A filling head comprising: a housing having a lower nozzle exit, a first material inlet, a second material inlet and a reciprocatable piston movable within the housing; the piston having a) an outer wall and upper and lower ends; b) a first internal material flow channel connecting an entry in the outer wall to an exit in the lower end, c) a second internal material flow channel connecting an entry in the outer wall to an exit in the lower end, and; wherein the exit of the first channel is annular, surrounding the exit of the second material flow channel; the piston, housing and inlets being positioned and dimensioned such that the piston in relation to the housing has: (1) an upper position wherein material flows from both first and second inlets are blocked by the piston outer wall; (2) a mid position wherein the first material inlet is in communication with the first internal material flow channel entry but the second material inlet is blocked by the piston outer wall; (3) a lower position wherein the first material inlet is in communication with the first internal material flow channel entry and the second material inlet is in communication with the second internal material flow channel entry.

A product conveying and coating system includes multiple, sequentially arranged conveyor units, with at least one conveyor unit being an open belt type. A carrier sheet is placed on a first of the conveyor units, a web of coating material in liquid form is deposited on the carrier sheet and spaced ropes of soft and sticky material are deposited on and settle into the web. The carrier sheet, web and ropes are transferred to a second conveyor unit after the coating material of the web solidifies, whereupon the ropes are cut into bar-length pieces. Thereafter, the carrier sheet is removed while the web and pieces are transferred to the open belt conveyor unit and exposed to an enrober. The enrober coats the pieces while melting portions of the web between the pieces in order to form full coated or encapsulated food products with soft and sticky cores.

The invention is directed to a process for the preparation of an encased snack comprising in this order the steps of (1) providing crumb material, (2) forming the crumb material under pressure to produce a shell, (3) introducing a filling into the shell, (4) forming a cover of crumb material on the filling in the shell under pressure, and (5) optionally baking the thus formed assembly. The invention is also directed to the encased snack obtainable by the process and to a mould comprising a lower die and first and second upper dies for use in the process.

Disclosed is a method for preparing a multilayer confectionary product including a paste confectionery center, surrounded by an intermediate layer of chewy candy material, surrounded in turn by a layer of amorphous candy material, to the multilayer confectionery product obtained by the process and to an apparatus for producing the multilayer confectionary product. The multilayer confectionary product can be further coated with a hard coating.

The invention is directed to a process for the preparation of an encased snack comprising in this order the steps of (1) providing crumb material, (2) forming the crumb material under pressure to produce a shell, (3) introducing a filling into the shell, (4) forming a cover of crumb material on the filling in the shell under pressure, and (5) optionally baking the thus formed assembly. The invention is also directed to the encased snack obtainable by the process and to a mold comprising a lower die and first and second upper dies for use in the process.

A product conveying and coating system includes multiple, sequentially arranged conveyor units, with at least one conveyor unit being an open belt type. A carrier sheet is placed on a first of the conveyor units, a web of coating material in liquid form is deposited on the carrier sheet and spaced ropes of soft and sticky material are deposited on and settle into the web. The carrier sheet, web and ropes are transferred to a second conveyor unit after the coating material of the web solidifies, whereupon the ropes are cut into bar-length pieces. Thereafter, the carrier sheet is removed while the web and pieces are transferred to the open belt conveyor unit and exposed to an enrober. The enrober coats the pieces while melting portions of the web between the pieces in order to form full coated or encapsulated food products with soft and sticky cores.

The present disclosure provides apparatuses and methods for non-contact printing on comestible products. The apparatus includes an extruder for extruding a slab of an edible substrate and a non-contact printing device for printing an edible ink on the slab. The apparatus provides versatility as the printing device may be placed anywhere along the apparatus. The printing device may be positioned along the apparatus as desired to operate in cooperation with other components of the apparatus.

A filling head comprising: a housing having a lower nozzle exit, a first material inlet, a second material inlet and a reciprocatable piston movable within the housing; the piston having a) an outer wall and upper and lower ends; b) a first internal material flow channel connecting an entry in the outer wall to an exit in the lower end, c) a second internal material flow channel connecting an entry in the outer wall to an exit in the lower end, and; wherein the exit of the first channel is annular, surrounding the exit of the second material flow channel; the piston, housing and inlets being positioned and dimensioned such that the piston in relation to the housing has: (1) an upper position wherein material flows from both first and second inlets are blocked by the piston outer wall; (2) a mid position wherein the first material inlet is in communication with the first internal material flow channel entry but the second material inlet is blocked by the piston outer wall; (3) a lower position wherein the first material inlet is in communication with the first internal material flow channel entry and the second material inlet is in communication with the second internal material flow channel entry.

A dough-like confectionery material contains a solid particulate, a liquid, and a diffusion controller. The dough-like confectionery material is an effective replacement for panned coatings, and it can be applied to an edible substrate, such as candy or chewing gum to form a layered confection. Methods and apparatus for forming layered confections are also described.

A dough-like confectionery material contains a solid particulate, a liquid, and a diffusion controller. The dough-like confectionery material is an effective replacement for panned coatings, and it can be applied to an edible substrate, such as candy or chewing gum to form a layered confection. Methods and apparatus for forming layered confections are also described.