Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~1~6
~ 7 ~
Thls ~n~ention relate~ to methods of treating
2 food cssing w~th reRgents to imp~rt ~ water ~oluble
smoke color to the caslng and also relates to the
resultant lmproved tre~tet casln~, th~t ~an imp~rt
smoke color to food products processed therein,
Xn particular thi3 invention relsteR to fl
method of coating a fibrous or non~fibrous regenerated
celluloAe tubular food ca~ing w~h an aqueou~ 801ution
of ~n amino ~cid and a reducing ~ugar hereinafter,
referred to as unreacted Ma~llard re~gents, wh~ch react
~n situ in the casing to produce 8 water ~oluble brown
smoke color in the ca~ing~ th~t ultimaeely ~ransfers
rom the o~sing to ~he surface of ~ ~ub~equen~ly enc~sed
mest product, giv~ng the mea~c produot ~ rich brown ~moke
eolor.
An alternate embod~men~ of the invention i8
to coat the casing direotly wlth ~ Maill~rd reaetion
product o~ ~n ~mino acid ~nd ~ reducing ~ugar, eliminating
the need or in ~i~u reac~sn,
20 . Thl~ invention al~o relate~ ~o collagen
c~Qing treased by the method~ of ~hi~ ~nveneion,
Tubul~r ~ood ca~lng8 are used extensively
~: , for proce~sing 8 great ~ariety of meat product8 ~nd
: other food item8, The ~ood casing~ ~re gener~lly thin-
w~lled tublng of varlou3 d~ame~l:er~ prepllred ~y methods
well known in the ~rt from recon~t~tuted ~naterlsl~"
; and p~rt~cularly cellulose derivatives ~uch ~8
segenerated cellulo~e. Celluloae food c~s~n~ m~y
~180 be prepared wi~h flbrouM web8 e~bedded ~n ~he
~,
1136
~ 7 8
wall there~, such caslng3 commonly belng re~err~d ts
aB l~rlbrouB ~ood ca3in~." Edlble rOoa caslng~ may be
prep~red from collagen ~nd are known as "collagen
caalng." Typlcal proce~ses ~or the production or
collagen ca~ln~ are di~clo~ed ln U.S. Patenta 3,551,535
lssued December 29, 1970 and 3,782,977 lssued January 1,
1974 each to W. E. Henderson et al and U.S, Patent
3,956,512 issued May ll, 1976 to T. E. Higglns.
The many dlr~erent recipe~ and mode~ Or
proces~lng that are u~ed by the processed rOo~ lndu~try
to ~uit dl~erent t~ste~ and even reglonal pre~erences
generally neces~itate3 the u~e o~ rood caslngs wlth a
variety of characteri~tics. In some lnstances, ~or
example, rood casings are requlred to have multl-
~unctlonal uRe~ whereln they serve a~ contalner~ during
the proce~lng of a food product encased thereln and
then al~o serve as a protectlve wrapping for the
~inl3hed product. In the proce~sed meat industry,
however~ the ~ood ca3ing~, especially those derived
~rom Ce~ 0138, used ln the preparation o~ many type~ :
Or meat product~, such as various types o~ ~ausages,
bee~ rolls, hams and the like~ ar ~requently removed
~rom about the proce~sed meat product prior to sliclng
and/or ~lnal packaglng.
Sur~ace appearance i3 an lmportant ractor
- ~ ln the commercial and consumer acceptanee o~ most
processed meat products and a common ~eature or most
- varietles Or ~uch products lnvolve~ khe use o~
''smoklnæ" ~or lmparting a characterlati~ brown ~olor
ll3sa
67~
thereto. In the past9 the 3moklng Or ~ood product3
waa generally accompll~he~ by the food proce~orc
subJecting the rOo~ product to actual contact wlth
smoke ~n a ga~eou~ or cloud-llke rorm. Such ~mo~lng
proce3ses, however, have been consldered un~atlsractor~
ror a v~riety o~ rea~on3 lncludlng the lne~rlclencles
and lack Or unl~ormlty o~ the ~moklng operatlon.
Because Or the shortcomlngs experlenced~ the trend
ha~ been to employ varlous types o~ llquld aqueous
solutions o~ smoke color~ commonly called "llquld
smoke solutlons" that have been developed and used
commerclally by the food processor ln the proce3sing
o~ many typea o~ meat and other food product
: The appllcation o~ liquld smoke solutions
to meat productc 18 generally carried ou~ in a variety
o~ ways, lncludlng spraylng or dlpping an encased
food product during the processlng thereo~ or by
lncorpor~ting the llquid ~moke solutlon ln the recipe
lt~el~. The actual operation o~ ~moklng by spraylng
or dipplng 18 not completely satl~actory due to the
equlpment expenses and the limlted degree o~ control that
ha~ been rOu~, and lncorporatlon Or llo,uld smoke
solutions ln the meat recipe doe~ not always provlde
the deqired sur~ace appearance becau~e Or dllution
Or ~moke lngredients.
It haa al~o been ~ugge~ted, as ~or example
dl3clo~ed ln U.S. ~atent No. 3,330,669 ~o ~ollenbe~k,
that appl~cation o~ a vi~cous liquld ~moks ~olutlon
to the ln~lde surface Or a tubular ~ood caslng by the
1136
667~3
~ood proce~or ~mm~diately prlor to the ~tu~lng
thereo~ wlth a 3ausage emulsion re~ults ln preparatlon
o~ proce~ed ~ood product~ that exhlblt good color arter
cooklng and removal Or the caslng.
