SNACK PRODUCT AND PROCESS FOR MAKING SAME

Abstract: A snack product comprises dried pieces of food in the form of chips or flakes having a preferred maximum of thickness of 0.8 mm and a preferred maximum moisture content of up to 5 % by weight. The flakes have a slight crunchy texture and are also chewy. Any kind of food may be used to form the flakes, although beef is preferred. The flakes provide a healthy alternative to conventional extruded and fried snacks. A process for making the snack product comprises slicing food to form chips or flakes, preferably to such a thickness that the flakes will curl when dried, and then drying the flakes to a moisture content of up to 15 % by weight.

Description: SNACK PRODUCT AND PROCESS FOR MAKING SAME The invention relates to a snack product and to a process for making a snack product. There are presently many snack products on the market. They consist primarily of crisps, nuts, potato granules and maize—based snacks. Of these, the snack products which are savoury based include flavoured (chicken, beef, cheese and onion etc.) crisps and other flavoured, extruded and fried snacks. It is an object of the invention to provide an alternative snack product and to provide a simple process for its manufacture. Accordingly, one aspect of the invention provides a snack product comprising dried pieces of food in the form of chips or flakes. The flakes are preferably bite-sized so that they are convenient to eat at any time. The flakes may consist of meat, fish, vegetable or fowl and contain little or no fat. Suitably the flakes are of good quality meat, fish, vegetable or fowl and contain a low fat content. The finished flakes are very thin, having a maximum thickness of preferably 0.8mm. The finished flakes are preferably at least 0.125mm thick and have a preferred thickness range of from 0.25 to 0.375mm. An advantage of having such thin flakes is that not only do they provide the impression of more product per unit weight but they are also pleasant to eat as they have a slight crunchy texture, whilst still being chewy. The flakes are preferably curled at least in part. In this way the flakes add further volume to the amount in a bag enabling a full bag of flakes of a reasonable size relative to the price of the product to be provided. Suitably the flakes are spiced and flavoured and in certain circumstances have vitamins added. When beef is used, the flakes are preferably seasoned with natural spices and marinated before being dried to cure the beef. Turkey flakes are preferably seasoned with garlic and spices, or provided as tandoori turkey or turkey tikka. Fish flakes, eg of smoked salmon, are suitably marinated with lemon and black pepper. For vegetarians, soya protein can be used as an alternative to meat. This may be seasoned with spices and hydrolysed vegetable protein flavourings. Because the meat, fish, vegetable and fowl flakes contain little or no moisture they may be stored in moisture tight packaging for several months without deterioration. Another aspect of this invention provides a process for the production of a snack product which in a broad sense comprises providing slices of food in the form of flakes and drying the flakes. The slices are of a thickness such that the flakes curl at least in part during the drying process, particularly at their edges. Prior to the slicing step the food is chilled to between -10 * C and 0 * C depending on the quality and type of food being used. Prior to the chilling step the food is pressed into preformed containers so that once chilled it is in a form suitable for dicing and slicing to produce the flakes. When the food is dried it loses moisture but retains all its original food value. The moisture content of the finished flakes may be up to 5% by weight, preferably up to 3% by weight, and more preferably from 1.5 to 3.0% by weight depending on product and style. To further illustrate the invention the following example is provided without any intention of being limited thereby. Example Production of beef flakes. 90-100% visual lean beef is passed through a foreign body detector and pressure injected with a marinade mix of liquid spices which, in some cases, will include added vitamins. The beef is then placed in a vacuum tumbler to disperse the injected marinade and bring out the protein in the meat. The meat is then placed into a pressure mould which is approximately 6" x 6" x 18" and placed in a chiller to bring the meat down to a temperature of -5°C When the meat is at the required temperature it is removed from the container and placed into a dicing machine which cuts the chilled blocks of meat into columns approximately 2" x 2" x 18". These chilled meat columns are placed in a magazine on a slicing machine which cuts them to a thickness of 1.0mm and places them on a curing tray which passes through the slicer on an indexed conveyor system. The tray then passes through a spice sprinkler to further coat the outside of the meat slices and is then stacked onto a trolley which, when full, is wheeled into a drying unit. When the meat has been dried to a moisture content of 1.5 to 3.0% the trolley is wheeled out of the unit and the trays are placed on a