Refrigerated product containing pieces of chocolate and a process and an arrangement for its production

Apparatus for preparing a mousse containing pieces of chocolate comprising:

• members associated together in a first line suitable for transporting, sterilizing and overrunning a milk-based mixture, which is suitable for being overrun and for preparing a mousse, and for transporting an overrun mixture;
• members associated together in a second line suitable for transporting and sterilizing a chocolate composition and for transporting a sterilized chocolate composition;
• a nozzle and contact zone tube assembly wherein the nozzle is connected with the first and second lines and is positioned and configured with passages for, in operation, receiving therein and passing therethrough overrun mixture transported from the first line and sterilized chocolate composition transported from the second line so that an amount of sterilized chocolate composition is delivered into overrun mixture in the nozzle and passed with the overrun mixture form the nozzle through the contact zone tube for obtaining the sterilized chocolate composition in a form of a strand contained by the overrun mixture;
• a cutting system positioned and configured and connected with the contact zone tube for, in operation, receiving the overrun mixture containing the strand from the tube for cutting the strand for obtaining sterilized chocolate composition pieces distributed in the overrun mixture;
• a volumetric metering system connected with the cutting system for, in operation, receiving the overrun mixture containing sterilized chocolate pieces from the cutting system and for filling an amount of the mixture containing the pieces into a container.