Wet Savoury Product Process With Post-Cooling Starch Addition

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing processes for producing wet savoury products face challenges in ensuring microbiological safety, stability, and shelf life while maintaining good taste and mouthfeel, often requiring acidity adjustments that affect taste and Nutri-Score, and involve starch gelatinization leading to liquification and filling difficulties.

Innovation Solution

A process involving mixing water, oil, soluble fiber with a molecular weight below 6000 g/mol, flavor, pasteurizing, cooling below the gelatinization temperature, and adding un-gelatinized starch, followed by packaging, to create a stable, creamy, and consumer-friendly product with controlled water activity and no gel formation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If starch is added to the mixture and heated to pasteurize, then the mixture is microbially safe, but the starch gelatinizes causing liquification and thinning over shelf life

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemicrobiological safetyVSAvoidstarch stability
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The process is divided into two distinct stages: first pasteurizing the mixture without starch to ensure microbiological safety, then adding un-gelatinized starch after cooling. This segmentation prevents starch gelatinization during pasteurization while maintaining microbial safety.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The mixture is pasteurized and cooled below the gelatinization temperature of starch before adding the starch. This preliminary action ensures that when starch is added, it remains un-gelatinized and stable, avoiding liquification during storage.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Stability of the object's composition

If acidity is increased to control starch degradation, then starch stability is improved, but taste and mouthfeel deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestarch stabilityVSAvoidtaste and mouthfeel
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The harmful factor (acidity) is extracted from the recipe by using un-gelatinized starch added after cooling, which eliminates the need for acidity adjustments to prevent starch degradation, thereby preserving taste and mouthfeel.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The temperature parameter is changed by cooling the mixture below the gelatinization temperature of starch before adding it. This parameter change prevents starch gelatinization and degradation without requiring acidity adjustments, maintaining product quality.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Stability of the object's composition

If soluble fiber with high molecular weight is used, then the product has good texture, but water activity cannot be sufficiently lowered

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovetextureVSAvoidwater activity
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The molecular weight parameter of soluble fiber is changed to below 6000 g/mol. This parameter change enables sufficient water activity reduction while maintaining acceptable texture, resolving the contradiction between texture and water activity control.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

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 process achieves a shelf life over 9 months with stable water activity below 0.900, limited starch degradation, improved taste and mouthfeel, and ease of packaging and handling, without chemical preservatives and sour taste.

Implementation Method 1

a consumer-friendly solution ingredient is needed to help lowering the water activity

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectWater activity reduction: Absorption (physical)

Implementation Method 2

pasteurize the mixture

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectHeating: Heating

Implementation Method 3

cooling the pasteurized mix below the gelatinating temperature of the un-gelatinized starch

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectCooling: Cooling

Data Source

PatentUS20260053176A1A process for producing a wet savoury product
Publication Date: 2026.02.26 SOCIETE DES PRODUITS NESTLE SA

AI summary

The invention relates to a process for producing a wet savoury product. In particularly the invention relates to a process for producing a wet savoury product comprising the step of mixing a composition comprising water, oil, soluble fiber having a molecular weight below 6000 g/mol and flavor, pasteurize the mixture and after cooling adding an un-gelatinized starch followed by packaging the wet savoury product.