Hereto~ore, however, lt has been round that
pro~lding casings to arrord speclal treatment or
~tructural characterlstlc~ to the ~ood product can
be more unl~ormly and economically accompllshed by
the casing manuracturer~ Thl~ 1~ especlally true
wlth the advent and wlde commerclal use of automatic
stur~lng and proce3 lng equlpment in the proces~ed
~ood industry.
Several methods Or provldln~ ~ood caslngs
with coatlngs applled to a ~ur~ace thereof are known
and de~crlbed ln the patsnt llterature. There 1~ -
dl closed> ~or example, in U.S. Patent No. 3,451,827
a ~praylng mekhod ~or ap~lying a varlety o~ coatlng
materlal~ over the internal ~ur~ace o~ small dlameter
ca~ing~ and ln U.S. Patent No. 3,378,379 to Shlner
et al, a "slugglng" method used ~or applying coating
material~ to the internal surface of large diameter ~ -
ca~lngs. Wh~le such technique~ and others have been
used in preparing commercial quantltle~ o~ coated
food caslng~, the caslng~ prepared thereby are~ ln
~eneral, u~ed to meet partlcular commercial re~u~rements
and to the b~8t 0~ our knowledge none Or the ~oated
ca~lnga ai~cloRe~ ln the art are completely ~ati~actory
- ~or or ar~ lntended t~ speci~lcally ~mpar~ ~moke color
to a meat product proc~3ed thereln. In U.S. P8tent
11368
~o~. 3,360,383 to ROQ~ et al, ~d 3,383,223 snd
3,~17,312 to Rose, for example, ~re d~sclo~ed co~ting
compositlons that employ liquid smokg solut1on~ ln
amount0 that sre specifically required to insolubilize
a protein material such as gelatin to prepare ca~$ngs
that meet ~pec~l adhesion properties required for
use in the proce~sing of dry sausagest which
propertles would ~herefore limlt the sui~bility
thereof for other ca~ing applications,
Prep~ration of tubul~r food caslngs that
could be used ~n ~he manufscture of a varlety of
processet food products and would impart a desired
~moke colo~ ~o ehe processed product would be highly
desirable, Especi~lly ~dvantageous would be food
casings that coult be prepared u~ing conventional
coat~ng meth~d~ ~nd that would impart the desir~d
color to products that h~ve the casing removed prior
to final packaging or cooking or that are sold wieh
the caslng still in place,
Brown dyes, such as chocolate Brown HT9 h~ve
been considered for ~a~ing treatment~ but such dye
is not con~idered ~afe for hum~n con~mption. A smoke
color tye mix~ure, ~uch ~8 stflnge ~ ~ smoke color, can
be u~ed to give B superflcial ~moke color ~o me~t productR,
but, becau~e lt ~8 a dye mi~ure of pr~msry red ~nd blue
dyes, which heve dlffering solublllty and dlffu~lv~ey, the
~urfcce colo~atlon of the me~t producta become~ blui~h a~ the
68
~ 7 ~
red dye dlffuses ~nto the meat product wi h ~tor~ge,
Thus, the unQtable Stange' 8 smoke color ~ not a
satisfactory coloring agent,
The deflclencles of the aforementloned smoke
coloring agentq have been overcome by the present
invention, whLch provide~ a nonto~lc, safe and ~table
smoke colorlng agene con~st~ng of a re~ction product
of a reducing ~ugsr and an a~ino acid,
In accordance with ehe present invention
there i~ provided a tubular ~ood caæing that i8 su~table
to impart smoke color to food product enca~ed or
processed therein compris~ng ~ tubular cellulose food
casing hsving incorporated therein a re~ction product
of an smino acid and a reducing sugar in ~mount~
specified in more detail hereinafter~ I~ has been
di~covered that the tl~bular food casings of the present
inve~tlon may be used to ~mpart tran~ferable ~moke color
to a wide variety of me~t products processed there~n
without the need for ~ny further ~moking operation~ by
~ 20 the food processor, Moreover it has been found ehat
:~ said casings may be preparod in the for~ of ~hirred casing
stick3 wherein long continuou~ len~hs of tubular food
casing are pleated and compres~ed into a substantially
shortened form ~hereof~ or ~ ~hort ~egment~ of flsttened
tubing,
: ~ Al~o provided in accorda~nce with the present
. ~ lnvention i8 a smoke colored coll~gen ca~ing, co~pri~ing
a tubular collagen ~ood cssing h~ving ~ncorporated
ther~in reaction product of n ~mino cid and G
1136
7 ~
reduc~ng ~ugar ~n amount8 ~pecifled ln more detall hereinafter.
Smoke colored collagen ca~ings of this inventlon are
cap~ble of impartlng tr~n~fer~ble ~moke color to food prGducts,
such as meat product3, encased thereln, However, ln the
pract~c~l u~e of edible collsgen casing, once the food product
is encased therein, the ca~lng ~a not removed before human
consumption, but conaumed with the encased meat produet,
Therefore, transfer of the smoke color from an edible collagen
casing to the encased food product surface i8 not critical,
because in normal u~e, unlike in the use of peelable cellulose
casing~, the consumer will not see the food product ' ~ sctu~l -
surface. However, unlike tran fer of smoke color from an
edible collagen casing~ transfer of smoke color from an in-
edible coll~gen casing to the encased food produc~ i~ critical
since the ~nedible casing must be removed before ~onsumption.
