Method for preparing a gel for coating sausage paste, including high-pressure treatment.

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for the preparation of an aqueous coating composition intended to be applied by coextrusion around a food preparation and to form a coating around said food preparation in contact with a gelling agent such as calcium chloride. According to the invention, after mixing of at least water and alginate of the composition, said mixture is exposed to a high pressure of at least 1400 bar, preferably at least 1800 bar, for at least 0.1 seconds.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the food processing field, and more particularly to processing meat into processed pork food products.

[0002] More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for preparing an aqueous coating composition for application by co-extrusion around a food preparation, a corresponding aqueous composition, and a method for producing sausages.

[0003] The present invention is particularly used for producing raw, cooking or boiling sausages, and dry sausages.

Background Art

[0004] For several years, there has been a technical search to replace animal-derived sausage casings with casings based on vegetable materials for technical, hygienic and / or religious reasons.

[0005] For example, from French Patent No. 2973988, European Patent No. 1311165 or International Publication No. WO 99 / 55165, vegetable sausage casings based on water, alginate and other polysaccharides such as starch, CMC (acronym for carboxymethyl cellulose), guar gum or cellulose derivatives are known. To form these casings, an aqueous composition in the form of a gel is applied around the meat emulsion, which forms a strong outer coat around the meat emulsion after gelation of the gel.

[0006] These aqueous gels obtained by simply mixing different compounds have proven difficult to work with in several co-extruders. Thus, for example, the casing tears when attempting to twist the casing to reliably seal the ends of consecutively produced sausages.

[0007] Another drawback of using known gels is that the outer layer obtained after gelling tends to peel off the meat due to a lack of adhesion between the meat and the outer layer. This peeling, which can lead to deformation of the sausage and even tearing of the outer layer, becomes even more apparent when the sausage is cooked, and this can be off-putting to some consumers.

[0008] Furthermore, the demand for preservative-free sausages continues to grow today.

[0009] However, without preservatives in known aqueous gel compositions, bacteria and more generally, microbiomes develop and proliferate within the gel very rapidly within a few days, which severely limits the gel's preservation capacity and, consequently, its advantages within the context of industrial use. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0010] [Patent Document 1] French Patent No. 2973988 Specification [Patent Document 2] European Patent No. 1311165 [Patent Document 3] International Publication No. 99 / 55165 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0011] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to improve upon the shortcomings of the current technology described above.

[0012] More precisely, the object of the present invention is to provide a technique for preparing an aqueous coating composition intended to be applied by co-extrusion around a food preparation, which enables obtaining a stronger coating that can be twisted and / or suspended after gelling without the risk of tearing of the coating and adheres well to the food preparation.

[0013] Another objective of the present invention is to provide a technology that can stabilize aqueous compositions for several weeks or even months without the use of preservatives.

[0014] Another object of the present invention is to provide such a technology that is easy to use.

[0015] One of the objectives of this invention is to propose such a technology in which the cost is economically acceptable.

[0016] Furthermore, an objective of the present invention is to provide such a technology that does not affect the sensory characteristics or color of the sausage. [Means for solving the problem]

[0017] These objectives, as well as other objectives as will become apparent below, are achieved by a method for preparing an aqueous coating composition intended to be applied by co-extrusion around a food preparation and brought into contact with a gelling agent such as calcium chloride to form a coating around the food preparation, wherein the composition essentially comprises water and 2 to 10% by wet weight of alginate.

[0018] In the present invention, the food preparation may be, for example, a meat preparation, a preparation suitable for vegetarian dietary habits, or a cheese preparation. Furthermore, it may be a food preparation for humans or animals.

[0019] Furthermore, it should be noted that in the present invention, the alginate may be sodium alginate, potassium alginate, ammonium alginate, calcium alginate, or propane-1,2-diol alginate.

[0020] Finally, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the water in the composition may be water from a drinking water network, desalinated water, or soft water.

[0021] According to the present invention, after mixing at least water and alginate for the composition, the mixture is exposed to a high pressure of at least 1400 bar, preferably at least 1800 bar, for at least 0.1 seconds.

