is smoothly heated and cooled without contacting the lipid-coated chewing gum 3 with the wall surface of the device,
It is suitable in that it can be discharged and does not require a large space for installation. Further, the shape of the transfer means is not limited to the V shape as described above, but is a series of zones in which a substantially linear tubular body is installed vertically and a heating zone is formed above and a cooling zone is formed below. The chewing gum may be dropped from top to bottom. Further, the transfer method is not limited to the one using natural fall, but a substantially straight tube is installed horizontally, and a ventilation port is provided on the wall surface of the lower part of the cylinder, and hot air and cold air are supplied from this ventilation port. By blowing up into the cylinder,
The heating zone and the cooling zone may be sequentially formed, and the chewing gum may be transferred in the horizontal direction by wind pressure or the like to pass through the heating zone and the cooling zone.

When the chewing gum is charged into the above-mentioned transfer means, the lipid-coated chewing gum is preliminarily aligned and conveyed in a line by using a conveying means such as a parts feeder or a conveyor (neither is shown). You may throw in every grain in order.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the chewing gum is coated with a specific lipid, it is possible to form a uniform lipid layer without deteriorating the original texture of the chewing gum and to reduce the sweetness. Can be realized. Further, when the chewing gum is coated with a lipid at a specific particle size, a thin and uniform lipid layer can be formed on the surface of the chewing gum without deforming the chewing gum. Therefore, at the time of eating, the lipid layer can be integrated with the flexibility of chewing gum to give a soft texture. Furthermore, by heating the lipid layer thus formed and then cooling it, the lipid layer can be made more uniform and the gloss of the lipid layer can be significantly increased. Further, since the transfer means of the manufacturing apparatus is composed of a series of zones having a heating zone and a cooling zone, the lipid-coated chewing gum is supplied into these two zones and the heating zone is sequentially cooled. By simply passing the lipid-coated chewing gum, the surface of the lipid-coated chewing gum can be continuously heated and cooled, and the lipid layer can be further homogenized and gloss can be increased without impairing the appearance of the lipid-coated chewing gum. In addition, depending on the gum base of the chewing gum and the content of the gum in the gum base, and the molecular weight of the gum, by appropriately selecting the type and composition of the lipid, regardless of the physical properties of the chewing gum, only the lipid layer from the chewing gum during chewing It is possible to obtain a lipid-coated chewing gum that does not easily peel off and has a desirable texture.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. <Example 1> To the rotary tank 11 shown in Fig. 2, 500 g of the chewing gum 1 having the composition shown in Table 1 molded into a substantially plate shape of 1 g was placed, and the rotary tank 11 was rotated at 40 rpm. On the other hand, hardened palm oil (melting point 55 ° C.) 1 as lipid 4
1 liter was put into the heat insulation tank 7 and heated to 55 ° C. to be melted. Next, the pump 8 of the liquid feed pipe 9 was operated, and the lipid 4 (hardened palm oil) in the heat insulation tank 7 was supplied to the nozzle 10 through the liquid feed pipe 9. Then, the lipid 4 (hardened palm oil) was sprayed from the nozzle 10 onto the chewing gum 1 flowing in the rotary tank 11 as droplets 4a having a particle size of 500 μm. At this time, spraying was performed while adjusting the lipid layer to 10% of the total weight of the lipid-coated chewing gum. Then, air-5 was sent from the air chamber 14 into the rotary tank 11 through the ventilation port 15 to cool the lipid 4 (hardened palm oil) attached to the surface of the chewing gum 1 to obtain a lipid-coated chewing gum. <Example 2> Hardened palm oil having a melting point of 40 ° C was used, and 4
The same procedure as in Example 1 was performed except that the temperature was raised to 0 ° C. to melt it. Example 3 Using hardened palm oil having a melting point of 70 ° C.,
The same procedure as in Example 1 was performed except that the temperature was raised to 0 ° C. to melt it. <Example 4> The same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out except that the ink was ejected from the nozzle at 100 μm. <Example 5> Other than spraying from a nozzle at 5000 μm,
Same as Example 1. <Example 6> The same procedure as in Example 1 was carried out except that the ink was jetted from the nozzle at 90 μm. <Example 7> Except for spraying from a nozzle at 6000 μm,
Same as Example 1.