AL~o provided in ~ccordance with the pre~ent
inventlon are methods of preparing tubul~r food casings that
: ~re suitable or impartlng smoke color to fo~d products
enca~ed or processed therein which compri~e~ ~n one embod~ment
providing a tubul~r food cas ing ~nd applying thereto an
aqueou~ ~olutlon of ~ reducing ~ugar and ~n amino acid wh$ch
: ~ ~re c~used eo react in si~u in the cas~ng according to the
well-known Mai1lsrd reac~on, The ~Saillard reaction product
h~s a smoke brown color which i9 water ~sluble and can
tr~n~fer to the surf~ce of ~ meat product which 1~ subsequently
s~uffed in the trested c~6ing,
The term~ "~ re~ction product" ~nd '~illard
reaction product" a~ u~ed herein are ineended to er~compass
any ~nd all re~ction product~ which ~re for~ed from the
~1~68
~ 67 8
Maillard resetion, lncludlng any reduclng BUgar Gr amino
acid ~n stoichiometric exce~s, but e~clud~ng any water
or c~trste compounds here$nsfter described,
In an alt~rnate embodiment of thls Inventlon
the Maillard reaction product ~9 costed directly on the
casing, obviatlng the requirement of in situ reactlon.
The undesirsble brownlng of food~tuffs, such
a~ or~nge ~uice, due ~o the Malllard reaction between
reduc~ng ~ugars and amino acid~ i~ known ~nd i~
discussed by Wolfrom et al~ in "J, Agr, Food Ch~m,",
Vol, 22, No, 5, 1974 at page~ 796-~Q0, Al~o cee
Green~hields et ~1, in "Process Biochemi~try",
December 1972, pp. 11-16. In "The Science of Meat
ant Meat Products", J,F. Prlce et ~1, ets.; 2nd ed.;
1971~ at pages 460-461, i~ iB dlsclosed that reducing
ugars cause r~pid darkening of bacon on fry~ng, whieh
i~ a~cribed o ehe Maillard reaction between glucose
and amino group~, Neither Wolfrom et al, nor ~reenshields
et al, nor Rrice e~ 81 di~clo~e the use of ~he ~llard
reaction ~o color food ca~ing oæ meat products encased
in the trea~ed casings.
The food casing~ of the present inventlon may
be prepared rom tubul~r c~sings h~ving vari2d compo~
tlons~ suoh 88 those w~ known in ~he art a~ regenerated
cellulose casings either wi~h or without ~lbrous
reinforoement, The former i8 known in the tr~de as
fibrous ~a~ng ~nd i~ reinforced with paper ~nd the
llke, Other ~moke colored ca~ings c~n be prepared by
the method~ o thl~ ~nvention, ~u~h as those ~ste from
~ 67 ~ 1l368
cellulo8e deriva~lves, collagen (edible and inedible),
alginates, amylo3e, ~nsolubillzed polyvinyl slcohol
tboeh f~brou~ reinforced ~nd unreinforced) And the llke,
Wh~le the invention particul~rly relates to
tubul~r food c~sings, food wrapping materials in other
forms ~uch ~ ~heet form may be smoke colored by
appropriaee modlfications of the treating methods of
thls invent~on by those ~killed ~n ehe ~rt,
The ca~ings of this invention csn be us d
to enc~se me~t produ~t~ lncluding~ bue not limlted to
cooked, smoked9 d~y or semidry ausages such as
frankfurters, bologna~, ~al~mis, cervelats, Thuringer~,
ant the like. CheeQe produc~s may also be enca~ed ln
the casings of thi~ invention,
In a preferred embodiment of this invention
in~olving the use of unre~ctet Maillard reagents to
coat cas~ng, spec~flc details of which are ~et forth
hereinafter, an aqueous sslution of at lea~t one
amino acid and st least one reducing ~ugar i8 fir~t
formed, Optionally ~dded to this solution 1~ a cltsate
:~ compound to lncrea~e the reaction r~e between the amino
acid and reduc~ng sugar, The ~olution i~ ~hen coa~ed
on tubula~ gel cas~ng before drylng, Durlng drying
- at elevated temper~ture8 ehe M~illard reaction occurs
: between ~the amino acid and the reducing sugar in
.~
~itu ln th@ ca~lng, ~o give ~he finished c~sing ~
~moky brown color, The smoke colored casing c~n then
be ~tuffed wl~h R food protuct ~uch ~B a meat emul~ion.
The ~moky brown color of the casing will
.
11368
~ 7 ~
transfer to the ~urf~ce o the enca~ed meat prsduct9
BO that if the easing 1~ separ~ted from the encased
meat after cooking or other further proce3sing well-
known ~ the art, the ~ur~ce of the meat wlll hsve
a smoky b~own color.
In a preferred embod~ment of thls invention
lnvolving the direct UBe of a M~illard react~on product
to coat ca~ing, spec~flc detalls of which are 8et forth
hereinAfter, ~n aqueous ~olution of ae le88t one ~mino
acid and ~t lea~t one reduci~g su~ar i8 f~rs~ formed.
Optionally added to th~s ~olution i~ a ~itrate compound .
to increase ehe reactlon rate between the amino ~cid and
reduclng sugar. The solutlon i~ then heated to react
the amino acld and ~he reducing sug~r to form a Maillard
reac~ion product and then further heated to evaporate
the water contene to de~ired level3 and if needed se-
d~lu~ed with water to ad~u~t color concentration befsre
appllc~tion to the ca~ing. The re~ultant co~ting
compo~iticn i~ then op~ionally mixed with an~block - -
: 20 agent3 snd thickeners before ~he caslng ls coated, The
Maillard reac~ion protuc~ containing composl~ion is then
eo~ted on dried ~ubular food caslng giving the ca~ing a
: ~m~ky brown col~r. The ~moke colDred casing c~n then b~
~tuffed with a food product ~ch as a meat emulsion. The
~moky brown color o~ the ca~ing will tr~ns~er to the
~rf~ce of ~he encased meat produc~, 80 that if ~he
casing ie ~eparated ~om the encased ~neat after cook~ng
or other further process~tlg well~known i~ the art, the
~urface o the ~e8t w~ll have a 8moky brown color.