[0022] Therefore, the present invention proposes, for the purpose of improving the properties of a casing obtained after gelation of an aqueous composition, exposing an alginate-based aqueous composition to high pressure, more specifically exposing the aqueous composition to a pressure of at least 1400 bar.

[0023] In fact, the inventors have unexpectedly and surprisingly confirmed that exposing the aqueous composition to a high pressure exceeding 1400 bar improves the mechanical strength of the casing, particularly the resistance to twisting, tension and penetration, and furthermore, an improvement in the adhesive force between the casing and a food preparation to which the casing is applied by co-extrusion around the food preparation can be observed.

[0024] According to the inventors, a hypothesis that can explain this phenomenon is that the high pressure modifies the orientation of the macromolecules constituting alginate and / or affects the kinetic characteristics of the exchange reaction between cations of alginate and calcium ions, which is considered to increase the affinity between alginate and calcium ions, in other words, the ability of alginate to capture calcium ions.

[0025] It is also noted that, advantageously, since the mixture must be placed in a flexible container in order to be exposed to high pressure, there is generally no need to repackage the composition into another container afterwards.

[0026] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, during the high pressure exposure step, the composition is exposed to a pressure of at least 2000 bar for at least 0.1 seconds.

[0027] In a specific embodiment of the present invention, during the high pressure exposure step, the composition is exposed to a pressure of at least 1400 bar for at least 5 seconds.

[0028] In a particular embodiment of the present invention, during the high-pressure exposure step, the composition is exposed to a pressure of at least 1800 bar for at least 3 seconds.

[0029] In a particular embodiment of the present invention, during the high-pressure exposure step, the composition is exposed to a pressure of at least 1800 bar for at least 5 seconds.

[0030] In one highly advantageous embodiment of the present invention, during the high-pressure exposure step, the composition is exposed to a pressure of at least 4200 bar for at least 0.1 seconds.

[0031] Thus, the bacterial population present in the aqueous composition is at least partially inactivated, which allows the aqueous composition to be stabilized for one month or several months. Therefore, it is advantageous that preservative-free aqueous compositions can be used on industrial production lines for sausages or other foods.

[0032] In a particular embodiment of the present invention, before or during the mixing step, at least one polysaccharide is incorporated into the composition together with water and alginate, wherein the polysaccharide is at least: - Modified starch; - Guar gum; - Locust bean gum; - Xanthan gum; - Cellulose derivatives It belongs to a group that includes [this].

[0033] In one particularly advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the polysaccharide is guar gum, and the mixture comprises 2 to 7% by wet weight of sodium alginate, preferably 4 to 5% by wet weight of sodium alginate, and 0.5 to 6% by wet weight, preferably 1.4 to 1.8% by wet weight of guar gum.

[0034] Advantageously, the alginate has a mannuronic acid-to-glucuronic acid ratio of 1.3 or less.

[0035] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the mixture has a pH of 3.8 to 4.2 after exposure to high pressure.

[0036] The present invention also relates to a method for producing sausages, comprising the steps of: applying an aqueous composition essentially comprising water and 2 to 10% by wet weight of alginate around a food preparation by co-extrusion to coat the food preparation; and contacting the coated food preparation with a gelling agent such as calcium chloride to fix the outer covering formed from the aqueous composition around the food preparation, wherein the composition is exposed to a high pressure of at least 1400 bar, preferably at least 1800 bar, for at least 0.1 seconds prior to the co-extrusion application step.

[0037] In the present invention, it should be noted that the composition may be exposed to high pressure for several hours or days from the time the compounds of the composition are mixed, in order to be packaged in a bucket or flexible case that will be delivered to a sausage manufacturing site by co-extrusion. Furthermore, even after packaging, it is possible to expose the composition to high pressure at the sausage production site, such as a co-extruder, immediately before the composition is injected into the co-extruder.

