the above object can be achieved according to the present invention by providing a releasing agent comprising a compound selected from a group consisting of α - and β - lactoses , calcium carbonate and mixtures thereof , which are coated with saturated fatty acid monoglycerides or derivatives thereof . saturated fatty acid monoglycerides and derivatives thereof which are used in the present invention include those monoglycerides containing a saturated fatty acid moiety having at least 12 carbon atoms and mono - or di - acetylation products of saturated fatty acid monoglycerides having an acid value of 2 or less and an iodine value of 2 or less . saturated fatty acid monoglyceride includes lauric acid monoglyceride ( glycerol monolaurate ), palmitic acid monoglyceride ( glycerol monopalmitate ), stearic acid monoglyceride ( glycerol monosterate ) and the like . mono - or di - acetylation products of saturated fatty acid monoglycerides include monostearomonoacetyl glyceride , monolauro - diacetyl glyceride and the like . among them , stearic acid monoglyceride , monostearo - monoacetyl glyceride and monolauro - diacetyl glyceride are especially preferable because they are advantageous in terms of cost , and lubricating and releasing properties . according to the present invention , fine particles of a compound selected from a group consisting of α - and β - lactoses , calcium carbonate and mixtures thereof are coated with a compound selected from a group consisting of saturated fatty acid monoglycerides and derivatives thereof in a coating amount of 2 to 5 % by weight , preferably 3 to 4 % by weight , based on the weight of the compound which is to be coated . if the coating amount is less than 2 % by weight , the lubricating and releasing abilities of resulting coated particles are unacceptably reduced . if the coating amount is higher than 5 % by weight , coated particles unpreferably have an excessive flowing property so that they may non - uniformly spread on the contacting surfaces of a mold and also on the surfaces of the material charged in the mold for being shaped , adversely affecting the release of the product from the mold . the coated particles of the above - stated releasing agents of the present invention for use in shaping food materials or chewing materials including confectionary foods such as candies and chewing gums , have a particle size of 100 mesh or less , preferably 150 to 200 mesh . if the particle size is higher than 100 mesh , the particles are too rough to spread uniformly on the contacting surfaces of a mold and also on the surfaces of the material charged therein , so that the charged material would still tend to stick partly at such interfaces as not containing enough particles between the contacting surfaces of both the material and the mold , resulting , in other words , a reduction in the lubricating and releasing abilities of the particles . thus , when the shaped material is cut into an appropriate size , the cut segments would stick to one another at the surfaces of the cut ends . moreover , such large particles of releasing agent coated on edible materials or chewing materials give an unattractive feeling of coarseness to one &# 39 ; s mouth . the particles of releasing agents for use in the production and preservation of shaped edible and chewing materials according to the present invention may be produced by emulsifying a compound selected from a group consisting of α - lactose , β - lactose , calcium carbonate and mixtures thereof together with a compound selected from a group of consisting saturated fatty acid monoglycerides , derivatives thereof and mixtures thereof in water and atomizing the emulsion at an appropriate temperature to produce dried coated particles . the atomizing temperature depends upon thermal stabilities of α - or β - lactose , calcium carbonate , saturated fatty acid monoglycerides or derivatives thereof which are used . hydrated α - lactose has a melting ( decomposition ) point of about 203 ° c . and a property of gradually losing crystal water at a temperature of 120 ° to 130 ° c . to produce hygroscopic α - lactose anhydride which is undesirable for use as a releasing agent . β - lactose is usually of anhydride and has a melting point of about 252 ° c . and a property of absorbing water at room temperature to produce α - lactose hydrate . therefore , the present invention encompasses such transformation from β - lactose to α - lactose hydride which may occur during preparation of the emulsion in water and atomization thereof . the present invention also encompasses the transformation of α - lactose hydride to α - lactose anhydride during atomization of the emulsion if the latter is produced only in such a small amount as not giving deleterious effect on the releasing and preservation properties of the resulting particles . however , the atomizing temperature should be preferably lower enough to minimize the production of α - lactose anhydride . therefore , the atomizing temperature should be lower than 120 ° c ., preferably 50 ° c . to 120 ° c ., and more preferably 80 ° to 100 ° c . however , if only a short time period is required for atomizing the emulsion , temperatures higher than 120 ° c . may be used during the period , provided that produced α - lactose anhydride is negligible or not so much as deleteriously affecting the properties of the product particles . an amount of water to be used for preparing the emulsion may vary in a wide range depending upon the drying effect exhibited by the atomizing device . however , it should be as little as possible to facilitate the drying of coated particles , provided that the core particles of a compound selected from a group consisting of α -, β - lactoses , calcium carbonate and mixtures thereof are coated with a compound selected from a group consisting of saturated fatty acid monoglycerides and derivatives thereof . the coated particles of releasing agents according to the present invention are tasteless , odorless and harmless for one &# 39 ; s health , which consist of cores of α -, β - lactoses and / or calcium carbonate coated with saturated fatty acid monoglycerides and / or derivatives thereof . the α - and β - lactoses have an appropriate solubility in water . calcium carbonate is tasteless and odorless and superior in long - standing stability , and can be used as an