11
. ,, , ~ ~ ,
11368
;7~
Many ~m~ no c~mpound~ ~re ~ultable fsr we ln
th~ lnveQelon, E~emplary of the amino aclds which can
be employed in the practice of this invention are 4~
aminobutyrle acld, glycine, ~lanine, ~rgln~ne, and the
dimera and the trimers thereof, ~nd the like, Also useful
are amino ~cid derivatives such a~ ~alt~ of amlno scid~
like mono~odium glut~mate ~nd lysine monohydrochlor~de.
The invention i3 not l~mited to tho~e ~mino ~clds or
derivatlve~ ~pecified herein, but may include others
selected by those skllled in the art, The amino acids or
derivative~ may be u~ed ~ndividu~lly or as miactures of
variou~ amino acid~, or aR IDixtures of amlno ~cid derivatives5
or ~s mixtures of amino ~cids and ~mino acid derivatives.
Exemplary of the reducing sug~r~ which can be
employed in the prActice of thi~ invention are ~108e,
arabino~e, de~trose (d-gluco~e) and the llke. The invention
is not l~mited to those reducing sugars specified herein,
bu~ may include other~ selected by those ~killed in the ar~.
The reduclng sugar~ m~y be u~ed individually or as mixture~
of variou~ reducing sugars~
If unreacted Maill~rd reage~t~ are u~ed to treat
c~sing9 then the amount of ~he treAting 601ut~0n applied
eo the ca~lng i~ from ~bout 5 to ~bout 50 ~lligr~ms per
~quare inch ~f ca~ing wall, preferably from about 15 eo
about 30 ~g~/~q, in, Correspondlngly, the amount of ~he
reduclng ~ugar appliet 1~ rom aboue 0,7 So ~bout 14.0
mg,/sq, ln. of ca~ing w~ll, preferably r~ a~out 3.7 ~o
~bout 7.5 mg,/~q, in., and the a~ino ~c~d ~ppl~ed i~ from
: about 0,3 to ~bou~ 7,0 mg./~q. ln. of c~slng wal~
- - ~
.
`` 11368
3667~
psefer~bly from about 1.3 to about 2,7 ~g, /8q. ln.
If a coat~ng compo~ition containing a Maillard
resctlon product i8 directly coa~ed on the caslng then
the amount of the coating compos~eion applied ~hoult be
from about 9 to about 35 mgs/~q, ~n, of casing wall,
preferably from ~bout 10 ~o about 20 mgs/~q, in. tepending
on whether additional ant~block and/or thlckenlng agent~
are employed, Cor~espond~ngly9 the amount of the MRillard
reaction product ~pplied i3 from ~bout 2,7 to sbout 14 ~g./
~"1
0 Qq, in, of e~lng wall, prefer~blj from ~bout 3,5 to about
7,0 ~11g./5~, ill.
The c~sing cont~lning the brown ~moke color i8
subsequently gtuffed with a meat product. The smoke color
transfer~ to ehe ~urface of the encssed meat product,
The inal smoke colored ca~ing produced by the
method~ of this lnvention ~hould contain a Maillard
react~on product of an amino ~cid and ~ reducing sug~r at
a level from ~bout 2.7 to about 14 mllligrams of reactlon
produck per ~quare inch of casing w~ preferably about
3.5 to about 7.0 mg,~per ~q, in " in order to lmpar~ ~he
smoke color to a food product encs~ed therein,
The preferred level of Maillard reac~ion
produ~t ~n the c~ing which ui~lmately ~ trsnsferred
:~ to the ~urface of the enc~ed me~t psoduct 1~ dependent
upon lndlYidual color preferenc~ o~ the ~onsumer~.
Some ~ould prefer ~ dsrk brown sausag~ whlle othor~
l~ght brown s~u~a~e.
The ~ethod o applying the treating a8~nts
13
.
1136
~ 7 ~
to the cas~ng cfln be selected irom varisu~ ~own
techniques such as ~lugging, which iB al~o known a3
bubble ~oatLng (U,S. Patent 3,378,379 to Shiner et al
and U.S. Pstents 3,360,383 to Rose et al; U.S. 3,383,223
to Ro~e; And U,S~ 3,427,16~ to Rose et al), dipping
~U.S. Patent 3,378,379), spraying (U.S, Patent 3,330,66Y
to Hollenbeck) os ln~ernally coating the caslng ~hile
sh~rring by the method dlsclo~ed by Bridgeford in U.S.
Reissue 28,2~1.
The slugging method for co~ing the in~ide
of a cA~ing lnvolveQ fllling a portion of th ca lng
with the coating m~e~ial, ~3 ~hat ehe ~lug of coating
materiAl generally reside3 ~t the bottom of a "U" shape
formed by the casing draped over tws parallel rollers,
ant then movlng the coneinuous indeflnite length of
casing so ~hat the slug of co~tlng ~ateri~l remain~
conflned within the casing, while the casing moYe~ past
~he slug and i~ coated on lt3 inside wall by the coating
materiAl conta$ned within the slug.
The dipplng method for coating a casing ~nvolves
in it~ ~imples~ form immer~ing ~he cas~ng in a bath of
treating solution for ~ suf~ic$ent period of ~me to
coat the out~lde of the casing or in ~ oontinuous prOCe~8
psss~ng an indefinite length of oa~ing over guide rolls
through a treatment bath.
