Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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17 900 ff. (B/gr)
Food Wrap
The invention concerns a food barrier wrap for food which is
boiled, cooked or otherwise heated in the wrapping, in
particular for sausages to be cooked or simmered, ham, pickled
products or soft cheese.
In food of this type, a colour and/or flavour transfer from
the wrapping to the food is increasingly desired during the
cooking or simmering process.
Sausages to be simmered and pickled products to be cooked are
still being produced to a large extent, in a more or less
country-specific manner, in cellulose fiber casings. This
cellulose fiber casing has a high steam and gas permeability
in order to smoke the products during the production process.
It is also known to impregnate cellulose fiber casings with
liquid smoke in order to shorten the smoking time.
However, due to the steam and gas permeability of the
wrapping, the production of food in a cellulose fiber casing
is always associated with a loss in weight, taste and flavour
during the production process, during cooling and during
storage.
Products produced in the cellulose fiber casing thus have a
very short, limited shelf life and must be wrapped a second
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time as quickly as possible after production by means of a
barrier wrapping to compensate for this disadvantage. A
recontamination or reinfection which represents a loss in
quality and shortening of shelf life can also not be ruled out
with the additional wrapper and, moreover, involves additional
costs.
To avoid the disadvantage of steam and gas permeability,
plastic wrappings were developed, especially for big industry,
consisting of materials which have a steam and gas
impermeability, so-called cook + ship, i.e. cooking and
shipping without an additional second wrapping.
When using plastic wrapping of this type, there is no loss in
weight, flavour and taste during the production process nor
during storage and shipping, however, the finished product
does not have the typical smoked taste which consumers desire
and expect in many products.
The impregnation of pure plastic wrapping with flavours was
also not successful since the plastics used cannot adequately
absorb and store impregnating agents and these are stripped
off again during manufacture and when filling the plastic
wrappers since it cannot be absorbed and stored in a
sufficient amount by the plastic layers.
In order to lend the product finished in the plastic wrapping
the desired smoked taste and the typical colour, the plastic
wrapping must be removed after the production process and the
product smoked in a conventional manner or processed with
liquid smoke. In this subsequent process, there is again the
possibility of a loss in weight, flavour and taste, in
addition, the danger of recontamination and reinfection and a
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second wrapping is again absolutely imperative after the
processing.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide
a food barrier wrap which exhibits, on the one hand, high
density but, on the other hand, also good absorption power
and storage capacity for the desired flavours and/or
colouring agents and distinguishes itself by a later,
sufficient transfer of these substances to the food product.
According to the invention, this object is solved therein
that the wrapping consists of at least one steam and/or gas
impermeable foil and has an absorbent inner layer connected
therewith consisting of individual fibers or a weave,
fabric, knit, preferably a fleece, and that this inner layer
is impregnated with colouring agents and/or flavouring
agents.
More specifically, the present invention provides a food
barrier casing for enclosing a foodstuff to be boiled,
cooked or otherwise heated in the casing and for imparting a
colour and/or flavour to the foodstuff, wherein the casing
comprises at least one steam and/or gas impermeable plastic
foil, and an absorbent inner layer joined to an inner side
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of the impermeable plastic foil, the inner layer comprising
fibers selected from the group consisting of woven fibers,
fabric, knits, and fleece, and wherein the inner layer is
impregnated with colouring and/or flavouring agents in an
amount sufficient to impart colour and/or flavour to the
foodstuff when the food barrier casing encloses the
foodstuff.
First of all, this inner layer has the advantage of a high
absorption power and retainability for the colours and/or
flavours. Moreover, tests by the applicant have shown that
a substantially improved transfer of these substances to the
food takes place during the subsequent cooking or boiling
process than in conventional wrappings since the
impermeability of the wrapping vis-a-vis steam, preferably
also vis-a-vis gas, prevents the colour or flavours from
being washed out during the cooking process.
It was surprisingly shown that unusually thin wall thicknesses
in the order of some hundredths mm to 1/10 mm are already
sufficient for the inner layer to absorb the colouring and/or
flavouring agents. For this reason, it is especially
advantageous if the inner layer consists of individual fibers
or a thin fleece. Cotton fibers, cellulose fibers, also
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regenerated cellulose fibers, viscose fibers or mixtures
thereof are recommended as material herefor. An optimum
storage capacity for the colouring or flavouring agents is
attained thereby with little material inventory.
Advantageously, the inner layer is connected with the wrapping
by lamination and/or coating, so that a one-piece ,easy-to-
handle laminate is obtained. An adhesive can also be used for
the connection. Extruded polyethylene in an almost liquid
form is especially suitable as adhesive. The absorbent
material of the inner layer is laminated to the inner side of
the wrapping by means of this extruded polyethylene.