conveyor or the dried contents deposited on a vibrating conveyor which passes through an infra—red or ultra violet zone and then into the packaging machine hopper which conveys the beef flakes to a weighing head where the product is weighed and portioned before dropping into the bagging section of the packaging machine. As the product drops from the weigher head it passes through a detector that checks for foreign bodies. Just before the bag is sealed it is flushed with nitrogen to evacuate most of the residual oxygen in the bag. The bags are conveyed to a packaging area where they are mounted on cards or packed in display boxes which are then placed in shipping boxes and sealed for delivery. The finished flakes have an average thickness of 0.5mm. The process described can be run on a continuous basis or in batches. Many other improvements and modifications of the snack product and process described will readily be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A snack product comprising dried pieces of food in the form of chips or flakes. 2. A snack product according to claim ϊ wherein the flakes have a moisture content of up to 5% by weight. 3. A snack product according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the flakes have a maximum thickness of 0.8mm. 4. A snack product according to claim 3 wherein the flakes have a thickness of at least 0.125mm. 5. A snack product according to claim 3 or claim 4 wherein the flakes have a thickness of from 0.25 to 0.375mm. 6. A snack product according to any preceding claim wherein the flakes are curled at least in part. 7. A snack product according to any preceding claim wherein the flakes consist of meat, fish, vegetable or fowl. 8. A snack product according to claim 7 wherein the flakes consist of beef. 9. A snack product according to any preceding claim wherein the flakes are slightly crunchy and are chewy. 10. A snack product according to any preceding claim wherein the flakes are seasoned and, optionally, supplemented with vitamins. 11. A process for making a snack product comprising slicing food to form chips or flakes and drying the flakes. 12. A process according to claim 11 wherein the flakes are dried to a moisture content of between 0 and 5% by weight. 13. A process according to claim 11 or claim 12 wherein the food is sliced to form flakes having a maximum thickness of 2mm. 14. A process according to claim 11 or claim 12 wherein the food is sliced to a thickness such that the flakes curl at least in part during the drying process. 15. A process according to any of claims 11 to 14 wherein the food is chilled to a temperature of between 0 and —10°C prior to being sliced. 16. A process according to claim 15 wherein the food is pressed into a mould prior to being chilled. 17. A process according to any of claims 11 to 16 wherein the food is seasoned prior to being sliced. 18. A process according to any claims 11 to 17 carried out on a continuous basis or in batches. 19. A snack product substantially as herein described with reference to the Example. 20. A process for making a snack product substantially as herein described with reference to the Example. AMENDED CLAIMS [received by the International Bureau on 22 March 1994 (22.03.94) ; original claims 1-20 replaced by amended claims 1-13 (2 pages) 1 . A snack product comprising dried pieces of uncooked food in the form of chips or flakes having a moisture content of up to 5% by weight and a thickness of up to 0.8mm . 2. A snack product according to claim 1 , wherein the flakes have a thickness of at least 0. 1 25mm . _ 3. A snack product according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the flakes have a thickness of from 0.25 to 0.375mm. 4. A snack product according to any preceding claim wherein the flakes are curled at least in part. 5. A snack product according to any preceding claim, wherein the flakes consist of meat, fish, vegetable or fowl. 6. A snack product according to claim 5, wherein the flakes consist of beef. 7. A snack product according to any preceding claim wherein the flakes are slightly crunchy and are chewy. 8. A snack product according to any preceding claim, wherein the flakes are seasoned and, optionally, supplemented with vitamins. 9. A process for preparing a snack product comprising placing an uncooked food into a mould, chilling the food, removing the food from the mould, slicing the chilled food to a thickness of up to 2mm and drying the chilled slices to a moisture content of up to 5% by weight. 10. A process according to claim 9, wherein the food is sliced to a thickness such that the flakes curl at least in part during the drying process. 11. A process according to claim 9 or claim 10 wherein the food is chilled to a temperature of between 0 and -10°C prior to being sliced. 12. A process according to any of claims 9 to 11 wherein the food is seasoned after being sliced. 13. A process according to any of claims 9 to 12 carried out on a continuous basis or in batches.

Inventors: DAVIES PHILIP HOWARD, OLSEN PAUL, DAVIES, PHILIP, HOWARD, OLSEN, PAUL
Applicants: DAVIES PHILIP HOWARD, OLSEN PAUL, DAVIES, PHILIP, HOWARD, OLSEN, PAUL
Application year: 1993
Main classification: A23L1
IPC codes: A23L1