The ~praying method m~y be u~ed ~o coat the
outsld~ of the c~sing or the in31de urf~ce o~ ~he
casing by the use of nozzle~ ~ueh a8 di~clo~ed by
Hollenbeck,
14
~1368
;7~3
Depending upon whlch embodlment of thi~ ~ nvention
~ cho~en, the tubular casing can be eLther eo~ted on it~
out~ide surfsce or on lts in~lde ~urface with the
treating solution of the unreacted amino ~cids and re-
ducing sug~r~ or the compo~ition already containing ~
Msillart re~ction product. The coat~ng on the cas~ng
wall penetrates throughou~ the ca~ing to y1 eld ~ uniform
r~dial distributi~n of the coa~ing ' 8 components in the
casin~. Prefer~bly, the cas~g i~ coa~ed on lts inner
surf3ce3 to mascimlze contact of ~he Malllard re~ction
product wlth the ~ubsequently encased meac product~. If
the easing i~ coated on itQ outaide wall, the coating
will penetrate to the inside wall, ~o ~h~t subsequent
transfer of the Maill~rt reaction product coloring agent
~o sn encased meat product wlll tske place. However, the
surface of the caslng on which the ereating agents of
thi~ ~nventlon was inieially coated will have ~ slightly
hi~her concentration of the Maillard coloring agen~ thsn - -
the opposLte surface which did not rece~ve the coating.
Of course, the ca3Lng m~y be co~ted on it~ outer wall
and ~hen turned lnside-out for ~tuffing, if ~o deslred.
BecauRe the c~ing~ utilized in the practice of this
invent~on ~re thin wslled generslly of a ehlckr~ess of
about 1 mils to sbout 10 mil~, the differes~tial colo~ing
agen~ concentra~ion beeween the inner and outer casing
surfaces ha~ no ~ignlfic~nt effect on ~he colo~ of the
ca~ing or ~he color tran~ferred to the encased me~t
product .
Coa~cln~ composl~ons of unre~cted Maillard
113~8
~ 7 ~
reagents suit~ble for use ~n accordance with the
embodiment~ of ~he present lnvention are preferably
homogeneous aqueous ~olutions of the ~mino acid~ ~nd
reducing sugars.
The molar ratio of the ~educing sugar to the
amlno aclt in the unreacted Maillard reagents aqueous
treatlng ~olution u~ed to ccat food casing~ within the
practlce of this invent~on should be from about9 10 to 1,
to about~ 1 to 10, preferably about, 1 to 1, to abou~,
1 ~o 5,
In the prepara~ion of the unrea ted Maillard
reagents treatlng solution the amount of water used
should be that minimum amount wh~ch i~ just suffic$ent
to dis~olve 811 the components of the solution, that
i~ from about 40 to about 70 weigh~ percent water based
upon the total weight o the flnal solution, preferably
from about 40 ~o about 50 weight percent water,
In the alternate embodiment of thi~ invention,
the composition u~ed ~o dlrectly coat csC~ng~ with a
~aillard reaction produet 1~ prepared by flrs~ prep~ring
an ~queo-~s 601ution of an amlno acid and a reducing sugar
in the ~ame proportlon~ of amino acid, reducing 6ugar
~nt w~ter ~8 outl~ned above for ~he embodiment of thi~
inventlon dlrected to unre~cted Maillard reagents, and
then hea~ng the ~olutlon to a ~emperature ln the rsnge
of from a~ou~ 60C ~o abou~ 110C for abou~ ~ ~inute~ to
sbout 30 ~nu~e~ to cause ~he M~illard reactlon ~o eake
place, preferAbly from ~bouE 90C to ~bout 100C for
about 10 to ~bout 20 m~nu~es, ~nd then ~dditionally
16
~3
-~6~ii7~3
heating ~or ~ ~uff~clent amount of t~me to evaporate the
water eo from about 5 to ~bout 10 we~ght percen~ w~ter
The M~lllard reaction product conta~n$ng compositlon iB
then re-dlluted wlth water, before coa~lng the cssing,
to ~ water c~ntent of about 25 to about 50 weight percent,
preferably nbout 30 to about 35 weight percent, Casing
can also be coated with ~n unevaporated Maillard react~on
product containing compo~ition, lf a l~ghter color i8
de6ired Color concentration iB readily controlled by
those skilled in the art by proper evaporat~on and/or
re-dilutlon,
Potasslum citrate may be added hS pota~ium
c~trate hydrate to the aqueou~ solution of an amino acid
and a redu~ing sugar in order to increase the r~te of
the color development in the casing by the ln 8itU
Malllard reac~ion~ If potassium citrate i~ used, the
molar ratio of po~assiu~ citra~e to reduc~ng ~ugar in
the aqueou~ treating solution used to coat the casings
~hould be from abou~, 1 to 2~, to about, 1 to 19
p~eferably ~bou~, 3 ~o 4. Sodium citrate a ~dium
cltr~te hydrate may be added ~nstead of potasslum cltrate
~n the same molsr ratio~ with the sEme effect~
With respec~ to ~he prep~rat~on of the coa~lng
c~mpo~ition ~lready containing a Maill~rd reac~ion
produet, the M~ sd reaction r~te i~ no~ ~s ~mpo~tane
ln the case of c~ng tre~tment wi~h an unreaeted
~olut~on o a redueing sugar ~nd ~n amino ac~d where the
G~sing has to be he~ted to develop the color in s~tu, ~nd
prefer~bly dr~ed at ~he ~ame time. Thu~9 in the ~-
11368
$~6~7~3
emb~d~ment of this lnventisn lnYo1~ing casing tre~tm2nt
w1th unreacted Ma~llard reagents the rate of color
deve10pment ha3 to be co~ordinated with caslng drying,
