Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 25, 2026

General Mills Inc.

Technology area: Chemistry & Materials

22 pending office actions • 6 art units • 17 examiners • 0 of 22 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 30 patents granted in the last 365 days

Analysis

General Mills Inc. has 22 pending office actions in Chemistry & Materials. The matters are assigned to 17 examiners across 6 art units, showing substantial examiner dispersion within a comparatively concentrated art-unit structure.

LEBLANC, KATHERINE DEGUIRE is the busiest examiner with 2 pending matters. Those matters merit coordinated review for recurring claim treatment and response themes. The broader portfolio requires a centralized docket strategy that preserves consistency in chemistry and materials positions while allowing each examiner and art unit to receive a tailored analysis.

Written from this page's own data; every figure is computed from USPTO records and verified before publication.

Portfolio Summary

22
Total Pending OAs
15
Non-Final OAs
6
Final Rejections
1
Advisory / Quayle

Response Deadline Pressure

Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 4 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date; the rest are excluded from the tile counts.

3
Overdue
0
Due this week
1
Due this month
0
Due in next 60 days
0
Due later

Deadline Fire Line

Every pending office action with a known statutory deadline, placed on a days-until-due axis. Dots left of Today are overdue; the further right, the more runway. Cases that share a deadline window stack vertically. 4 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date.

-30dToday30d60d90d120d
Overdue (3)Due ≤ 30 days (1)

Case Difficulty Mix

Difficulty is derived from the rejection statutes on the most recent pending office action. §101-driven and multi-statute cases are graded Hard; §112-only and obviousness-type double-patenting cases are graded Easy; everything else is Medium. "Unknown" means we have not yet parsed a statute for that office action.

5
Hard (23%)
16
Medium (73%)
0
Easy (0%)
1
Unknown (5%)

Rejection Statute Mix

BucketCases
§103 only14 (64%)
Double-patenting + other2 (9%)
Multi-statute (no §101)5 (23%)
No statute on record1 (5%)

Industry Mix

How the docket's pending cases split across USPTO tech-center bands.

21
Life Sciences
95% of docket
0
Information Tech
0% of docket
0
Communications
0% of docket
0
Semiconductors
0% of docket
0
Mechanical / Eng
0% of docket
1
Business / Other
5% of docket

Time-on-OA Estimate

Manual office-action response work runs about 10 hours per case. The time-saved bands below show what IP Author's prosecution pipeline typically delivers — a conservative 20% on the low end, 35% in the middle, 50% on the high end.

220 h
Manual time on pending OAs
44 h
Time saved (low, 20%)
77 h
Time saved (mid, 35%)
1.9 wks
FTE-weeks freed (mid)

Top Examiners on this docket

ExaminerApps on this docketAllow rateInterview lift
LEBLANC, KATHERINE DEGUIRE 2 34.6% +36.0%
TURNER, FELICIA C 2 26.2% +30.2%
LIU, DEBORAH YANG-HAO 2 8.9% +12.3%
LACHICA, ERICSON M 2 29.8% +35.2%
KESSLER JR, THOMAS JOSEPH 2 46.2% +46.6%
SILVERMAN, JANICE Y 1 37.6% +53.0%
KOHLER, STEPHANIE A 1 32.3% +31.4%
O'HERN, BRENT T 1 78.5% +19.4%
HAWKINS, AMANDA SALATA 1 15.4% +40.9%
TALBERT, ERIC MICHAEL 1 22.2% +55.6%

Hard Cases (11)

Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 8 ordered by deadline are shown.

App #TitleExaminerDue in
18582140 Batter Compositions, Packaged Batter Products, and Related Methods LIU, DEBORAH YANG-HAO 43d overdue
18037611 Texture-Controlled Fiber Ingredient Containing Viscous Soluble Fiber and Consumable Food and Fiber Supplement Products Incorporating Same PURDY, KYLE A 8d overdue
18953712 High Protein Food TURNER, FELICIA C —
18864826 FAT COMPOSITIONS FOR BAKED GOODS LIU, DEBORAH YANG-HAO —
18864149 Shelf-Stable and Satisfying Soft-Baked Snack Product LACHICA, ERICSON M —
18829518 FUNCTIONALIZED BRAN O'HERN, BRENT T —
18837280 EXTRUDED PUFFED HIGH PROTEIN FOOD PIECES AND METHODS OF MAKING HAWKINS, AMANDA SALATA —
18741183 Package for Hard Taco Shell and Method for Packaging the Hard Taco Shell LACHICA, ERICSON M —

Interview Candidates (15)

Cases in front of an examiner whose interview lift is 10 percentage points or more — i.e. interviewed cases historically resolve more favorably than non-interviewed ones. The top 8 ordered by deadline are shown.

