Gas assisted co-extrusion apparatus and process for forming foods

A gas assisted co-extrusion apparatus for forming food products comprising:

• an extruder for producing a dough and having an extruder exit for a movement of the dough out said extruder;
• a co-extrusion die extending between a rear face and a front face and being in communication with said extruder for receiving the dough from said extruder;
• at least one nozzle defined by a bore in said co-extrusion die and extending about a nozzle axis to a nozzle exit at said front face of said co-extrusion die;
• at least one injector being tube shaped and extending between an injector inlet and an injector outlet, from the rear face to at least the front face of the co-extrusion die, and through said bore of said co-extrusion die along said nozzle axis for forming the dough into a rope that is tubular with a wall portion and an inner cavity surrounded by the wall portion as the dough is extruded out of said nozzle exit and about said injector;
• a compressed gas source upstream from and in communication with said injector for supplying a compressed gas to said injector for radially stretching the wall portion of the rope from a pressure introduced to the wall portion of the rope by said compressed gas distributed into the inner cavity of the rope from said injector outlet of said injector;
• a pipe extending between said compressed gas source and said injector and having an upstream end and a downstream end for transporting said compressed gas to said injector;
• and
• a delivery system connected in series with said pipe to deliver an entrainable material into said compressed gas within said pipe prior to said downstream end of said pipe;
• said co-extrusion die being spaced from said extruder to define a void therebetween and wherein said downstream end of said pipe is connected to said injector inlet of said injector in said void for allowing said pipe to operate within an ambient temperature of an environment and wherein said injector is supplied with said compressed gas entrained with said entrainable material prior to entering said injector inlet of said injector and said injector deposits said entrainable material on an inside surface of the wall portion of the rope as the rope is radially stretched.