Chewable Fruit Snack with Controlled Sugar and Thickening Agents
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current snacks for children lack a balance of convenience, nutritional value, and shelf-life, often being high in calories and sugar, which contributes to obesity and dental issues, while existing fruit-based snacks are either nutritionally poor or not shelf-stable without preservatives.
Innovation Solution
A pasteurized foodstuff made with hot filling technology using fruits or vegetables, containing 10-40% simple sugars and thickening agents like pectins, carob flour, and tara gum, ensuring a chewable and self-sustaining consistency without preservatives, with a caloric content below 816 Kjoules/100g and a pH range of 2.0 to 4.6, allowing for long-term storage at room temperature.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If high sugar content (above 70% by weight) is used to ensure long shelf-life, then storage stability is improved, but caloric content increases promoting obesity and dental health issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical composition parameters by reducing sugar content from traditional high levels (above 70%) to a balanced range (10-40%), and compensates for shelf-life through alternative mechanisms: pasteurization process, controlled pH (2.0-4.6), and specific thickening agents (pectins, carob flour, tara gum) that provide both texture and preservation without excessive calories
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a composite formulation combining multiple functional ingredients: fruit/vegetable base (5-20% by weight), thickening agents (pectins, carob flour, tara gum), acidulants for pH control, and natural flavors. This composite approach achieves shelf-stability through synergistic effects rather than relying on high sugar content alone
2Object-affected harmful factors
If fruit jelly products with low sugar content are used, then caloric content is reduced, but the product is not shelf-stable because agar degrades at acid pH
Solution Approach 1:
The patent maintains low sugar content (10-40% by weight) while achieving shelf-stability through pasteurization (heating to 85-95°C for 15-30 minutes) and pH control (2.0-4.6 using citric acid or malic acid). The thickening agents selected (pectins, carob flour, tara gum) are specifically chosen for their stability in acidic conditions, unlike agar
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the unstable agar-based system with a more stable combination of pasteurization and alternative thickening agents, effectively creating a shelf-stable product without relying on preservatives or high sugar content
3Object-affected harmful factors
If thickened preparations with correct nutritional values are used, then nutritional profile is improved, but the product has such consistency to be spread and cannot be applied onto a stick or taken out keeping a predefined shape
Solution Approach 1:
The patent carefully controls the thickening agent content (0.5-5% by weight of total product weight) and selects specific types (pectins from citrus or apple, carob flour, tara gum) to achieve optimal viscosity. The combination of moderate thickening with pasteurization and pH control creates a chewable, self-sustaining consistency that holds shape on sticks while maintaining nutritional integrity
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates different textural zones within the product: a firm outer structure that maintains shape and can be applied to sticks, and a softer inner matrix that provides chewability and nutritional benefits. This is achieved through controlled thickening and the specific interaction of pectins/carob flour/tara gum with the fruit/vegetable matrix
4Ease of operation
If solid snacks based on cereals and fruit are used, then convenience of eating is improved, but nutritional values are questionable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the harmful components (excessive sugar, unhealthy cereals, artificial preservatives) from traditional snacks, retaining only the beneficial elements: real fruit/vegetable content (5-20% by weight), natural thickening agents, and controlled sugar levels (10-40% by weight), while maintaining the convenient snack format
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a healthy, tasty, and convenient snack with a long shelf-life, maintaining nutritional value and avoiding preservatives, ensuring the foodstuff is chewable and self-sustaining, suitable for consumption on-the-go without compromising dental health.
Implementation Method 1
comprising a thickening agent chosen among pectins, carob flour and tara gum in such an amount to make the foodstuff chewable and self-sustaining
Implementation Method 2
A foodstuff obtained by pasteurization with hot filling technology of a liquid or semi-solid based on at least one fruit or vegetable
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
A foodstuff obtained by pasteurization of a liquid or semi-solid based on at least one fruit or vegetable, containing an amount of simple sugars not higher than 50% by weight, and comprising at least one thickening agent in such an amount to give the foodstuff such a consistence to make it chewable and self-sustaining, e.g. by being applied onto a stick or other support or by being taken out of a container, for ease of consumption.