App #TitleExaminerDue in
18582140 Batter Compositions, Packaged Batter Products, and Related Methods LIU, DEBORAH YANG-HAO 43d overdue
19009313 Baking Ingredients Suitable for Fat Replacement LEBLANC, KATHERINE DEGUIRE —
18973400 TOPICAL DECORATION OF DOUGH PRODUCTS SILVERMAN, JANICE Y —
18953712 High Protein Food TURNER, FELICIA C —
18864826 FAT COMPOSITIONS FOR BAKED GOODS LIU, DEBORAH YANG-HAO —
18864149 Shelf-Stable and Satisfying Soft-Baked Snack Product LACHICA, ERICSON M —
18888571 Oat Flour-Based Créme Confection KOHLER, STEPHANIE A —
18829518 FUNCTIONALIZED BRAN O'HERN, BRENT T —

Top Art Units

Art UnitApps
1791 7
1792 6
1793 4
1782 2
1758 1
1611 1

Pending Office Actions

App #TitleExaminerArt UnitStatutesStatusDue inAIFiled
19009313 Baking Ingredients Suitable for Fat Replacement LEBLANC, KATHERINE DEGUIRE — Other Non-Final OA — Pending Jan 03, 2025
18973400 TOPICAL DECORATION OF DOUGH PRODUCTS SILVERMAN, JANICE Y 1792 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Dec 09, 2024
18953712 High Protein Food TURNER, FELICIA C 1793 §103Other Non-Final OA — Pending Nov 20, 2024
18864826 FAT COMPOSITIONS FOR BAKED GOODS LIU, DEBORAH YANG-HAO 1791 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Nov 11, 2024
18864149 Shelf-Stable and Satisfying Soft-Baked Snack Product LACHICA, ERICSON M 1791 §103§112DP Non-Final OA — Pending Nov 08, 2024
18888571 Oat Flour-Based Créme Confection KOHLER, STEPHANIE A 1791 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Sep 18, 2024
18829518 FUNCTIONALIZED BRAN O'HERN, BRENT T 1793 §102§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Sep 10, 2024
18837280 EXTRUDED PUFFED HIGH PROTEIN FOOD PIECES AND METHODS OF MAKING HAWKINS, AMANDA SALATA 1793 §103§112DP Non-Final OA — Pending Aug 09, 2024
18741183 Package for Hard Taco Shell and Method for Packaging the Hard Taco Shell LACHICA, ERICSON M 1792 §103Other Non-Final OA — Pending Jun 12, 2024
18661892 AROMA DEVICE APPLICATIONS TALBERT, ERIC MICHAEL 1758 §102§103 Non-Final OA — Pending May 13, 2024
18654106 RECYCLABLE POLYETHYLENE COLD SEAL FILM FOR FOOD PACKAGING KESSLER JR, THOMAS JOSEPH 1782 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending May 03, 2024
18706033 Boil Over Reduction Compositions for Microwave Cooking SMITH, CHAIM A 1791 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Apr 30, 2024
18625835 Extruded High Protein and High Fiber Food Pieces and Methods of Making TURNER, FELICIA C 1793 §103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Apr 03, 2024
18687362 Place and Bake Cake Product THAKUR, VIREN A 1792 §103 Final Rejection 12d Pending Feb 28, 2024
18686584 Treated Soybean Oil WATTS, JENNA A 1791 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Feb 26, 2024
18582140 Batter Compositions, Packaged Batter Products, and Related Methods LIU, DEBORAH YANG-HAO 1791 §103 Non-Final OA 43d overdue Pending Feb 20, 2024
18568051 Rolled Dough Product and Method of Producing BECKER, DREW E 1792 §103 Final Rejection — Pending Dec 07, 2023
18389401 Recyclable Film Food Packaging with Laser Date Coding KESSLER JR, THOMAS JOSEPH 1782 §103 Final Rejection — Pending Nov 14, 2023
18374963 Co-Extruded Dough Product with High-Particulate Filling BEKKER, KELLY JO 1792 §103§112 Final Rejection — Pending Sep 29, 2023
18037611 Texture-Controlled Fiber Ingredient Containing Viscous Soluble Fiber and Consumable Food and Fiber Supplement Products Incorporating Same PURDY, KYLE A 1611 §103§112 Final Rejection 8d overdue Pending May 18, 2023
17572778 Dividable Dough Sheet Piece AXTELL, ASHLEY 1792 §103 Non-Final OA 49d overdue Pending Jan 11, 2022
17500238 Gluten-Free Tortillas LEBLANC, KATHERINE DEGUIRE 1791 §103 Final Rejection — Pending Oct 13, 2021

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many pending USPTO office actions does General Mills Inc. have?

General Mills Inc. has 22 pending office actions as of October 2026, spread across 6 art units and 17 examiners.

Which USPTO examiner handles the most General Mills Inc. applications?

Katherine Deguire Leblanc has the most, with 2 of General Mills Inc.'s pending office actions.

What technology area are General Mills Inc.'s patent applications in?

Mostly Chemistry & Materials (USPTO Tech Center 1700), based on where its pending office actions are examined.

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