whil~ ln the embodiment of th~s invention involv~ng the
direct use of ~ Maillard reaction product to co~t the
caslng, color de~elopment i~ not gener~lly co-ordinated
with ca3ing drying. In fact the Maill~rd reac~ion
product i9 preferably eoated on pre~iou~1y dried ca~ing~
Therefore, ~ince color development rate con~rol i8 not
critical in the prep~ration of the coAtlng compo~ition
contalning the Maillard rea tlon product, the use of
pota~s~um o~ sodium citrate i8 optional and the
concentration u~ed i8 generally 1~88 ~han thA~ used in
the prep~ration of the unreacted M~illard treat~ng
- ~olutlonO If used, the amount of potasAium or sodium
citrate sdted ln hydrate form to prepare the coating
compos~E~on cont~ining the Mai~1srd reaction product~
i3 expressed as ~ molar ratio of ~he pot~ssium or ~odium
citrate to reducing sugar u~ed 2nd i~ on the order of
from ~bout, O to 1, to ~bout~ l to 1, preferably about
3 to 4,
Op~ona11y, prior to the oo~ting ~tep,
; th~ckener~ and antib10ck agen~ are ~dded to the coating
compo~ition contaln~ng the Mail1art reaction product
which al~o con~ins sbout 25 ~o about 50 weight percen~
wa~er f The ~hickeners are ~dded to lncrea~e the
~scosley of ~he mi~t~re ln osder to obtaln ~ ~hicker
coa~n~ on the cssing, lf it 1~ de~ired to supp1y
1ncreased co10r to the c~ing. Th~ckeners wh~ch can be
lB
1136~
eDployed lnclude, but ~re not l~mited to aqueous cellulose
gum ~olu~ions ~uch aa solutions of c~rbo~ymethylcellulose,
methylcellulo~e, and the llke ant aqueous ~olutions of
pectin, vegetable gum or tarch and the like. Antiblock
agent~ are ~dded to prevent the treated casing from st~ck-
~g to itself. Any comp~tlble antiblock agent can be
employed such a~ a water emul~on of food gr~de minersl
oil, vegetable oil, s$1icone oil, And ehe like. If a
mlnersl o~l emulsion i~ employed, the final co~ting
compo~i~ion containing ~he Maillard reaction product i8
2n emul~ion with the Maillard reaction product dlssolved
in the water pha~e. In the practice of thi~ invention
: the difference be~ween ~ 301ution and an emul~lcn i8 not
critical, The amount of antiblock and thickening agents
employed in the coating c~mpositio~ i~ dependent upon
the type of ~gent~, P~eferably about 5 ~o about 15 weight
percent ant~block a~ent ~nd about 0.5 to about 2 weight
percent thickeners are used~ If dry casing i8 coated with
such ~ mixture contaln~ng the ~dditional antlblock and
thiokening ~gents, then addition~l drying af~er co~ting
will be nece~s~ry ~n order to bring the ~o~ture con~ent
of the tre~ted cssing back down to a de~ired level of fr~m
about 3 to about 15 weight perrent. ~-
Antiblock and thlckening agents may al~ be
employed, if desired, w$th the unreaeted ~llard
;- se~gent~ coatlng 801ution.
In the well~know~ conventional ~ethod~ for
psepar~ng ~egener~ ed cellulo~e c~slng (non-fi~rou~
or fibrou~ ca~ing) or collagen caslng, the final c~s~ng
:-
19
11368
~ 7
processlng step 1~ a drylng step whlch encompas3e~
pas~ing the unf~nl~hed casing commonly known a~ gel ca~ing
through a ho~ ~ir dryer whereln the gel c~sing 1~ dr~et to
a de~lred molsture content, typ~cally be~ween about 3
weight percent to about 15 weight percene moisture.
The ca3~ng c~n be coatet wlth an aqueou~
solution ~f the unreacted Maillard reagent~ prlor to the
drying o~ the gel c~ing or after the drying 8tep.
Preferably, the casing i~ coated immediately pr~or to the
drying step 80 that the elevated temperature of the drylng
step can serve to both dry the gel casing ~nd cause the
Malllard reaction between the a~ino acid and the reduclng
~ugar of the coat$ng to occur in ~itu in the cs~lng,
producing reaction product~ wh~ch give the casing a rich
smoky brown color which iB readily tran~fer~ble from the
casing to ~he surface of d meat produc~ which is
subsequently stuffed in the ca3ing. The drying tempera-
ture and time are lnterdependent and should range ~rom
about 80C or abou~ 24 hours to a~ou~ 120C for ~bout 5
minutes, and preferably from abou~ 100C to about 110C
for about lO to about 15 mlnutes,
If the casing 1~ coated af~er ~he drying step,
then an addit~onal heating step i8 re~uired at from ~bout
30C to about 1209C for ~bou~ 1 m~nute to about 30 days
to c~u~e the Maillard zeac~on to e~ke pl~ce~ ~nd
prefer~bly Crom about 7~C ~o ab~ut 90C for about 15
mlnutes to ~bout 10 hourA,
The drying t~e ~nd ~emperature ~re in~er-
dependent f~ctorR in~ofar a~ ~ffeeting the drying of
~0
1136
~ 7
the ca~ing to de ired mol~ture levels aa well a~
affect~ng the Malllard re~ct~on. If the caRl~g i~
coated sfter drying requlr~ng sn additional hest~ng 8tep~
the in~erdependent hestlng ~ime and temperature should
be selected by those skilled ln the art to be ~ufficlent
to ~chieve ln 61tu Maillard reaction ~n ~he cas~ng
while maintainLng de~ired final moisture levels in the
ca~ing end minimlzing the neces ity of re-moi~turizing
the casing.