The lipid-coated chewing gum obtained in Examples 1 to 7 was evaluated by the following 5 points by 10 professional panelists. (1) Uniformity of lipid layer: The uniformity of lipid layer formation was visually evaluated. (2) Deformation: After the treatment with the coating means was completed, the lipid-coated chewing gum was taken out and visually evaluated for deformation. (3) Bound state: After the treatment with the covering means was completed, the lipid-coated chewing gum was taken out, and the bound state was visually evaluated. (4) Texture: The lipid-coated chewing gum was sensory evaluated. (5) Temperature resistance: The lipid-coated chewing gum was packaged and stored at room temperature for 1 week, then opened and picked up by hand to evaluate the stickiness of the lipid layer. The above evaluation results are shown in Table 2.

[0039]

[Table 1]

[0040]

[Table 2]

From the results shown in Table 2, the chewing gum of Example 1 showed good results in all of formation of a uniform lipid layer, presence or absence of deformation and binding, texture and temperature resistance. On the other hand, although Example 2 was good in terms of uniformity of the lipid layer, Example 1 was used in terms of temperature resistance since oils and fats having a slightly lower melting point were used.
The result was slightly inferior to. In Example 3, since the fats and oils having a slightly higher melting point were used, the results were slightly inferior to Example 1 in terms of texture. In addition, since the above-mentioned fat and oil was sprayed on the chewing gum while being kept at 70 ° C. in order to spray the oil droplets, the entire lipid-coated chewing gum was slightly deformed by heat. Example 4 was slightly inferior to Example 1 in terms of appearance, because the lipid layer was slightly uneven because the oil droplet diameter when the oil and fat was sprayed onto the chewing gum was rather small. In Example 5, since the droplet diameter when the oil and fat was sprayed onto the chewing gum was rather large,
Some of the chewing gums after formation of the lipid layer were bound to each other. In Example 6, since the oil droplet diameter when the oil and fat was sprayed onto the chewing gum was small, many irregularities were generated in the lipid layer, and the appearance was inferior to that of Example 1.
In Example 7, the fat-coated chewing gum was likely to bind to and agglomerate because the oil droplet diameter when the oil and fat was sprayed onto the chewing gum was large. Also, the lipid layer was thick and difficult to dissolve in the mouth.

<Example 8> The lipid-coated chewing gum obtained in Example 1 was subjected to the following treatment. A description will be given below with reference to FIG. That is, first, the transfer means shown in FIG. 3 was filled with water, the heater 22 was installed at the transfer start portion, and part of the water was heated to 55 ° C. by this heater to form a heating zone. Further, the cooling water is made to flow from the inlet 28 into the region in the front of the heating zone in the transfer direction, and the outlet 29
The cooling water was circulated by discharging the water inside the tank, and the water temperature in this portion was set to 25 ° C. to form a cooling zone. The lipid-coated chewing gum 3 obtained in the above-mentioned Example 1 was added to the transfer means prepared as described above.
The particles were charged at one time, passed through the heating zone and the cooling zone, and discharged by the take-out conveyor 32 to the outside of the transfer means. <Example 9> The same procedure as in Example 8 was performed except that the heating zone was set to 50 ° C. <Example 10> The same procedure as in Example 8 was performed except that the heating zone was set to 60 ° C. <Example 11> The same procedure as in Example 8 was performed except that the heating zone was set to 45 ° C. <Example 12> The same procedure as in Example 8 was performed except that the heating zone was set to 65 ° C. <Example 13> The same procedure as in Example 8 was carried out except that the lipid-coated chewing gum was not passed through the transfer means.

The lipid-coated chewing gum obtained in Examples 8 to 13 after passing through the transfer means was used as a specialized panel 10.
By name, the presence or absence of binding between the lipid-coated chewing gums, the degree of improvement in the uniformity of the lipid layer, and the degree of increase in the gloss of the lipid layer were visually evaluated.

