Patent ID: 7140292

Claim:
An apparatus for introducing a fluid additive into each of a plurality of viscous food substreams formed from a single viscous fluid food stream comprising a passageway having an interior wall to accommodate a single viscous fluid food stream through the interior of the passageway; a single dividing member operatively connected to said passageway for dividing the single viscous fluid food stream into a plurality of viscous fluid food substreams; for each of the viscous fluid food substreams, a separate individual subpassageway having an interior to accommodate each viscous fluid food substream, the interior of each of the individual subpassageways in fluid communication with the dividing member; a plurality of fluid additive injection devices for said viscous fluid food substreams, each individual subpassageway having a fluid additive injection device disposed within said interior of the individual subpassageway, each individual fluid injection device being located within and in operative relation only with the subpassageway within which the injection device is disposed wherein each of said injection devices includes at least one rib having an upstream surface and a downstream surface, said upstream surface of each rib being shaped and oriented so that the fluid substream passes around and past each rib, said downstream surface of each rib having an elongated slot aperture disposed therein extending longitudinally along said rib for introducing a fluid additive into such respective fluid food substream, and wherein each of said injection devices further includes at least one fin located between at least one rib and said interior of said individual subpassageway; and a single fluid additive supply source in fluid communication with said plurality of fluid additive injection devices and with each said elongated slot aperture.