lQ If it i~ deslred to coat casing with ~ coatlng
composition already c3ntalning ~ Maillard reaction
produce, thi3 al~o can be performed before or ~fter ~he
casing ~rying ~tep. ~ecau~e the ~aillard reagents in
this instance are pre-reacted, the heat from the drying
step is not needed eo cause the reaction to take place
in s~u ln the cas~ng9 and therefore, ~he ca~ing i8
preferably coated after the try~ng step. EYe~ if eoated
after drying, some additional drying may be nece~sry
depending on ehe water con~en~ of the co~ting compositlon
containing ~he Maillard reaction product, Thi~
additional dryLng can be performed at from abou~ 80~C for
abou~ 10 minute~ to about 120C for about l minute, and
preferably from about 90C to abou~ 1~0C for ~bout 2 to
: ~bou~ S minutes,
Csa~ing compositlon8 of unreacted M ~llard
reagen~s or tho~e con~aining a Ma~ rd reaction product
can ~l~o be u3ed in con3unrtlon wit~ liquld ~moke which
: i~ well. known ln the art a8 a ~moke color~ng and flavor-
lng agent fo~ meat product~.
11368
~ 6 ~7 ~
Sultable coating compo~tions may al80 conta~n
those ~ngred~ents that are known ln the art as u~ful
for ~mpartin~ a variety of desirable characterlstic3
to food casing~, such a~ lmproved ~hlrrflbillty,
peelability, pliabillty and the like.
The following examples sre set forth ~9 being
merely lllu~trat~ve o ~he invention snd are not
~ntended, in ~ny manner, tG be l~mitative thereof.
Unless otherwi3e lndieated, all part~ and percentage~
are by weight.
E ~ LE I
This example illustrate~ the treatment of
fibro~s cas~ng with unreacted Maillard reagent~ which
react in situ in the casing to give transferable
smoke color.
200 gr~m~ of glycine, 400 grams of xylose and
300 grams of po~a~slu~ citrate hydrate are d~olved ln
800 grams of water at room tempera~ure, 23C.
The ~olution i~ coa~ed on the inside wsLl of
~ubul~r ibrou~ gel casing havlng a c~mposltion of
cellulose Z5 welght percent, water 65 welght pe~cent
snd glyce~lne 10 welgh~ percent~ ~t room temper~eure by
h~ slugging method, The ~olutlon is unifor~ly applied
to the ea~in8 a~ a lev~l of 25 mllllgra~3 of ~olu~ion
per squsre inch of ca~ng w~ The coat~ng solution
pene~r~tes throughout the c~sing wall. The ca~ing i~
then hot air dried at 105C or 15 m~nuteg. The dried
22
1135
7~
caYlng ha~ a ~ifor~ ~moky bro~m color, The finished
cssing ha~ ~ compositlon, excludlng the sol~ds of the
treating solution of this lnvention, of cellulose 71. 2
weight percent, waeer 6 weight percent snd glycer~ne
22,8 welght percent. The f~n~shed smoke colored ca~lng
ha~ an amount of the Ma~llard react~on products of the amino
acid glycine and the reducing ~ugar xylose sf 9,0
m~lligram~ per square lnch of casing wall,
EXAMPLE II
This example illustrate~ the transfe~ability
of the smoke color from a food ca~lng, treated with
Maillard reagents reacted in sltu, to an enca~ed pro~
cessed meat product.
The moke Golored f~brous c~sing prepared as
in Example I, i~ stufed with bologna emulsion, The
bologn~ 18 fur~her proce~sed by stepc well-known in ~he
- art, but without ~ conventional ~moking step. The
c~sing ~8 ~hen peelet from the inished bologna rev2al
~ ing a bologn~ w~th ~ ~mske brown colored surface~ A
: 20 control sample s~uffed in an untreated casing and
proce~ed u~der s~mllar condlt~on~ doe8 not have She
smoke color,
:
Th~ ample lllustrates ~he treatment of
non-f~brou~ cellulo~e ca~ng with a co~ting composit~on
113~8
6 6~ ~
~lre~dy cont~inlng ~ M~illard reaction product ~h~ch
gives the casing ~ transferable brown amoke color.
100 gr~ms of monosodium glutamate, 200 grams
of te~trose and 25 grams of sodium citrate hydr~te are
dl~solved Ln 750 gr~ms of w~ter and heated ~t 90C for
10 minutes to cause the MaLllard reaction to take
place, The solution i8 then further heated eo
evaporate the w~ter, le~ving ~ dark brown pa~te.
Sufficien~ water i8 then added ~o re-dilute the pa~te
so that the composi~ion conta~ning the Maillard reaction
product to ~e coated on he casing has a wa~er content
based on total weighe of ~11 component~ of 40 weight
percent,
The coating compo~ition i~ then coated on the
~nside wa~l of dried tubular non-fibrous cellulose
casing having a compo8ition of cellulose 70,3 wei~ht
percent, water 12.1 wei~ht percent ~nd glycerlne 17.6
weight percent, at 23C room temperature by ~he ~lugging
method, The coating ~ompo~ition i~ un~formly applied
to the casing a~ ~ concentration of 20 milligr~ms of
coseing composi~ion per square inch of casing waLl
which i~ equiv~lent by excluding citrate and water ~o
11.0 m$11igrams of the Maillard reactlsn produc~ per
; square inch, The trested cssing has a rich moky brown
colDr .
