Patent Application
20140199451
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the packaging of baked goods with materials to prolong their shelf life. It particularly relates to the packaging of baked goods with absorbents.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known in the packaging of foods that various materials may be added to food packages to prolong storage life. Sometimes materials absorb moisture to lower the relative humidity in the package. At other times oxygen absorbers are added to lower oxidation of the material in the package.
In the packaging of baked goods it is known to place ethyl alcohol in the package to prolong shelf life. “Novel Food Packaging Techniques,” by Raija Ahvenainen (2003) pages 56-58 and 94 it is taught that ethanol has strong antibacterial and antifungal activity however it is not strong enough to prevent the growth of yeast. Also ethanol is commonly used with bakery products in Europe to extend the shelf life. Usually the ethyl alcohol is sprayed on the bakery item.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,103,141 Incorvia and US publication 2002/0188046—McKedy discloses activated carbon utilized in an absorbent. U.S. Pat. No. 6,248,690—McKedy discloses activated carbon as a water supplier for an oxygen absorber. US publication 2010/0018236—Powers discloses activated carbon for absorbing moisture and odor. US 2009/0053388—Powers discloses activated carbon as holding a flavor emitter.
There remains a need for improved packaging of baked goods. Baked goods emit hexanal during storage. There is a need for a product that would absorb hexanal and decay odors as well as aid in the prevention of decay of the baked goods. There remains a need for a product that is low-cost, easy-to-use, and safe.
The invention provides a method of preserving baked goods comprising placing the baked goods in package and inserting an absorber for hexanal and decay odors into the package.
There are numerous advantages to the instant invention. The instant invention allows longer storage of baked goods. Further it is low in cost and absorbs both unpleasant odors and hexanal. The hexanal also has an unpleasant odor. Further the invention method is compatible with other food packaging materials such as oxygen absorbers and water absorbers. The packaging method of the invention improves the taste and odor of baked goods in storage. These and other advantages will be apparent from the detailed description below.
The invention method initiates the process of improving preservation of the baked goods by placing a hexanal absorber into the package for the baked goods. The hexanal absorber may be any suitable material such as activated carbon, molecular sieve material and silica gel. Hexanal is undesirable because it has an undesirable and offensive odor. This odor can give the impression that the bakery item is bad before its time. A preferred material has been found to be activated carbon as this material both efficiently adsorbs odor and hexanal. A most preferred carbon material has been found to be a small pore activated carbon as this material has been found to more rapidly adsorb flavor compounds and to be able to adsorb and retain a greater amount of flavor compounds than a larger pore activated carbon. Too large a pore size and the gas is not retained in the particle.
In a preferred embodiment, the invention includes a hexanal reducing composition including an adsorber that will releasably retain sulfur dioxide and an absorber that will react with the sulfur dioxide to irreversibly retain the sulfur dioxide. For example, the absorber will react with the sulfur dioxide to convert the sulfur dioxide into another compound that cannot later be released back into the package. In operation, the adsorber draws the hexanal into the composition and the absorber reacts with the hexanal to form a new compound from which sulfur dioxide is not released.
The adsorber is any substance that will releasably retain hexanal. The adsorber preferably is a porous structure that allows for retention of the hexanal in its pores. Adsorbers usable in the invention include, but are not limited to, activated carbon, molecular sieve and silica gel.
Although in some applications the adsorber may be sufficient to remove hexanal from a headspace of a container, for example, using activated carbon or the like, can lead to subsequent release of the sulfur dioxide. Thus preferred embodiments of the invention further include an absorber.
Any activated carbon may be utilized in the invention. However, as stated above a small pore activated carbon is preferred as the gas is retained better in the carbon particle when adsorbing flavor chemicals. The molecular sieve also is more effective in adsorbing the flavors and hexanal if the pore sizes are small. The activated carbon may be present in any suitable amount. Generally the activated carbon is present in any amount effective with a particular baked good as hexanal is given off in differing amounts by different baked goods. Typically a typical amount for an activated carbon or silica gel would be between 1 and 30 grams per 500 grams of baked goods. A preferred amount for the preferred small pore activated carbon would be between 5 and 20 grams for a 500 gram whole wheat bread loaf.
