An apparatus for tearing meat is disclosed. The apparatus includes a gravity-fed hopper including at least one sidewall that forms a first opening configured to receive meat articles and a second opening configured to discharge torn meat articles. The apparatus includes a rotatable spindle element positioned at least partially within the hopper and downstream of the first opening. The rotatable spindle element includes a shaft having a longitudinal axis and a plurality of teeth coupled to the shaft, the teeth being spaced apart from one another. The apparatus includes a plurality of rods, which extend from the sidewall spaced apart from one another and which are interlaced with the plurality of teeth, and a motor coupled to the rotatable spindle element configured to rotate the rotatable spindle element to cause at least some of the plurality of teeth to rotate and pass between two different rods.

A turning apparatus has a turning device for engaging and turning a food item conveyed by a conveying means. The turning device includes a sweep arm structure for engaging the food item, a moving mechanism for turning the sweep arm structure from a first angular position to a second angular position, and a height displacement mechanism for raising and lowering the turning device.

A grocery meat product is provided having a tray receiving a raw, fresh, mixed meat product and covered with clear stretch film, the raw mixed meat product having: ten parts by weight raw, fresh beef having a meat-to-fat ratio of 80/20, six parts by weight raw, fresh pork shoulder having a meat-to-fat ratio of 72/38, and four parts by weight raw, fresh applewood-smoked bacon, said beef, said pork shoulder and said applewood-smoked bacon ground mixed together and presented on said tray for sale.

A novel and sustainable start-to-finish process for producing a premium ground beef product made from whole-ground primal cuts of beef, where the process begins with the cow-calf operation seeing the birthing of a calf at approximately one year prior to the desired date of slaughtering for retail, weaning the birthed calf until the calf is approximately six to nine months old, finishing the calf to the yearling stage (preferably at the main operation but optionally by a stocker/backgrounder), slaughtering the yearling for processing, and processing the yearling by deboning the carcass and whole-grinding the carcass to create a ground beef product that includes a mixture of primal cuts of beef.

A food processing device comprising a conveyor, a processor configured for receiving image data representing images of the food items, and a plurality of workstations arranged along the conveyor system. The avoid time consuming processing of food items, the processor is configured to provide a processing indicator which indicates whether the food items need further processing or not and the device comprises an identification structure configured to identify food items which are selected for further processing such that they are distinguished from food items not being selected for further processing based on the processing indicator.

An interdependent pair of kitchen tools designed for cutting, shearing, gouge cutting, or shredding specific meat and fibrous vegetables such as squash and slow cooked meats, along with leafy greens, deli meats, and hardboiled eggs. The tools exist as two forklike subassemblies, each comprised of respective distal handles, distal tine arrays, and pivotally enabled geometries. The subassemblies exist in two functional states allowing for two food conversion user modalities. The first functional state exists as a disconnected state amongst the subassemblies wherein the first user modality features opposing linear forces levied from respective subassemblies onto foods residing on a horizontal surface. The second functional state exists as a pivotally interconnected state amongst the subassemblies, whereby the second user modality features opposing pivotal mechanical forces levied from interconnected subassemblies onto foods residing on a horizontal surface or alternately contained within a custom food containment assembly existing as part of this disclosure.

A method for slicing meat loafs that have a cross section that varies across their longitudinal extension into accurately weighted slices, that includes the steps of bringing the loaf into a defined shape with a uniform cross section across its length inside a forming tube by pressing the loaf before it is sliced. The pressing is performed in a longitudinal direction and a transversal direction relative to the loaf in a predefined order and in particular in multiple pressing steps. The pressing may also comprise pressure relieving strokes for the purpose of reducing the force exertion for pressing, and for keeping the tissue structure of the loaf intact.

The present invention is a method for cutting pork to create a meat cut that mimics a pork chop meat. The method involves removing the bone and meat from the pork leg. The method then includes sealing the pork chop within a hermetic enclosure and chilling the enclosed pork chop to a temperature in the range of 35 to 38 degrees Fahrenheit. The resulting meat cut includes, bones or no bones pork chops.

A method of processing fish portions determines at a control unit a target weight of a cut fish portion; inspects a fish portion using an inspection unit to determine a mass distribution of said fish portion and providing said mass distribution to the control unit; calculates a cutting plan of the poultry fish portion based on the target weight and the mass distribution using the control unit; uses a mechanical gripper so as to grip the fish portion and arrange said poultry fish portion for execution of the cutting plan; and cuts the fish portion using a cutting unit in accordance with the cutting plan so as to produce a cut fish portion in accordance with the target weight. A system for processing fish portions is configured to perform the foregoing method, among others.

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.