The present invention relates to a device for automatically positioning and/or handling a carcass and/or carcass part during the slaughter of animals on an industrial scale and to a device for cutting a carcass and/or carcass part during the slaughter of animals on an industrial scale. The invention also relates to a method for automatically positioning and/or handling a carcass and/or carcass part of a slaughtered animal during the slaughter of animals on an industrial scale as well as a method for automatically cutting a carcass and/or carcass part of a slaughtered animal during the slaughter of animals on an industrial scale.

A method for processing an intact animal carcass comprises submerging a bled animal carcass in scalding water for at least 20 seconds to produce a scalded animal carcass, de-hairing the scalded animal carcass to produce a de-haired animal carcass, suspending the de-haired animal carcass, burning an epidermal layer of the de-haired animal carcass while suspended so that a majority of the epidermal layer is charred so as to produce a burnt animal carcass, pressure washing the burnt animal carcass to produce a pressure-washed animal carcass, eviscerating the pressure-washed animal carcass to produce an eviscerated animal carcass, internally washing the eviscerated animal carcass to produce an internally washed animal carcass, and chilling the internally washed animal carcass to a temperature of between 0 degrees Celsius and about 4 degrees Celsius to produce a chilled animal carcass.

A slaughterhouse processing tool including two opposite knives mounted to a knife holder via respective mounting structures, the knife holder further including an actuator, at least one of the mounting structures being movably mounted to the knife holder, the actuator being coupled to the movably mounted mounting structure for moving the mounting structure relative to the knife holder.

Disclosed is a fast chilling method for improving beef tenderness, including the following steps: step 1, sample pretreatment: taking beef longissimus dorsi muscle after slaughter, removing surface fat and connective tissue, and vacuum packaging; step 2, rapid chilling: rapidly transferring the pre-treated sample completed in step 1 to a chilling equipment for chilling to a sample temperature of −3 degrees Celsius (° C.), where the chilling is completed within 5 hours (h) after slaughter; step 3, chilling and aging at super-chilled temperature: transferring the samples rapidly chilled in step 2 to a chilled warehouse, and continuing to chilling and aging until 24 h after slaughter; and step 4, chilling storage and aging: cutting the sample equally into 2.5 centimeters (cm) thickness 24 h after slaughter, and then completing a vacuum skin packaging and refrigerating for aging.

A method and a system provide a feedback data indicating quality of a food processing performed by an operator. The method and system involve acquiring at least one image data of a food product from an operator; and processing the acquired image data. The processing includes detecting whether undesired objects are present in the food product, obtaining, in case undesired objects are detected, position data of the undesired objects within the food product, and utilizing the position data in issuing a feedback indicator indicating a position where the detected undesired objects are present within the food product processed by the operator.

A method for processing an intact animal carcass comprises submerging a bled animal carcass in scalding water for at least 20 seconds to produce a scalded animal carcass, de-hairing the scalded animal carcass to produce a de-haired animal carcass, suspending the de-haired animal carcass, burning an epidermal layer of the de-haired animal carcass while suspended so that a majority of the epidermal layer is charred so as to produce a burnt animal carcass, pressure washing the burnt animal carcass to produce a pressure-washed animal carcass, eviscerating the pressure-washed animal carcass to produce an eviscerated animal carcass, internally washing the eviscerated animal carcass to produce an internally washed animal carcass, and chilling the internally washed animal carcass to a temperature of between 0 degrees Celsius and about 4 degrees Celsius to produce a chilled animal carcass.

A separating device for separating first and second bones or cartilage parts comprises a first structure with a first elongated member and a stationary engaging member at one end of the first elongated member; a second structure with a second elongated member and a separation member at one end of the second elongated member; a moving device for moving the second structure relative to the stationary engaging member from a contracted position to a closed position. An angular position of the first and the second structures are adjusted, so the subsequent movement of the separation member towards the closing position intersects a separation area between the first and second bones or cartilage parts causing an immediate separation between the first and second bones or cartilage parts.

A chiller bath includes a tank for holding a volume of chiller water; a dosing system for dosing a first solution and a second solution into the chiller water, arranged to create a plurality of zones within the volume of water, wherein each zone has a higher concentration of either the first or the second solution than surrounding portions of the volume of water; and a meat or poultry immersion arrangement for immersing and moving carcasses in the chiller water. A method for reducing bacterial load on meat or poultry includes generating a plurality of zones within a chiller bath containing water by dosing a source of alkalinity and antimicrobial into the water, wherein the plurality of zones comprises at least one alkaline zone with a pH above 8.5, and at least one antimicrobial zone with pH below 8.5; and submersing meat or poultry in the bath. The zones can also be generated using spray nozzles in a meat or poultry operation.

A meat processing system comprising a blade, a blade movement assembly, a controller and a conveyor. The blade is configured to cut a carcass into pieces and lies substantially in a blade plane. The conveyor is configured to move the carcass along a first axis. The controller is configured to control the blade movement assembly to rotate the blade or a portion of the blade to vary an angle between the blade plane and the first axis. The blade movement assembly may also be configured to translate the blade to move the blade transverse to the first axis. A method of operating a meat processing system is also disclosed. The method includes conveying a carcass or section of carcass along a first axis, controlling a blade movement assembly to rotate a blade or a portion of a blade to vary the angle between a blade plane and the first axis, and cutting the carcass or section of carcass into pieces.

The present invention relates to a device for automatically positioning and/or handling a carcass and/or carcass part during the slaughter of animals on an industrial scale and to a device for cutting a carcass and/or carcass part during the slaughter of animals on an industrial scale. The invention also relates to a method for automatically positioning and/or handling a carcass and/or carcass part of a slaughtered animal during the slaughter of animals on an industrial scale as well as a method for automatically cutting a carcass and/or carcass part of a slaughtered animal during the slaughter of animals on an industrial scale.