[0044]

[Table 3] (* 1) Evaluation of the binding state between the chewing gums after the processing by the transfer means. (* 2) Uniformity of the lipid layer and the degree of increase in gloss are evaluated as compared with immediately after the coating treatment (before the gloss imparting treatment). ◎: Significantly increased, ○: Slightly increased, △: Almost no change ×: No change

From the results shown in Table 3, in Example 8, the binding of the lipid-coated chewing gums did not occur, the thickness of the lipid layer was more uniform, and the result was the best in terms of increasing gloss. On the other hand, in Example 9, the heating temperature when passing the lipid-coated chewing gum through the transfer means was slightly low, so that the results were slightly inferior to Example 8 in terms of improving the uniformity of the lipid layer and increasing gloss. On the contrary, in Example 10, since the heating temperature was rather high, some of the lipid-coated chewing gums were bound to each other while passing through the transfer means.
Example 11 was inferior to Example 8 in terms of improving the uniformity of the lipid layer and increasing gloss because the heating temperature was low. In Example 12, on the contrary, since the heating temperature was high, it was easy for the lipid-coated chewing gum to bind and agglomerate while passing through the transfer means. Since Example 13 did not pass through the transfer means, it was inferior to Example 8 in both uniformity and gloss of the lipid layer.

<Examples 14 to 16> Lipid-coated chewing gum was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the chewing gums and lipids having the formulations shown in Table 4 were used. Example 14 above
The chewing gums obtained according to Nos. 16 to 16 were eaten by 10 specialized panelists, and the integrity of the chewing gum and the lipid layer during chewing was evaluated. Evaluation results, Example 14
In Nos. 16 and 16, the chewing gum and the lipid layer were integrated during chewing, and only the lipid layer was unlikely to peel off and was very good. On the other hand, in Example 15, since the content of the gum base in the chewing gum is small, the lipid-coated chewing gum has a slightly crumbled texture and is chewy while the chewing gum has a large rubber content in the gum base. The lipid layer was slightly peeled off from the chewing gum.

[0047]

[Table 4] * 1: Polyisobutylene * 2: Ratio to the total weight of gum base * 3: Ratio to the total weight of chewing gum * 4: A mixture of granulated sugar, starch syrup, glucose, etc.

Four

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an example of a lipid-coated chewing gum of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing an example of a covering means used in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing an example of a transfer means used in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a lipid-coated chewing gum having a poor coating state.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 chewing gum 2 lipid layers 3 Lipid-coated chewing gum 4 lipids 4a droplet 5 air 6 heater 7 insulation tank 8 pumps 9 Liquid transfer pipe 10 nozzles 11 rotating tank 12 suction port 13 Air conditioner 14 Air chamber 15 Vent 16 Temperature sensor 17 exhaust port 18 axes 19 Introductory pipe 22 heater 23 Heating medium 24 heating zone 25 Cooling medium 26 cooling zones 27 pumps 28 Inlet 29 outlet 30 pumps 31 shooter 32 Take-out conveyor 33 Partition board

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Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A lipid-coated chewing gum obtained by coating the surface of chewing gum with at least one of the following lipids (A) and (B). (A) Edible oil / fat having a melting point of 40 to 70 ° C. (B) Wax Upon wherein coating the chewing gum surface in lipids, according to claim 1, wherein the lipid particle size 100~5000μm characterized by applying to the surface of the chewing gum
Of the lipid-coated chewing gum of. 3. When coating the surface of a chewing gum with a lipid, a lipid having a particle size of 100 to 5000 μm is applied to the surface of the chewing gum, and then the chewing gum is brought into contact with a surface of the heating medium, and subsequently, at a temperature lower than that of the heating medium. The method for producing a lipid-coated chewing gum according to claim 1, wherein the chewing gum is brought into contact with the cooling medium. 4. An apparatus for producing a chewing gum coated with a lipid, comprising: a coating means for coating the surface of the chewing gum with a lipid; and a transporting means for transporting the chewing gum after the lipid coating. The transfer means has a heating zone and a cooling zone filled with a fluid, and the chewing gum coated with the lipid is sequentially transferred from the heating zone to the cooling zone without contacting the wall surface of the apparatus. The lipid-coated chewing gum manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, which is for transferring.