Patent ID: 7060311

Claim:
A hot-fill process using a vertical form and fill machine for continuously preparing packaged, composite, cohesive food portions comprising at least nut butter and jelly wrapped in a flexible film, the process comprising the steps of: (a) simultaneously and separately pumping the nut butter and jelly to an extrusion location; (b) simultaneously and separately extruding the nut butter and jelly and longitudinally enclosing the extruded nut butter and jelly in a tubular web of the flexible film in the vertical form and fill machine; wherein sugar syrup is added to the nut butter just prior to extruding the nut butter and jelly; (c) combining the nut butter and jelly into composite predetermined food portions using a portion control method that varies an extrusion speed based on an amount of the nut butter and jelly present, wherein the nut butter and jelly within the predetermined food portions are in physical contact with each other; and (d) sealing the composite predetermined food portions within the flexible film; wherein a differential water activity of the nut buffer and the jelly within the flexible film is less than about 0.5; and wherein the nut butter and jelly maintain their individual product identity in the flexible film and are cohesive and manually removeable as a composite from the flexible film.