[0038] The present invention further states that the force to be applied to move a 10 mm moving object into the covering sheath at a speed of 3.5 mm / s using a penetrometer is at least 205 g / cm². 2 The present invention also relates to an aqueous composition obtained by the above-described method for preparing an aqueous composition, wherein the moving body has a diameter of 25 mm and a length of 35 mm, the outer covering spreads the composition to form a substantially homogeneous layer with a thickness of 0.15 mm, and then a gelling agent is sprayed onto the layer.

[0039] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become clearer upon reading the following description and accompanying drawings of multiple embodiments of the invention, which are shown as non-limiting, illustrative examples. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0040] [Figure 1] The steps of one embodiment of the method for preparing an aqueous composition according to the present invention are schematically shown. [Figure 2] Each step of one embodiment of the method for producing sausages according to the present invention from an aqueous composition prepared according to each step of the method presented with reference to Figure 1 is represented in block diagram form. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0041] Figure 1 illustrates, in block diagram form, each step of one embodiment of the method for preparing an aqueous composition according to the present invention.

[0042] In the first step 10, 4.5 kg of sodium alginate is mixed in a mixer for about 5 minutes with 0.4 kg of lactic acid, 0.14 kg of guar gum with a viscosity of 600 cps, and 93.5 liters of soft water. In the following description, this aqueous composition will be referred to as "Composition 1". It should be noted that this aqueous composition is advantageously free of preservatives.

[0043] The mixture is packaged in an airtight bag (step 20), and in step 30, it is placed in the chamber of a high-hydrostatic pressurizing unit, for example, one commercially available from Nc Hiperbaric (registered trademark).

[0044] In step 40, the pressure inside the chamber is increased to 2000 bar, and then maintained at 4200 bar for 5 seconds.

[0045] Subsequently, the chamber is depressurized and the bags are removed from the chamber. At this point, these bags containing the high-pressure processed composition 1 are ready for delivery to the sausage production site.

[0046] Comparative tests of composition 1 exposed to high pressure and unexposed on sausage co-extrusion lines, such as the ConPro® co-extrusion line commercially available from Huntmann, or the CC215 commercially available from Femark, or the CoeXSkin® from Marrell, showed that strength, particularly resistance to torsion and tensile strength, was improved in the case of the high-pressure treated composition 1 obtained in step 40.

[0047] For these tests, step 101 involved the simultaneous extrusion of a coating layer consisting of composition 1, which was either exposed to high pressure or not, around a meat paste being pushed toward a co-extruder using a filling machine.

[0048] At the exit of the simultaneous extrusion die, the calcium chloride-based gelling solution from step 102 is sprayed onto the exiting continuous tubular sausage to fix the aqueous composition applied around the meat preparation, and then form a coating around the meat.

[0049] The continuous tubular sausage is then introduced into Huntmann's ConProLink® unit (step 103), which divides the tube into sausage-shaped sections of a consistent length by twisting the tube at regular intervals, while ensuring that the ends of each sausage are sealed by crimping.

[0050] In particular, it was confirmed that using composition 1, which has been exposed to high pressure, makes it easier to twist together continuous tubular sausages, and that, unlike when using composition 1 that has not been exposed to high pressure, the casing of about 10 sausages strung together does not tear under their own weight.

[0051] Furthermore, using a Brookfield CT3-V2® penetrometer, the penetration resistance of the nearly homogeneous gelled layer of composition 1, which was high-pressure treated in step 40 and had a thickness of 0.15 mm, was found to be 236 ± 10 g / cm³ on average over six measurements when a 25 mm diameter, 35 mm long moving object was driven 10 mm into the layer at a speed of 3.5 mm / s. 2 In contrast, when the same measurement protocol was applied to a 0.15 mm thick gelled layer of composition 1 that was not exposed to high pressure, the result was 163 + / - 10 g / cm². 2 The measurement obtained was that it was merely [a certain amount]. It should be noted that in order to obtain a layer with a thickness of 0.15 mm, composition 1 obtained in step 40 was co-extruded around a "neutral" paste obtained by mixing 18 kg of cellulose fiber VITACEL® grade L600-10, also known as food additive code E460ii, with 2.7 kg of guar gum and 7.93 liters of water. Subsequently, calcium chloride was sprayed onto the coating layer of the paste to obtain the gelation of an aqueous gel, and then the coating was separated from the paste.