Absorbers may be added to the activated carbon or molecular sieve to increase the adsorption of fragrances, odors and hexanal and react with the hexanal, or other absorbent, to prevent the release of the material absorbed. Suitable for use to increase adsorption capacity and speed of hexanal adsorption was sodium bisulfite or potassium bisulfite. Sodium bisulfate and hydrogen peroxide or other peroxides, calcium peroxide and potassium carbonate may be utilized with or without a carrier. The amount of sodium or potassium bisulfite utilized in the invention maybe any effective amount. A preferred amount is between 1 and 5 grams to increase the absorption of odors and hexanal from a 500 gram whole wheat bread loaf.
While hexanal is the material most desired for absorption to aid in longer shelf life, the absorption of aldehydes is also of interest to increase shelf life. Aldehydes which may be given off by baked goods include acetaldehyde, vanillic aldehydes, furfuraldehyde, anyisaldehyde, perillaldehyde, benzaldehyde, and cinnamic aldehydes. These and other materials would be adsorbed by activated carbon and silica gel.
While the invention has been described as being particularly suitable for use with bread, it is to be understood that other baked goods also would benefit by the invention. Such baked goods would include pies, rolls, cakes, coffee cakes, doughnuts, cookies, sweet rolls (such as cinnamon rolls), fruitcakes, and bagels.
The invention has been described primarily as comprising a method for absorbing hexanal using materials such as activated carbon, peroxides, and a bisulfite, it is understood that other materials normally would be present in such an absorber. The other additives include bactericides, fungicides, fillers, and other additives which aid in food storage but not necessarily the absorption of hexanal.
The material of the invention may be placed into the package by a variety of means. The material may be placed into a sachet of a water vapor and hexanal permeable cloth or membrane, such as microporous polyethylene fibrous sheets (such as Tyvek®) or microporous gas permeable polymer sheets. Further the absorbent of the invention could be placed in an adhesive label or patch which is attached to the inside of the package, normally below printing on the package so that is not visible to the customer. The use of absorbent labels is known in the art, note U.S. Pat. No. 6,1 39,935—Cullen et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,686,161—Cullen et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,863—Cullen et al. A suitable label structure would generally comprise a layer structure as follows:
The label would be sealed at the edges, if necessary, in a known manner such as by heat, ultrasonic sealing, or adhesive sealing.
It is also possible that a permeable polymer layer on the inside of the packaging material could contain the hexanal absorber. The outer layer of the package would provide a barrier layer for oxygen and possibly water vapor.
The absorbers may include an ethanol emitter to aid in preserving the baked goods. Typically of such emitters are ethyl alcohol on a carrier. A preferred ethanol emitter (by weight) is 36% ethyl alcohol, 64% silica gel or 30.7% ethyl alcohol, 5.7% water, 63.6% silica gel or activated carbon can be used as the carrier, an alternative would be 52 grams silica gel, 32.2 grams ethyl alcohol, 190 proof, 2.2 grams water, and 15 grams activated carbon because the ethyl alcohol will be readily released over 30 days' time. It typically would be used in an amount of 10 to 20 grams of a batch comprising 52 grams silica gel, 32.2 grams ethyl alcohol, 190 proof, 2.2 grams water, and 15 grams activated carbon in a packet for a 500 gram whole wheat bread loaf.
Examples below are illustrative and not exhaustive of examples of materials of the invention. Parts and percentages are by weight unless otherwise indicated.
The examples show that a combination hexanal absorber and ethanol emitter would be suitable or a combination hexanal absorber and flavor/fragrance emitter to prolong life of baked goods.
Tyvek® packets for the absorber are in a 11×16 inch foil pouch that was cut down to 11×16 inches from a larger foil pouch. In the foil pouch are 6 pecan sandy cookies. The foil pouch was vacuumed and then filled with a gas of 15.7 ppm hexanal in nitrogen. The hexanal contents were measured after 10 days and then after another 10 days. 3 liters of gas were used.
The moisture source used in Examples 13-29 was 3.0 grams of a saturated calcium chloride solution in water to give a 32% RH. Testing was in a 3 liter foil lined 11″×16″ pouch. The dry ingredients were in Tyvek® packets. The ingredients in the Tyvek® packet and the wet blotter paper moisture source were sealed in the foil pouch and vacuumed. 3 liters of gas containing 15.7 ppm of hexanal with the remainder being nitrogen was injected into each foil test pouch. The test pouches were stored at room temperature. The analysis was conducted after 4 days.
40° C. at set up and 10 days at 40° C. for reading results for Examples 30-49.
