Prior art — US Patent 11317640

To identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 11317640, I will analyze the patent citations listed within the patent itself. The USPTO defines "closest prior art" as the most relevant existing technology that demonstrates similar or related functionality to the claimed invention. Prior art is used in patent examination to determine if an invention is novel and non-obvious.

Here are the prior art references cited in US Patent 11317640, along with their publication/filing dates and a brief description. Given the information available in the patent text, a direct assessment of which specific claim(s) each reference potentially anticipates under 35 U.S.C. § 102 would require a detailed claim-by-claim analysis against the full specification of each cited patent, which is beyond the scope of a brief description. However, I can indicate the general area of relevance based on the patent's own description of the cited art.

The patent US11317640 incorporates by reference several US patents and patent publications in its Background section, generally relating to food products, some containing probiotics.

US Patent Citations:

U.S. Pat. No. 5,968,569
- Full Citation: US5968569A
- Priority date: 1997-01-09
- Publication Date: 1999-10-19
- Assignee: Nestec S.A.
- Title: Pet food product containing probiotics
- Brief Description: This patent generally describes a pet food product containing probiotics. Its relevance would be to the broad concept of incorporating probiotics into food products.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,998
- Full Citation: US6375998B1
- Priority date: 1997-02-26
- Publication Date: 2002-04-23
- Assignee: The Quaker Oats Company
- Title: Process for preparing a hand-held snack item
- Brief Description: This patent describes a process for preparing a hand-held snack item. Its relevance would be to manufacturing processes for snack items.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,723,358
- Full Citation: US6723358B1
- Priority date: 1998-03-23
- Publication Date: 2004-04-20
- Assignee: General Mills, Inc.
- Title: Encapsulation of components into edible products
- Brief Description: This patent concerns the encapsulation of components into edible products. This could be relevant to the barrier layer concept in US11317640 for protecting sensitive ingredients.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,827,957
- Full Citation: US6827957B2
- Priority date: 1998-03-18
- Publication Date: 2004-12-07
- Assignee: Mars Incorporated
- Title: Multicomponent per food or animal food
- Brief Description: This patent relates to multicomponent pet or animal food. Its relevance would be to food products with multiple layers or components.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,528,102
- Full Citation: US6528102B1
- Priority date: 1998-09-01
- Publication Date: 2003-03-04
- Assignee: Brach's Confections, Inc.
- Title: Fruit snacks with varied center filling
- Brief Description: This patent describes fruit snacks with varied center fillings. This is highly relevant to the concept of a multi-layered fruit snack, particularly the "center" aspect.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,676,982
- Full Citation: US6676982B2
- Priority date: 2001-06-26
- Publication Date: 2004-01-13
- Assignee: Cadbury Adams Usa Llc
- Title: Nutritional food bar for sustained energy
- Brief Description: This patent pertains to nutritional food bars. This could be relevant to snack food composition and nutritional additives.

US Patent Publication Citations:

U.S. Patent Publication No. 2007/0110844
- Full Citation: US20070110844A1
- Priority date: 2005-11-15
- Publication Date: 2007-05-17
- Assignee: Natalia Kubantseva
- Title: Reduced sweetness confectionary compositions and coated/filled food products
- Brief Description: This publication discusses confectionery compositions and coated/filled food products with reduced sweetness. This is relevant to the general structure of coated food products.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0102163
- Full Citation: US20080102163A1
- Priority date: 2004-07-01
- Publication Date: 2008-05-01
- Assignee: General Mills, Inc.
- Title: Cultures Encapsulated With Chocolate Food Products Coated With Chocolate And Method Of Preparation
- Brief Description: This publication is highly relevant as it describes food products coated with chocolate containing encapsulated cultures and methods of preparation. This directly addresses the concept of a coated product with heat-sensitive components (cultures) and chocolate coatings, which are both key aspects of US11317640. This could potentially anticipate aspects of claims relating to the outer layer containing probiotic cultures and the use of chocolate as a coating (claims 1, 3, 14, 19).
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0026108
- Full Citation: US20080026108A1
- Priority date: 2006-06-22
- Publication Date: 2008-01-31
- Assignee: Martek Biosciences Corporation
- Title: Encapsulated Labile Compound Compositions and Methods of Making the Same
- Brief Description: This publication focuses on encapsulated labile (easily degradable) compound compositions and their manufacturing methods. This is relevant to protecting heat-sensitive probiotics.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0110493
- Full Citation: US20060110493A1
- Priority date: 2002-08-14
- Publication Date: 2006-05-25
- Assignee: Mars, Incorporated
- Title: Snack having a soft edible layer and method of making
- Brief Description: This publication describes a snack with a soft edible layer and its manufacturing method, which could be relevant to the texture and layering of the fruit snack center and coatings.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0134285
- Full Citation: US20060134285A1
- Priority date: 2002-08-14
- Publication Date: 2006-06-22
- Assignee: Joan Schnieber
- Title: Method of making a shelf stable edible snack having an outer dough layer
- Brief Description: This publication relates to methods of making shelf-stable edible snacks with an outer dough layer, which could be relevant to the stability and layered structure.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2007/0148324
- Full Citation: US20070148324A1
- Priority date: 2005-08-17
- Publication Date: 2007-06-28
- Assignee: Solae, Llc
- Title: Dressed or Multi-Layer High Protein Food Bars Comprising Sugar Alcohols and Having Improved Texture and Shelf-Life
- Brief Description: This publication describes multi-layer food bars with improved texture and shelf-life, which is relevant to the overall food product characteristics of US11317640.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2007/0231450
- Full Citation: US20070231450A1
- Priority date: 2006-03-31
- Publication Date: 2007-10-04
- Assignee: Kraft Foods Holdings, Inc.
- Title: Protein system and food products including same
- Brief Description: This publication concerns protein systems and food products incorporating them, potentially relevant to the composition of the snack.

Of the cited prior art, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0102163 appears to be particularly relevant, as it directly addresses the combination of cultures (probiotics) within a chocolate coating on a food product, and methods for preparing such. This strongly aligns with the core inventive concept of US11317640.