| abstract |
An edible composition that has a chewable texture and contains at least one encapsulated component is disclosed. The encapsulated component is a heat sensitive encapsulant. The encapsulated component may be a biologically active component, a pharmaceutical component, a nutraceutical component or a microorganism. In preferred embodiments, a free-flowing mixture is obtained by grinding cookies. The free flowing mixture and a plasticizer such as oil and water are mixed with an encapsulant to obtain a formable dough or crumbly mass. The dough is shaped or formed in pieces or pellets and dried to a shelf-stable moisture content. Processing is conducted at temperature sufficently low so as to prevent thermal degradation of the encapsulant and pressures sufficiently high to enable the formation of coherent pieces. |