Patent ID: 7128935

Claim:
Method for producing a food item having an irregular and random pattern of a food ingredient contained therein comprising: flowing a flowable food product through a fill tube in a flow direction; and introducing a food ingredient into the flowing flowable food product in the fill tube though an entry point in the form of a first duct formed in a supply tube spaced from a free end of the supply tube, with the supply tube being formed by an annular wall extending from outside the fill tube to the free end of the supply tube inside the fill tube, and the annular wall having an inner surface and an outer surface spaced from each other by the thickness of the annular wall, said flowing the flowable food product through said fill tube comprising flowing the flowable food product through said fill tube to contact the outer surface of said annular wall of said supply tube; said introducing the food ingredient into the flowable food product comprising flowing the food ingredient within the inner surface of said annular wall of said supply tube, with the first duct creating a channel and extending through the annular wall of the supply tube from the inner surface to the outer surface of the supply tube to provide fluid communication between the supply tube and the fill tube through the thickness of the annular wall of the supply tube; said first duct extending through the annular wall of the supply tube at an acute angle with the longitudinal axis of the supply tube in the upstream direction opposite to the flow direction of said flowable food product; said free end of the supply tube and said first duct formed in said supply tube being located inside of the fill tube, with the supply tube extending into the fill tube in the flow direction of said flowable food product; said supply tube having a cross sectional size considerably smaller than the fill tube so as not to adversely affect the flowable food material flowing through the fill tube; said first duct terminating at the outer surface of said annular wall of said supply tube and not presenting a ledge in the fill tube behind which the flow of food product can build up, said first duct terminating at the inner surface of said annular wall of said supply tube and not blocking the flow of the food ingredient in the supply tube; said introducing the food ingredient comprising flowing the food ingredient through the supply tube in the flow direction of said flowable food product and through the first duct in said annular wall of said supply tube at said acute angle so that said food ingredient is introduced into the flow of flowable food product in said fill tube in a direction opposite to the flow direction of said flowable food product so that the food ingredient is introduced into the flowable food product in an irregular and random pattern which does not intermix throughout the flowable food material after the flowable food material passes through the fill tube.