Patent ID: 7662406

Claim:
A chewable softgel capsule for encasing therein orally ingestible articles, the chewable soft capsule having an outer shell composition with a moisture content of about 3% to about 12% of the total weight of the shell composition, said outer shell composition comprising: at least one medium bloom gelatin incorporated thereinto, said at least one medium bloom gelatin selected from the group consisting of an animal-derived gelatin, a chemically modified gelatin, a physically modified gelatin, and combinations thereof, the amount of said gelatin selected from the range of about 30% to about 47% of the total weight of the shell composition; at least one plasticizer incorporated thereinto, said at least one plasticizer in an amount sufficient to render said outer shell composition flexible, said plasticizer selected from a group consisting of glycerin, mannitol, polyethylene glycol, sorbitol, sorbitol special, propylene glycol, maltitol, sucrose, corn syrup, fructose, cellulose, disodium sulfosuccinate, triethyl citrate, tributyl citrate, 1-2-propylene glycol, natural gum, isomerized sugar, xylitol, polyglycerol, glucose syrups, glucose, sugar alcohol, and combinations thereof, the amount of said plasticizer selected from the range of about 25% to about 45% of the total weight of the shell composition; at least one starch incorporated thereinto, said at least one starch selected from a group consisting of native starches, physically modified starches, chemically modified starches selected from a group consisting of starch succinate, starch phosphate, etherified starches, esterified starches, cross-linked starches, cationized starches, enzymatically digested starches, oxidized starches, and combinations thereof, the amount of said starch selected from the range of about 10% to about 20% of the total weight of the shell composition; and an anti-tacking and softening agent incorporated thereinto in an amount sufficient to render said outer shell composition non-sticky and soft therethrough, said anti-tacking and softening agent selected from a group consisting of lecithin, polysorbate, biologically derived waxes, chemically derived waxes, fats, oils, and combinations thereof, the amount of said anti-tacking and softening agent selected from the range of about 0.2% to about 3% of the total weight of the shell composition.