Micropellets of fine particle nutrients and methods of incorporating same into snack food products

摘要

Nutritious granular materials of fine particle sizes agglomerated within versatile micropellets are useful for inserting significant amounts of nutritious properties into snack foods. Expandable micropellet-containing formulations provide for introduction of fine particle ingredients such as proteins, minerals and other components or desirable nutrients into food processing lines not typically amenable to the fine particle sizes. Micropellet-containing formulations may consist entirely of micropellets, or may contain an expandable starch such as, for example, corn meal, sheeted doughs, and expanded collet products onto which the micropellets may be basted.

主权项

1. An food-grade micropellet comprising:
a. an expandable starch comprising component; and b. a plurality of fine particles agglomerated together with said expandable component, wherein said plurality of fine particles is derived from a non-starch source, and wherein said fine particles comprise a particle size of less than about 300 microns; wherein said micropellet is a unexpanded solid pellet agglomerate comprising a spherical or cylindrical shape with a diameter of between about 500 to about 700 μm, said; food-grade micropellet incorporated in for the preparation of ready-to-eat snack foods.