Coated Nut and Seed Products Micronutrient Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Many natural foods lack essential micronutrients such as vitamin D, folic acid, vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, calcium, vitamin E, iron, and iodine, leading to potential deficiencies in diets.
Innovation Solution
Development of coated nut and seed products with a nutritional additive and oil, where the additive can include vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, or anti-inflammatory agents, specifically targeting micronutrient deficiencies by incorporating them into the coating of nuts and seeds like almonds, peanuts, and sunflower seeds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If natural foods are used as the basis for nutrition, then the food maintains its natural properties and simplicity, but it lacks essential micronutrients such as vitamin D, folic acid, vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, calcium, vitamin E, iron, and iodine
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines natural nuts and seeds with nutritional additives (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants) by coating the natural food items. This merging allows the product to retain the beneficial properties of natural foods while supplementing them with essential micronutrients that are naturally absent, thereby achieving both natural simplicity and nutritional completeness
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a composite food product consisting of a natural food core (nut or seed) and a coating layer containing nutritional additives. This composite structure allows the product to exhibit properties of both components: the natural food provides texture and base nutrition, while the coating layer supplies essential micronutrients, resolving the contradiction between natural simplicity and nutritional completeness
2Quantity of substance
If micronutrient supplements are added to foods, then nutritional deficiencies are addressed, but the food complexity and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a thin coating layer to deliver micronutrients on the surface of the nut or seed. This thin film approach allows efficient delivery of nutritional additives without significantly increasing the overall product complexity or requiring complex internal structures, thereby addressing micronutrient needs while maintaining product simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The coating serves multiple functions simultaneously: it delivers micronutrients, provides flavor enhancement, and may offer protective benefits. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components or processes, thereby addressing nutritional deficiencies without proportionally increasing product complexity
3Quantity of substance
If a coating with nutritional additives is applied to nuts and seeds, then micronutrient delivery is achieved, but the manufacturing process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies coating techniques that involve controlling parameters such as oil content (0.1-5 wt%), nutritional additive concentration, and coating thickness. By optimizing these parameters, the manufacturing process achieves effective micronutrient delivery while maintaining ease of production through established coating methodologies rather than requiring complex new processes
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are nut and seed products comprising a coating, wherein the coating comprises a nutritional additive, as well as methods of preparing said coated nut and seed products.