Further features and advantages of the invention can be found
in the following description of an embodiment with reference
to the drawings, showing:
Figure 1 a cross section through the wrapping with an inner
layer and
Figure 2 a top view onto a wrapping in the form of a bag.
According to Figure 1, the wrapping has a barrier wrapping 1
on the outside. It consists of two outer polyethylene layers
la, is and an intermediate layer 1b of polyamide and its
function is to protect the food so as to be airtight and
gastight, especially against steam and oxygen, so that the
food is not washed out during the cooking or boiling process,
i.e. does not lose flavour or colour. Advantageously, the
barrier wrap is shrinkable, by means of which a crease-free
end product results. Moreover, there is no loss in weight at
all during the manufacturing process, storage and transport.
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On its inner side, the described barrier wrap 1 is coated with
an absorbent inner layer 2, e.g. a fleece consisting of
cellulose fibers. It serves as a carrier for the desired
colouring and/or flavouring agents. This could be caramel,
aromatic extracts, smoke components, liquid smoke, marinades,
fruit flavours and other substances allowed under the
regulations governing food. They can be continuously applied
to the absorbent inner layer 2 either by a spray tube along
which the wrapper shaped in the form of a tube is guided or by
a liquid bath along which the inner wall of the wrapper slides
or by means of a liquid bubble which is conveyed through the
wrapping.
Instead of this, the inner layer 2 can also be imprinted with
the desired colouring and/or flavouring agents in a flat form.
After drying, the foil is given the tubular shape by means of
a heat-sealable, heat-resistant adhesive tape or by heat-
sealing at the overlapping edges.
The impregnated wrapper can be used and processed both in the
wet and dry state.
If the wrapping is to be dried after absorbing the colouring
and/or flavouring agents through the absorbent inner layer,
the use of colours and/or flavours which do not become
volatile during drying are recommended.
All of the preceding material layers are laminated to form a
film whereby, advantageously, an adhesive agent is used. Its
overall thickness is generally less than 1/10 mm. Thus, the
thickness of the two polyethylene layers la and lc is 10 to 60
microns in each case, the thickness of the intermediate layer
1b consisting of polyamide being 10 to 20 microns. The
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polyethylene layer lc facing the food is advantageously
extruded wet onto the layers la and 1b already joined
together, so that it functions as an adhesive for the
absorbent layer 2 to be subsequently applied.
For the inner layer 2, it is recommended that the absorbent
material, i.e. the fleece, the fibers or the like be applied
in a material thickness of about 10 to about 30 g/m2. This
absorbing layer is then impregnated with the desired flavours
or colour carriers and produced, if necessary, in the form
desired by the customer.
Figure 2 shows the wrapping in the form of a bag. For this
purpose, the wrapping is first given a tubular form and joined
together at the overlapping longitudinal edges by a band 3
sealable under heat. This band 3 is at least heat-sealed with
the layer 1a of the barrier wrapping 1.
At the lower end, the wrapping is sealed with a corresponding
band 4, whereby the lower edge is e.g. folded over by 180° to
ensure a tight heat-seal.
Special machines are required to attach the bands 3 and 4 and
they are often not available to the manufacturer of the wrap,
the butcher's shop. For this reason, the bag 5 thus formed
has an excess length 6 at its open upper edge which extends
over the entire periphery and is connected with the bag by
means of a sealable band 7. This excess length 6 does not
have an absorbent inner layer 2 like the bag 5 but consists
only of an easily heat-sealable plastic material, in
particular polyethylene, which can be easily sealed by the
customer to seal the bag 5 after it has been filled with the
meat and evacuated.
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TEST EXAMPLE
After the wrapping was impregnated with liquid smoke, a fine
sausage emulsion was filled in, sealed by means of an aluminum
clip and boiled. The wrapping or sausage filled in this way
had a diameter of 80 mm.
The result was as follows:
TEST RESULT
Control Smoke taste Loss in Production
arameters weight time
Wrapping
smoked + boiled good 8% 100 min.
cellulose fiber
casing
barrier wrap very good 0% 60 min.
with absorbent
inner layer
impregnated
with smoke
cellulose fiber sufficient 5% 80 min.
casing smoke taste
impregnated '
with smoke 'i
barrier wrap no smoke 0% 60 min.
without taste can be
absorbent ascertained
inner layer
impregnated
with smoke
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In summary, the invention offers the advantage that the
flavour and/or the colour, etc. is maintained on the inner
side of the wrapping in high doses, is not lost when the
wrapping is gather and filled and is reliably transferred to
the food contained therein during the cooking or boiling
process. Since the outer layers of the wrapper are
impermeable, the substances cannot be rinsed out during the
boiling process. No losses in weight, taste and flavour
result during the production and boiling process, during
transport and storage and the production time remains short.
The product can be delivered directly to the end user without
a second wrapping.