,
1136B
~ 7
EXAMPLE TY
Th~ example ~llu~tsate~ the transferablllty
of the 3moke color from ~ food caslng, tre~tet w~th a
coatlng compos~tion already containing a Maillard
seact~on product, to an encased proce~qed meat product,
The smoke c~l~red no~ fibrou~ cellulose casing
prepared as in Example III, ~8 stuffed w$th fran~furter
emul~lonO
The fr~nkfur~er 1s proce~sed ~t 25% rel~ti~e
humidity with a dry bulb temper~ture maintained ~t
140F for 30 minute~ The temper~ture i8 then r~ised
from 140~ to 180F ove~ a period of 30 mlnutes~ 3nd
: then maintalnet at 180F un~il an intern~l frankfurter
product t2mperature of 160F i8 reached. The p~otuct
~ i~ then cold eap-water shower~d to an internal temper-
: ature of 120F and iB held in a 40F cooler for two hours
prior to peellng, The ca~Lng ~ ehen peeled from the
finished fr~nkfurter reveal1ng a ~ran~fur er with a
smoke brown colored ~urface, A c3n~rol ~ample ~uffed
in an untrea~ed c~sing and proees~ed under ~1milar
condit10ns does no~ hflve ~he smoke color,
:: EXAMPLE:V
~h1s example illu8~rat~ the t~e~tmen~ of
celluloRe ca~lng w~h a coa~ing composl~on ~lready
: con ~n~ng a M~ rd react~on produc~ ~nd whish Bl~O `
,
113
~ 67 8
contalns antiblock and thlckening ~gentR.
103 gram~ of 4-~minobutyric ~c~d, 150 grams of
xylo8e, and 50 gram~ of sodium citrate hydrate are
d~solved in 500 grams of water, The solut~on is heatet
at 90C for 5 minutes to csuse the M~illard reaction to
occ~r and then further heated S4 evaporate the water
unt~l the water content i8 10 weight percent.
To 43 gr~ms of this compo~ition containing a
Maillard reac~on product are ~ddet 15 gram8 of ~ 50% food
grade mineral oil in water emul~ion as an antlblock agent,
28 gr~ms of a 3% ~queous solution of methylcellulose as a
thickener 9 and 20 gm~ of propylene glycol a~ an inert
diluent~ The resul~ing mixture i8 coated uniformly on dry
cellulose casing by the slugging method to give a ~urface
coating of ~he mixture of 20 mg/sq, in. of casing wall,
which is equivalent to 7,0 mg/sq, in. of ~he Ma~llard
re~ction product, The casing i8 re-dried to a 15 weight
percent moi~ture level and i9 ~tuffed wieh frankurter
emulslon, The ~uffed easing ~ conventionally proce~sed
without ~pplicat~on of smoke and i8 ~hen peeled from ~he
frankfurter, The fran~fur~er has a brswn smoke color on
it~ surface, while a con~rol ~rankfurter ~imilarly
processed while encased in an un~rested c~sing doe~ not, .
EXAMPLE VI
__
Thi~ example illu~tr~te~ the ~reakmenS o~ sollagen
ca~ng wl~h unreae~ed Maillard re~gent~ wh~ch reac~ in ~itu
in the ca~ing o glve the c~ing ~ ~moke colo~,
26
1136
78
An unre~cted M~ rd reagen~ solution i8
prepared ~ în E~cample I and applled to a ~ubular
collagen gel cas~ng by ~praylng and dried as in E~cample
I. The drled casing ha~ a smoky brown color,
EXAMPLE VII
This e~ample ~llu~tra~es the treatment of
collagen ca~ing with ~ coating composition already
cont~ining a Maillard reaction produc~ which gives the
casing a smoke color,
A coating compo~ition i~ prepared ~18 in
Example III and Dpp'l ied to a dr$ed 'cubular coll~gen
c~sing by ~praying so that the Maillard re~ction product
iR coated on the csslng At a level a~ ln Example III.
The treated ca3~ng ha~ a rlch smoky brown color,
EXA~tPLE VIII
Thi~ exalDple illustrates the treatment of
cellulose casing with a coating composition containing
Maill~rd re~ction produet ~nd liquid smoke,
A dark brown pa6te is prep~red a~ in Ex~mple III.
To 4 . O grams of thls dark brown p~ste are added 2, O gr~m~
- ~ of a 5~7. fvod grade Dliner~l oll in water eD~ulslon as an
; ~ ant~bIock agent ~nd 10 gram~ of liq--ld smoke" ~he
resulting co~ing compo3~tion i8 ~pplied ~o ~h~ lnterior
wall of at tubul~r cellulo~e casing at a level o abou~c
.~
27
,~'
1~368
7~
30 mllligsam~ of coating compo3itlon per s~uare inch ~f
cssing wall which ~ equ~valent to about 8 mg, of ~he
Maillard reactlon product and to about 19 mg. of llquld
smoke per ~q, ~n. of casing wall, The treated CaBing has
a smoky brown color snd ~ smoke odor, A frankfurt~r
processed in the treuted casing 8180 haA a ~moky brown
color ~nd a smoke odor,
EXAMPLE IX
This e~cample illu~trates the treatment of
fibrou~ casing with a coating compo3itlon eontaining a
Maillard reaction product and liqu~d smoke.
A dark brown paste i8 prepared as ~n Example III,
To 4,0 grams of this dark brown pas~e are added 2,0 grams
of a 50% food grade minersl oil ~n water emul6ion a~ an
antiblock agent and 10 gram6 of l~qu~ d smoke, The
resulting coating compo~itioTl is appl led to the ~nterior
wall of ~ 'cubular fibrou~ casing at ~ level o about
39 mllligram3 of co8ting compositlon per ~quare inoh of
casing w~ll which is equivalene to about 8 mg. o~ ~he
Maillard reaction product and to about 19 ~g, of liquid
s2noke per ~q, ~n. of casing wall, The treated c~ing
ha~ 8 ~moky brown color and a smoke odor. A bologna
proce~sed lr, ~he tre~ted ca~ing also ha~ ~ smoky brow~
color ant ~ 8moke odor,
28
