The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 29, 2014
Filed:
Oct. 16, 2012
Del Monte Corporation, San Francisco, CA (US);
Robert J. Lombard, Aurora, CO (US);
Kenchu Tham, Sparta, NJ (US);
Haitao Ni, Morris Plains, NJ (US);
Paul Ziemba, Lancaster, NY (US);
Harry Levine, Morris Plains, NJ (US);
Big Heart Pet Brands, San Francisco, CA (US);
Abstract
A flexible, strip-shaped food product is made by comminuting substantially frozen meat, such as chicken, and heating the comminuted meat to at least partially denature the meat proteins and cooling the cooked meat. About 4% by weight to about 45% by weight of wheat flour is admixed with the cooked meat, with other ingredients, such as an alginate gum, to form a dough. The wheat flour unexpectedly increases tensile strength of the dough and products baked from the dough, and maintains flexibility of the strip-shaped food products over an extended period of time. Cooking of the meat in the presence of salt unexpectedly increases water activity of the pieces, resulting in a product that has a skin and moist middle, while maintaining tensile strength. The dough is rotary-molded into strip-shaped pieces. The rotary mold may have angled die cups. The strip-shaped dough pieces are then baked and dried.