eutrophic . moreover , calcium carbonate can be used as a releasing agent in an amount within the range defined under the rules for food additives , if it is treated to be afforded a lubricating property . the saturated fatty acid monoglycerides and derivatives thereof which are used as coating material have a high lubricating property . therefore , the coated particles of the present invention have an improved ductility and an improved releasing property , so that they can uniformly cover the surfaces of a material charged in a mold even with a small amount of the particles in the production of shapes of very viscous edible materials or chewing material , and that they allow the cutting of shaped materials without causing any stickiness at the surfaces of the cut edges of the materials . moreover , they have a less tendency to be scattered and to float in ambient air during their handling . thus , the production of cakes of food or chewing stuff can be easily conducted by using the releasing agent particles provided according to the present invention . the releasing agent particles of the present invention may be used in a mixture with known powdery releasing agents . the releasing agent particles for use in shaping edible materials or chewing materials which are produced according to the present invention as described above are tasteless , odorless and harmless for one &# 39 ; s health , and has a less tendency to be scattered and to float in the ambient air during processing operations , and has a high lubricating property , a high releasing property and a high stability for an extended period of time . therefore , they are of high utility value and can be applied to a wide variety of use and purposes , though in this specification there are mentioned only instances where the invention is applied to chewing gum . the present invention will hereunder be described with respect to the following examples , wherein parts of percentages (%) are based upon weight . tests on releasing ability and durability referred to in the following examples are carried out in a manner as follows : after coating all the surfaces of a rectangular sample of 17 cm × 10 cm + 1 cm with 5 g of a releasing agent , the rectangular sample is passed through a clearance between rollers of 5 mm and examined for the presence of markings of sticking . this cycle is repeated ten times . releasing ability is evaluated by an average value calculated with &# 34 ; non - sticking &# 34 ; representing three points , &# 34 ; spot - sticking &# 34 ; two points , &# 34 ; partial face - sticking &# 34 ; one point and &# 34 ; overall face - sticking &# 34 ; zero , and counting fractions 0 . 5 and over as unity and disregarding the smaller fractions . after leaving ten completely enveloped product samples to stand in a chamber maintained at the temperature of 35 ° c . and relative humidity of 80 % for two weeks , the samples are evaluated as to durability by examining the presence of marking of sticking on the envelopes with the same basis as that for the evaluation of releasing ability described above . moreover , evaluation of odor is conducted by relying on the sense of smell of the testing persons . one hundred parts of β - lactose and 4 parts of stearic acid monoglyceride are emulsified with 150 parts of warm water . thereafter , the emulsion is atomized at a temperature of 100 ° c . to produce releasing agent particles each having an average size of 150 mesh . the procedure of example 1 is repeated , except that stearic acid monoglyceride is replaced by monolauro - diacetyl glyceride , to produce coated releasing agent particles . the procedure of example 1 is repeated , except that β - lactose and stearic acid monoglyceride are replaced by calcium carbonate and monostearo - monoacetyl glyceride , respectively , to produce coated releasing agent particles . the procedure of example 1 is repeated , except that stearic acid monoglyceride is replaced by palmitic acid monoglyceride , to produce coated releasing agent particles . the procedure of example 1 is repeated , except that stearic acid monoglyceride is replaced by monostearo - diacetyl glyceride , to produce coated releasing agent particles . a mixture of 50 parts of powdery sugar having a particle size of about 150 mesh and 50 parts of starch is used as a powdery releasing agent . calcium carbonate having a particle size of about 150 mesh is used as a releasing agent . β - lactose having a particle size of about 150 mesh is used as a releasing agent . a mixture of 100 parts of β - lactose having a particle size of 160 mesh and 3 parts of stearic acid monoglyceride is used as a releasing agent . results obtained by testing above releasing agents as to releasing ability and durability with chewing gum are summerized in the following table 1 . table 1__________________________________________________________________________ ex - ex - ex - ex - ex - con - con - con - con - con - sample ample ample ample ample ample trol trol trol trol trolitem 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5__________________________________________________________________________just afterproduction : releasing 3 3 3 2 2 3 0 1 1 1stickingto envelope 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2odor none none none none none a yes none none none littleafter twoweeks : stickingto envelope 3 3 3 3 3 1 0 0 0 0odor none none none none none yes yes none none none__________________________________________________________________________ as will be apparent from the above - mentioned results , examples 1 to 5 ( the products according to the present invention ) are superior in releasing and lubricating properties as well as in stability for an extended period of time as compared to controls 1 to 5 . therefore , examples 1 to 5 attain the object of the present invention . moreover , examples 1 to 3 are noted to be superior in releasing and lubricating properties to examples 4 to 5 .
a powdery anti - stick agent for keeping the surface of a sticky surface of candy or chewing gum non - adhesive , comprising : a compound selected from a group consisting of α - lactose , β - lactose , calcium carbonate and mixtures thereof coated with a compound selected from a group consisting of saturated fatty acid monoglycerides and derivatives thereof . a process for producing the above powdery releasing agent .