MXPA97004458A - Aromatizacion with aroma in gas ine - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a package comprising a food product and a flavored front separation. The front separation comprises an inert food-acceptable, flavored gas and an acceptable food protective gas. The invention also relates to a method and apparatus for introducing a flavor to the front separation of a package containing a food product, during the gas packing of the food product, which comprises introducing a modified atmosphere to the front separation, and introducing an acceptable food aroma dissolved in or mixed with an inert food acceptable gas, gaseous in the front separation of the pack

Description

AROMATIZACIÓN WITH AROMA IN GAS INERTE DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for introducing a flavor to the front separation of a package containing a food product so that, by opening the package, the consumer will smell the aroma. The invention also relates to a package for food comprising a food product and a flavored front separation. In particular, the invention relates to the introduction of flavor dissolved or mixed with an inert gas of acceptability in the gas phase to the front separation of a food package. In some cases, it may be desirable to introduce an aroma or fragrance to the front separation of a food package in order to increase the freshness odor and to apply pressure to the unique appearance of the food product so that upon opening the package, the The consumer's appetite will be stimulated by smelling the scent or fragrance. A system for flavoring a front separation of a food package is described in European Patent 0 706 944, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference. Although this system provides many advantages, the aromas of alimentary acceptance in this system dissolve in a liquid gas of alimentary acceptance under pressure. For an injection to a front separation of a food package of this aroma dissolved in a liquid gas, the liquid gas and aroma must be supplied, for example, through a spray nozzle as described in the aforementioned patent or through an aromatization gas jet as discussed in European Patent Application 0 702 964 A1. However, it has been surprisingly found, that a noble or inert gas can be flavored and used for the introduction to a flavor in the separation front of a package of food to impart a desirable aroma and increase the smell of freshness when opening the package. It has been found that the flavored inert gas can be stored under a pressure of 6 to 10 bar. This means that the mixture is not liquid as is the case in the prior art disclosed above, but it is in a gaseous phase. This allows a direct mixing of the inert gas flavored with gases used to modify the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide or nitrogen, or mixtures thereof. It has been observed that, the mixture can be made with a conventional gas mixer in a pre-selected proportion. The inert mixed aromatized food acceptance gas and the modified atmosphere can then be injected into the food packages using commercially available gas packing machines. According to the present invention there is provided a method for introducing a flavor to the front separation of a package containing a food product during the gas packing of the food product, which comprises introducing a modified atmosphere in the front separation, and introducing an acceptable aroma of food dissolved in or mixed with an acceptable inert gas of gaseous feed at the front separation of the package. The process of the present invention can be carried out using any commercially available gas packing machine, for example, automatic, semi-automatic or manual packing machines, vacuum / modified atmosphere machines (ultivac ™, Tiromat ™, Dixie Union ™, etc.), automatic machines or semi-automatic shape, full, stamp (horizontal or vertical), or automatic or manual bag packing machines. Commercially available gas mixers, which are suitable, can be used to carry out the invention, and are, for example, the gas mixers of Alfax and Multivac. The food product can advantageously be a frozen product, for example, a butcher shop, packaged in a modified atmosphere, for example, in a bag or can be a suitable product for environmental storage, for example, a confectionery product such as bisquets. The acceptable food flavor preferably is of natural origin, is volatile and preferably is not substantially absorbed by the food product. Advantageously, the aroma fragrance is similar to the fragrance of the food product in the package, for example a meat fragrance for a meat product such as sausages. The aroma must be soluble or soluble in gas acceptable inert gaseous food. The acceptable food gas must be a noble or inert gas selected from the group of helium (He), neon (NE), argon (Ar) krypton (Kr), and xenon (Xe). Preferably, the food acceptable gas is argon, which is very economical to use. The advantages of using an inert gas are to facilitate the distribution and dosage as discussed; from this the convenience of having all the gases at approximately the same pressure is presented, which gives the freedom in the mixing and injection of the gas mixtures or the injection of the gases separately, when appropriate. Additional advantages for applying a flavored inert gas to the front separation of a food package is that the noble or inert gas does not dissolve in the food product to any degree, such as, for example, carbon dioxide or nitrogen. Therefore, the present invention provides a longer life of the aroma within the package. The introduction of the modified atmosphere in the front separation can be achieved by first evacuating the air from the package followed by the introduction of the modified atmosphere and the flavored inert gas. The evacuation of the air from the package is achieved by attracting a vacuum, which is a conventional process such as the introduction of the modified atmosphere, which usually consists of carbon dioxide or nitrogen or a mixture thereof, for example 20% of C02 and 80% of N2 • The flavored gas can be mixed with the modified atmosphere before being introduced to the front separation of the food package. Alternatively, the flavored gas and the modified atmosphere can be dosed separately. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the modified atmosphere and flavored inert gas can be introduced through gas flooding, which causes the air in the package to be replaced by the modified atmosphere. In this embodiment of the invention, it is preferred that the dosage of the flavored inert gas be made separately. Advantageously, the aromatized inert gas is briefly dosed after the modified atmosphere has been introduced to the front separation.

