A facility that includes a means for forming meat fragments, and a movable support for the meat fragments, which is to convey said meat fragments in a longitudinal direction, through a means for cohesively compacting meat fragments to form a block of compacted meat fragments. The cohesive compaction means includes two movable compaction shoes for compacting the meat fragments between the movable support and said shoes. The shoes are mutually transversely offset relative to the longitudinal direction of conveyance. The shoes are each driven in a vertical alternating movement, such that the pads move relative to one another and out of phase with each other.

A facility that includes a means for forming meat fragments, and a movable support for the meat fragments, which is to convey said meat fragments in a longitudinal direction, through a means for cohesively compacting meat fragments to form a block of compacted meat fragments. The cohesive compaction means includes two movable compaction shoes for compacting the meat fragments between the movable support and said shoes. The shoes are mutually transversely offset relative to the longitudinal direction of conveyance. The shoes are each driven in a vertical alternating movement, such that the pads move relative to one another and out of phase with each other.

A moulding device and a method for moulding food products from a mass of foodstuff which can be transferred by pumping are provided. The device includes a stationary frame with a revolving moulding drum assembly having a peripheral surface in which mould cavities are provided, and a mass feed device including a shoe member with a filling mouth adjoining the peripheral surface of the moulding drum assembly in order to fill said cavities with the foodstuff as they move past. In operation, the pressurized mass of foodstuff introduced into a mould cavity causes an outward force onto said shoe member. A non-revolving component is provided, concentrically supported by the moulding drum assembly, including the shoe member and an interconnected moulding drum assembly engaging counterforce element to counteract the entire outward force exerted by the pressurized foodstuff on the shoe member.

A moulding device and a method for moulding food products from a mass of foodstuff which can be transferred by pumping are provided. The device includes a stationary frame with a revolving moulding drum assembly having a peripheral surface in which mould cavities are provided, and a mass feed device including a shoe member with a filling mouth adjoining the peripheral surface of the moulding drum assembly in order to fill said cavities with the foodstuff as they move past. In operation, the pressurized mass of foodstuff introduced into a mould cavity causes an outward force onto said shoe member. A non-revolving component is provided, concentrically supported by the moulding drum assembly, including the shoe member and an interconnected moulding drum assembly engaging counterforce element to counteract the entire outward force exerted by the pressurized foodstuff on the shoe member.

A system, oven forming assembly, and method for proofing and cooking corrugated dough crusts are disclosed. The system may include: a forming assembly including at least one parallel cylinder separated by at least one parallel space; and at least one base opposing the at least one parallel cylinder. An oven forming assembly may include: an oven including a conveyor; and a forming assembly opposite the conveyor including a plurality of parallel cylinders and spaces in an alternating series. A method may include: positioning at least one dough piece in contact with a conveyor and with an opposing forming assembly; moving the at least one dough piece on the conveyor under the opposing forming assembly into an oven proofing the dough piece; and moving the at least one proofed dough piece on the conveyor under the opposing forming assembly through the oven at least partially baking the proofed dough piece.

Techniques and technologies are generally described herein for providing shape memory polymer packaging for meat products from sheets or films of shape memory polymer material. Shape memory polymers are a class of smart materials which have the ability to return to their original or trained state from a deformed or temporary state when a stimulus is provided. The stimulus is typically a temperature change. The stimulus may also be exposure to an electric or magnetic field, exposure to light, or even exposure to a particular atmosphere, e.g., water. Shape memory polymers now include many materials, including both thermoplastic materials and thermoset materials (covalently cross-linked). The memory effect of the shape memory polymer is used to shape a meat product and to make the meat product more attractive to a consumer.

A system for forming a food product, that includes a mould member with cavities, each of the cavities have an opening with a geometrical shape; a feed channel that feeds the food mass into the cavities, the feed channel has an exit channel for each of the cavities in one of the rows, the exit channel has a cross section with a geometrical shape that corresponds with a geometrical shape of each of the cavities; and an exchangeable insert positioned inside of the feed channel that includes a sloped wall that tapers in a direction opposite a flow direction of the food mass so that the width of the feed channel, in a region of the feed channel where the insert is positioned, reduces along the flow direction of the food mass, and the insert has a straight wall downstream of the sloped wall in the flow direction.

In an embodiment, an apparatus for processing meat product and a method of using same is provided. A first station includes a scanner which scans features of a meat product. A second station side straps the meat product in accordance with information received from the scan of the features. The second station includes a support, and spaced-apart knifes disposed on opposite sides of the support. Each knife has an axis of rotation that is normal to the longitudinal axis of the support. A position of each knife relative to the support in a direction normal to the longitudinal axis can be varied. A controller is programmed to control movement of each knife in accordance with the information received from the scanner.

The invention provides a device and a method for conveying and treating food items in liquid in a tank. The device is designed for transferring and treating food items in liquid simultaneously, such as cooling, thawing or treating the food items with additives. The blade of the invention is a dual action blade as it both advances the food items along the container as well as creating repeated forward and backwards pushing of the items as the blade is rotated.

A system includes a food dispenser, a cooking surface, and an arm assembly. The arm assembly is configured to receive a food product from the food dispenser and transport the food product to the cooking surface. The arm assembly includes an arm portion, an actuator, a cylinder, and a piston. The actuator drives rotation of the arm portion about a first rotational axis. The cylinder is attached to the arm portion and is rotatable relative to the arm portion about a second rotational axis. The piston is axially movable within the cylinder. The piston includes multiple stages. At least one of the stages is movable axially relative to another of the stages between a first position and a second position.