Cereal bars and methods of their manufacture

• Main Authors: BIRNEY, SHARON R, COLEMAN, EDWARD C, BRANDER, RITA W
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 11.01.2006
• Subjects: CHEWING GUM; COCOA; COCOA PRODUCTS, e.g. CHOCOLATE; CONFECTIONERY; DAIRY PRODUCTS, e.g. MILK, BUTTER, CHEESE; FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; FOODS, FOODSTUFFS, OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT COVERED BYSUBCLASSES A23B - A23J; HUMAN NECESSITIES; ICE-CREAM; MAKING THEREOF; MILK OR CHEESE SUBSTITUTES; PREPARATION THEREOF; PRESERVATION OF FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS, IN GENERAL; SUBSTITUTES FOR COCOA OR COCOA PRODUCTS; THEIR PREPARATION OR TREATMENT, e.g. COOKING, MODIFICATION OFNUTRITIVE QUALITIES, PHYSICAL TREATMENT; THEIR TREATMENT, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES

A cereal bar and its method of production is provided, in which the cereal bar comprises a pressed mixture including (i) a cereal mixture including ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal pieces and a first binder, (ii) a filler comprising a plurality of discrete agglomerates in which the agglomerates individually comprise a plurality of particles comprising milk protein product joined together with a second binder, and the first binder binds the cereal pieces and the agglomerates together. The cereal bars of the present invention provide nutritional value without sacrificing taste and flavor, as well as possessing a reasonable shelf life during which the texture remains chewy without being sticky, hard, or crumbly.