Preferably, the acceptable food flavor is dissolved in an organic solvent acceptable by the food or gas, before it is dissolved or mixed in the inert gas acceptable for liquid foods. Examples of organic solvents are alcohols such as ethyl alcohol or animal or plant oils, for example peanut oil. The amount of aroma dissolved in the solvent may be from 1 to 30%, for example from 5 to 20 weight percent based on the weight of the solution. The aromatized food acceptable inert gas is conveniently maintained in a gas container, such as a gas cylinder or gas cylinder, preferably under a pressure that is in the range of 2 to 10 bar, preferably about 6 bar. The amount of acceptable food flavor in the food acceptable inert gas can be from 0.1 to 15%, for example from 0.5 to 10%, preferably about 1% by weight based on the weight of the gas. It is preferred that the amount of the aromatized inert gas and the modified atmosphere are usually from 5 to 40%, for example from 10 to 30% of the front separation. In another aspect, the present invention relates to a package or container comprising a food product and a front separation, wherein the front separation comprises a flavored food inert gas and an acceptable food protective gas. The aromatized inert gas can be as described above, and the protective gas or modified atmosphere of the conventional type, for example carbon dioxide, nitrogen or a mixture thereof. The package for food may, for example, comprise a frozen sausage product such as sliced meat, sausage, a dough or a product for biscuits, or combo dough, meat and a sauce product for example for pies. Advantageously, the pressure in the package is slightly pressurized, for example 1.5 to 1.1 atmospheres. This promotes the extension character of the flavored gas around the package after opening it. The present invention also relates to an apparatus for introducing a flavor to the front separation of a package comprising a food product during the gas packing of the food product, which comprises means for introducing a modified atmosphere to the front separation, and means to introduce the acceptable food aroma dissolved in or mixed with an acceptable inert gas of food, gaseous, to the front separation of the package. The apparatus preferably is of the type referred to above, will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the packaging of food products. The invention may also be useful in the gas packaging of beverages and beverage-containing containers, thereby allowing an increase in the freshness flavor of the beverage product and a unique character tension of the beverage. The invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, by way of example only, and in which: Figure 1 is a schematic drawing of a mixing system according to the invention, wherein the inert gas flavored and The modified atmosphere is injected into a package of food, together. Figure 2 is a schematic drawing of a mixing system according to the invention, in which the injection of flavored inert gas and the modified atmosphere are injected separately, and Figure 3 is a perspective view of an inert gas. flavored and a modified atmosphere being introduced in filled trays to a sealing station using fixed nozzles. Figure 1 shows a mixing system according to the invention, wherein the aromatized inert gas and the modified atmosphere are injected into a food package, together. The aromatized inert gas 2 is supplied to the packing area, for example, in cylinders.

