Multilayer Food Casing for Smoke Permeability and Moisture Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current food casings for smoking and storage either lack sufficient moisture and smoke permeability during smoking or become overly permeable during storage, leading to issues like excessive weight loss and loss of smoke flavor in smoked foods.
Innovation Solution
A multilayer casing composed of at least one thermoplastic polyamide-containing layer and an adhesive layer with functionalized hydrocarbonic polymers, which maintains moisture and smoke permeability across a wide temperature range, ensuring effective smoking and storage while minimizing weight loss and flavor loss.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional natural casings or collagen-based casings are used for smoking, then the food achieves typical dense dark-colored skin and good smoke flavor, but the production process is low-output, highly water-consuming, and uses toxic chemicals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameters by replacing natural/collagen casings with synthetic polymer casings (polyamide, polypropylene, polyester) that eliminate toxic chemicals from production while maintaining smoke permeability and food quality characteristics
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses composite polymer materials combining different synthetic polymers to achieve the desired balance of smoke permeability, mechanical strength, and environmental friendliness, replacing the natural/collagen material system
2Ease of manufacture
If polyamide casings are used for smoking, then the production process is more efficient and environmentally friendly, but the casings are much less permeable to water vapor, causing far less weight loss and poor surface coloration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the water vapor permeability parameter of polyamide casings by incorporating hydrophilic compounds (cellulose derivatives, starch, proteins) that increase moisture transmission while maintaining the synthetic polymer benefits
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates composite materials by combining polyamide with hydrophilic compounds to achieve enhanced water vapor permeability while retaining the production efficiency and environmental advantages of synthetic polymers
3Loss of substance
If highly permeable casings are used for smoking, then water vapor and smoke transmission is excellent, but the casings become overly permeable during storage, causing rapid moisture and smoke flavor loss
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates dynamic permeability characteristics where the casing permeability changes with temperature - highly permeable during hot smoking (80-100°C) and less permeable during refrigerated storage (0-10°C), achieving automatic adaptation to different conditions
Solution Approach 2:
The invention utilizes temperature-dependent parameter changes in the composite material structure to control permeability - the hydrophilic compounds and polymer matrix exhibit different permeability characteristics at different temperatures, enabling selective transmission
4Adaptability or versatility
If single-layer casings are used, then the structure is simple, but the casing cannot simultaneously provide smoke permeability during smoking and moisture barrier protection during storage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the casing into multiple functional layers, each with specific properties - outer layer for smoke permeability, intermediate layers for moisture control and adhesion, creating segmented functionality within a single integrated structure
Solution Approach 2:
The invention designs a multilayer casing structure that performs multiple functions simultaneously - smoke transmission, moisture barrier, adhesion to food surface, and temperature-dependent permeability control - making the casing universally suitable for both smoking and storage
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 multilayer casing effectively transmits smoke components and water vapor during smoking while resisting moisture and aroma loss during storage, maintaining the quality of smoked foods by controlling permeability and retaining flavor and texture.
Implementation Method 1
The multilayer casing effectively transmits smoke components and water vapor during smoking
Implementation Method 2
resisting moisture and aroma loss during storage
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a casing for food product smoking and storage, that is a multilayer film, having at least one thermoplastic polyamide-containing layer and at least one adhesive layer, comprising functionalized predominantly hydrocarbonic (co)polymer, wherein every of polyamide-containing layers made of a composition comprising a) 5 to 95% of at least one (co)polyamide and b) 95 to 5% of at least one component, selected from the list, comprising water-insoluble highly permeable to water vapor thermoplastic (co)polymers and water-soluble (co)polymers. Disclosed is also smoked a food product in the invented casing, wherein this smoked food product can be a sausage, a frankfurter, a Vienna sausage, a ham or processed cheese. The casing can readily transmit moisture at hot smoking environment, but effectively keeps the moisture as well as smoke aromas in packed product at relatively low temperatures (usually 6°C and lower one). All this allows to prepare smoked food with all specific features and to store it with excellent preservation thereof and with low loss in weight. Two independent claims and 37 dependent claims, 3 Tables.