[0052] Furthermore, it was confirmed that the adhesion between the gelled coating obtained from composition 1 and the meat preparation was significantly improved when composition 1 had been previously exposed to a pressure of 4200 bar for 5 seconds.

[0053] Below is a summary table of penetration measurements over 10 mm at a speed of 3.5 mm / s, performed on a 0.15 mm thick gelled layer obtained by gelling aqueous compositions prepared according to various preparation methods according to the present invention, which are formed proportionally with the same compounds as composition 1 and exposed to a pressure of 2000 to 6000 bar for 3 seconds to 3 minutes, using calcium chloride, with a mobile body of 25 mm in diameter and 35 mm in length and a Brookfield CT3-V2 penetrometer.

[0054] These layers were obtained by co-extruding an aqueous composition exposed to high pressure around a “neutral” paste obtained by mixing 18 kg of cellulose fiber E460ii with 2.7 kg of guar gum and 79.3 liters of water, then spraying calcium chloride onto the coating layer of the paste, and finally separating the gelled outer layer from the paste.

[0055] [Table 1]

[0056] This table confirms that when the pressure is varied between 2000 and 6000 bar, or when the exposure duration is varied between 3 seconds and 3 minutes, the measured entry resistance hardly changes within the range of measurement uncertainty.

[0057] The following description presents the results of penetration measurements over a 10 mm span at a speed of 4.5 mm / s, performed using a mobile body with a diameter of 25 mm and a length of 35 mm and a Brookfield CT3-V2 penetrometer, on a 0.15 mm thick gelled layer of an aqueous composition formed with the same compounds as composition 1 in proportion to those in composition 1 in the table below, and on a 0.15 mm thick gelled layer of a second aqueous composition according to the present invention, hereinafter referred to as "composition 2," which was prepared by mixing 6 kg of sodium alginate with 0.4 kg of lactic acid and 93.6 liters of demineralized water.

[0058] For these tests, two versions of these two compositions were prepared: one exposed to a pressure of 6000 bar for 3 minutes, and the other unexposed.

[0059] [Table 2]

[0060] This table confirms that the input values ​​are nearly identical for the two aqueous compositions exposed to high pressure, which suggests that high pressure primarily affects the properties of the alginate (in fact, the only difference between these two aqueous compositions is the presence or absence of guar gum in the formulation).

Claims

1. A method for preparing an aqueous coating composition intended to be applied by co-extrusion around a food preparation and brought into contact with a gelling agent to form a coating around the food preparation, wherein the composition comprises water and 2 to 10% by wet weight of alginate, and after mixing at least the water and alginate of the composition, the mixture is exposed to a high pressure of 2000 to 6000 bar for 3 seconds to 3 minutes.

2. Before or during the mixing step, at least one polysaccharide is incorporated into the composition together with water and alginate, wherein the polysaccharide is at least - Starch, - Guar gum, - Locust bean gum, - Xanthan gum The method according to claim 1, characterized in that it belongs to the group including the group.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the polysaccharide is guar gum, and the mixture contains 2 to 7% by wet weight of sodium alginate and 0.5 to 6% by wet weight of guar gum.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the alginate has a ratio of mannuronic acid to guluronic acid of 1.3 or less.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the mixture has a pH of 3.8 to 4.2 after exposure to high pressure.

6. A sausage manufacturing method comprising the steps of: applying an aqueous composition containing water and 2 to 10% by wet weight of alginate around a food preparation by co-extrusion to coat the food preparation; and contacting the coated food preparation with a gelling agent to fix an outer covering formed from the aqueous composition around the food preparation, wherein the composition is exposed to a high pressure of 2000 to 6000 bar for 3 seconds to 3 minutes prior to the co-extrusion application step.

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