In Examples 30-49, the dry materials are in Tyvek® packets, for the tests with the cookies, the cookies are the moisture source with a water activity of 0.26. The tests with cookies only have the hexanal coming off the cookies. The tests without cookies have 3 liter of gas containing 15.7 ppm hexanal in nitrogen, the moisture source is 3 grams of a saturated calcium chloride solution with a water activity of 0.39, for the tests with cookies the pouches were injected with 3 liters of air. The tests were conducted in 11″×16″ foil pouches. The foil pouches were vacuumed and sealed and then injected with the gas, the pouches were set up and filled. The pouches were stored at 40° C. until the hexanal content was measured and is shown in each example.
Testing for all tests of Examples 50A-57B were in a 3 liter foil lined pouch 11″×16″; the pouch was cut down from a larger size foil pouch. All testing was done with 6 pecan sandie shortbread cookies and 3 liters of gas containing 15.7 ppm of hexanal with the remainder being nitrogen. The test pouches were stored at 40° C. from filling until the analysis was done. The hexanal contents were measured after 112 days. The deposits label type were on a card board and dried at 120° C. until the deposit held together and was not too wet. The non cardboard deposits were placed in a Tyvek® pouch; no wet blotter paper was used. The foil pouch was vacuumed after the test ingredients were placed inside, then heat sealed. After this the vacuumed pouch was filled with 3 liters of gas containing 15.7 ppm hexanal with the remainder being nitrogen. The hexanal analyses were done. The 6 cookies and hexanal absorber were placed inside the foil lined pouch before it was vacuumed and sealed.
Label potassium metabisulfite and activated carbon cardboard type deposit.
Impregnated Carbon
The carbon is a 50×200 mesh coconut shell based activated carbon.
Testing for Examples 59-65 will be with 6 pecan sandies cookies and 3 liters of gas containing 15.7 ppm hexanal. 40° C., readings taken at 10 days only, the deposits were made on cardboard and dried in the oven at 110° C. until dry and firm.
The deposits were on cardboard and dried in an oven at 110° C. until the deposit was firm and not too wet. The deposit was then placed in an 11′×16″ foil pouch with 6 pecan sandie shortbread cookies, which was vacuumed and heat sealed. Then this pouch was filled with 3 liter of gas 15.7 ppm hexanal with the remainder being nitrogen. The test pouches were stored at 40° C.
The cookies were purchased at the local supermarket the day of the test or the day before the test. Based on this the cookies were as fresh as they could be based on the fact that they came from a supermarket. The cookies have the normal cookie smell and after testing do not have an off odor.
The activated carbon or silica gel acts as an adsorber to attract the hexanal gas and adsorb the hexanal on the surface of the pores inside of the activated carbon. Then the reactants absorb the hexanal and react with the hexanal to convert the hexanal so that hexanal cannot be released by the activated carbon at a later time. Adsorbers being activated carbon, molecular sieve or silica gel. The reactants being potassium metabisulfite, hydrogen peroxide, potassium carbonate, calcium peroxide, potassium carbonate, sodium bisulfite and urea. The reactants can be used alone to absorb hexanal but the combination of an adsorber such as activated carbon and an absorber such as a reactant works the best to capture and hold on to the hexanal.
Dry activated carbon did work for adsorbing hexanal but activated carbon impregnated with water may have worked better. When the activated carbon was impregnated with a potassium metabisulfite solution the capacity for hexanal was improved. 300 angstrom silica gel impregnated with the potassium metabisulfite solution absorbed hexanal almost as well as the activated carbon impregnated with the potassium metabisulfite solution. Activated carbon impregnated with 35% hydrogen peroxide also absorbed hexanal very well. 300 angstrom silica gel impregnated with 35% hydrogen peroxide was almost as good at absorbing hexanal as the activated carbon impregnated with the 35% hydrogen peroxide. Silica gel impregnated with 35% hydrogen peroxide also absorbed hexanal but the 300 angstrom silica gel did have a higher capacity for hexanal. Molecular sieve also adsorbed hexanal well when used alone but with the impregnation of a potassium carbonate solution the capacity of hexanal was greater. We also tested activated carbon blended with a mixture of iron powder, sodium chloride and water to form iron oxide. This combination also worked for absorbing hexanal.
The chemistry of these hexanal absorbers worked well in both a granular blend in a packet or in moist deposit on a card to be used as a label or card. The wet activated label or card with the hexanal absorbing deposit can be more effective than the same chemistry in a packet form.
