Appeal No. 2005-1672
Application No. 09/833,866
pH [emphasis ours].” See column 2, lines 54-57. Roth goes onto
state (column 5, lines 38-53) that:
NH3 gas is the preferred pH increasing gas for use
in the first step of the invention shown in FIG. 1.
When in contact with the meat product being processed,
it is believed that the moisture in the meat product
absorbs the NH3 gas to form ammonium hydroxide NH4OH.
The free hydroxyl ions from the NH4OH in the meat
product produce the increased pH. The free NH3 gas
also provides the physical pressure effect desired in
the pressurization, hold, and release cycle according
to the invention. Alternatively to NH3 gas, a suitable
pH increasing liquid or solid may be atomized or
otherwise mixed with an approved inert food processing
carrier gas . . . . In this case the pH increasing
material performs the pH increasing function while the
carrier gas produces the desired physical pressure
effects of damaging microbes in the pressurization,
hold, release cycle. [Emphasis added.]
It can be inferred from this teaching in Roth that atomized
ammonia hydroxide solution would be just as useful as anhydrous
ammonia gas in increasing the pH of the meat product. This meat
product, according to column 7, lines 34-44, of Roth, is
subjected to
[t]he excess treatment gas removal step described with
reference to FIG. 1(block 8) [which] may be performed
by applying a vacuum to container 20 with vacuum pump
82 . . . . Also, the container 20 may have associated
with it a motor 86 for driving an agitator or blender
mechanism (not shown) within the container. Blending
or agitating the treated meat product in the container
helps expose the meat product to the vacuum to ensure
better removal of excess or free treatment gas.
7
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007