The aromatized inert gas supply is connected to a gas mixer 5. The supplies of nitrogen and carbon dioxide 3, 4 are also connected to the gas mixer 5, which mixes the gases for a regulating supply tank 6 from the which is ready to be dosed towards the packages that are advanced in the packing machine. The regulating tank 6 has the advantage that the gases mix very well and the best mixture is provided in the gas injection. The dosing of the supply tank or chamber is controlled by means of a valve 7. The valve can be of commercial type, for example, a magnetic solenoid valve of conventional type. An alternative to the dosing system shown in Figure 1 is shown in Figure 2. In this embodiment of the invention the aromatized inert gas and the modified atmosphere are injected separately. The aromatized inert gas 2 is supplied, for example, via a tube, preferably stainless steel, to a regulating tank 6a. From this regulating tank, the flavored inert gas is dosed towards the packages. The dosage is controlled through a valve 7a of the above type. The supplies of nitrogen and carbon dioxide 3, 4 are connected to a gas mixer 5, which mixes the gases for a regulating supply tank 6b, from which the dosage towards the packages via eg a solenoid valve is ready. 7b. Referring now to Figure 3, each package comprises a lower band in the form of a tray 10 having a bottom 11, side walls 12 and a continuous flange 13 extending laterally from the upper edge of the side walls. The flange 13 is formed with pre-punched holes 14 for vacuum and modified atmosphere, and pre-punched holes for the flavored inert gas. Such an arrangement is suitable for the injection system of Figure 2. Alternatively, one or both of the holes 14 and 15 can be used for blends of aromatized inert gas and modified atmosphere gas, which is convenient for the system of Figure 1. Trays can be constructed of a food grade plastic material such as polypropylene, polyethylene polystyrene or polyvinyl chloride, or other materials such as cardboard or aluminum foil. The trays are filled with slices of cooked ham 16 and transported on conveyor means (not shown) adapted for an intermittent travel. The stainless steel tubes 17 connected at one end of a gas supply, for example, containing an acceptable food flavor with meat flavor dissolved in the inert gas in the gas phase and maintained at a pressure of 6 bar. Solenoid valves 21 are placed along the lengths of the tubes 17 and are controlled through the packing machine. An upper band 22, made of a flexible plastic material is shown sealed to the flange 13 of some of the trays. During operation, the filled trays 10 arranged in 2 rows are transported intermittently in the direction of the arrow to the sealing station 20, where a group of 4 (two rows of two) is stopped. In the embodiment shown in Figure 3, just before the upper band 22 is sealed to the flange 13, a vacuum is attracted through the pre-punched holes 14 to evacuate the air in the front separation and simultaneously are introduced to the separation forward, a modified atmosphere consisting of 20% C02 and 80% N2 through the pre-punched holes 14, and aromatized gas from the gas bottles through the tubes 17 through the valve, through the pre-punched holes 15 controlled by a signal of the solenoid valves 21. Then, the upper band 22 is sealed to the flange 13.

Claims (14)

1. A process for introducing a flavor to the front separation of a package containing a food product, during the gas packing of the food product, characterized in that it comprises introducing a modified atmosphere to the front separation, and introducing an acceptable food aroma dissolved in or mixed with an inert gaseous food acceptable gas to the front separation of the package.

2. A process according to claim 1, characterized in that the food product is a frozen deep-drawn product.

3. A process according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the introduction of the modified atmosphere to the front separation is achieved by first evacuating the air from the package followed by the introduction of a modified atmosphere of gas and an inert, aromatic, flavored food gas.

4. A method according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the introduction of the modified atmosphere to the front separation is achieved through a gas flood, which causes the air in the package to be replaced by a modified atmosphere.

5. A process according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the inert gas or mixtures of inert gases is / are selected from the group of helium, neon, argon, krypton and xenon.

6. A method according to any of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the food flavor is volatile and is not substantially absorbed by the food product.

7. A process according to any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the acceptable food flavor is dissolved in or mixed with an organic food acceptable solvent or gas before dissolving or mixing with the inert.

8. A process according to any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the gaseous food acceptable inert gas containing the acceptable food flavor is introduced at the same time as the modified atmosphere in the front separation of the package.

9. A process according to any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the gaseous food acceptable inert gas containing the acceptable food aroma is introduced separately from the modified atmosphere towards the front separation of the package.

10. A package comprising a food product and a front separation, characterized in that the front separation comprises a food-acceptable, flavored inert gas and an acceptable food protective gas.

11. A package according to claim 10, characterized in that the inert gas is selected from the group consisting of helium, neon, argon, krypton, and xenon, or mixtures thereof.

12. A package according to claims 10 and 11, characterized in that the food acceptable protective gas is carbon dioxide, nitrogen, or a mixture thereof.

13. A package according to claims 10 to 12, characterized in that the food product is a frozen deep-drawn product.

14. An apparatus for introducing a flavor to the front separation of a package, characterized in that it comprises a food product, during the gas packing of the food product, which comprises means for introducing a modified atmosphere towards the front separation, and means for introducing a flavor acceptable food dissolved in or mixed with an inert food acceptable gas, gaseous to the front separation of the package.