In a drive device having a tubular linear motor with a stator (1), an armature (2) and a bottom flange (30), the stator (1) is arranged on the bottom flange (30) in thermal contact with the bottom flange (30). The stator (1) is fluid-tightly enclosed by stainless steel. The bottom flange (30) consists at least partly of a material having a higher thermal conductivity than stainless steel. The stator (1), together with the bottom flange (30), is enclosed by a casing (40) made of stainless steel which is in thermal contact with the bottom flange (30) and encloses the bottom flange (30) and the stator (1) in common. The stator (1) is a tubular stator (1) having drive coils (12) arranged therein and also having a longitudinal axis and a through-hole (11) which extends through the tubular stator (1) coaxially with the longitudinal axis. The armature (2) has a fluid-tight armature tube (21) made of stainless steel, in which permanent magnets (23) are arranged, and is arranged so as to be movable relative to the tubular stator (1) in the through-hole (11) in the direction of the longitudinal axis. The tubular stator (1) and the bottom flange (30) are so arranged relative to one another that a portion of the tubular stator (1) is in thermal contact with the bottom flange (30).

A disclosed food processing assembly includes a plurality of food processing units. Each unit is configured to convey food product arriving at an ingress point to an egress point. The assembly includes rotary valves configured to transfer food product from the egress point of one unit to the ingress point of a subsequent unit while maintaining environmental isolation between the two units. A programmable electronic controller is configured to monitor environmental parameters within each unit and to generate control signals provided to various resources to maintain environmental parameters within each unit at a distinct set of value. The resources may include air compressors, steam generators, vacuum pumps, and the like. In this manner, the assembly enables a multi-step food process to proceed essentially continuously with little or no delay between sequential process steps despite with each step being associated with a distinct set of time, temperature, pressure, and humidity values.

A disclosed food processing assembly includes a plurality of food processing units. Each unit is configured to convey food product arriving at an ingress point to an egress point. The assembly includes rotary valves configured to transfer food product from the egress point of one unit to the ingress point of a subsequent unit while maintaining environmental isolation between the two units. A programmable electronic controller is configured to monitor environmental parameters within each unit and to generate control signals provided to various resources to maintain environmental parameters within each unit at a distinct set of value. The resources may include air compressors, steam generators, vacuum pumps, and the like. In this manner, the assembly enables a multi-step food process to proceed essentially continuously with little or no delay between sequential process steps despite with each step being associated with a distinct set of time, temperature, pressure, and humidity values.

Apparatus and methods for bulk processing items on a conveyor belt using an angled axial fan that extends obliquely into a processing chamber and includes a curved back wall forming an air flow chamber. The angled axial fan enhances air flow around a product being processed on the conveyor belt. A heater employs shrouds and a series of baffle plates held together using a connecting pin to heat circulated air in a low-pressure area below the conveyor belt. Baffles in an upper chamber mix and direct heated, circulated air over the conveyed product.

Apparatus and methods for bulk processing items on a conveyor belt using an angled axial fan that extends obliquely into a processing chamber and includes a curved back wall forming an air flow chamber. The angled axial fan enhances air flow around a product being processed on the conveyor belt. A heater employs shrouds and a series of baffle plates held together using a connecting pin to heat circulated air in a low-pressure area below the conveyor belt. Baffles in an upper chamber mix and direct heated, circulated air over the conveyed product.

To provide a food product molding device and a food product manufacturing method capable of molding foodstuffs into a food product having stacked plural layers with a simple structure. A mold unit in which a first mold plate and a second mold plate are stacked slidingly moves by a drive unit. Through holes respectively provided in the first mold plate and the second mold plate are linked to form molding hole portions. The molding hole portions move to a first filling position in which upper ends of the molding hole portions are connected to first filling openings, a second filling position in which upper ends of the molding hole portions are connected to second filling openings, and a discharge position in which upper ends of the molding hole portions are connected to pusher ports by the slide movement of the mold unit.

The invention provides an edible fiber comprising a biopolymer and a plasticiser; wherein the weight ratio of biopolymer to plasticiser is about 1:0.25 to about 1:3; and wherein the fiber has a diameter of about 0.5 m to about 1 mm.

The invention provides an edible fiber comprising a biopolymer and a plasticiser; wherein the weight ratio of biopolymer to plasticiser is about 1:0.25 to about 1:3; and wherein the fiber has a diameter of about 0.5 m to about 1 mm.

The invention relates to a food processing system (100) for preparing an edible mass of a food product starting from a raw food material, the system comprising: one or a plurality of food containers (20), each one comprising a raw food material in form of dehydrated material and/or paste and/or chunks; one or a plurality of dispensing and reconstituting chambers (10), each chamber being associated to at least one food container (20), each of the chambers (10) comprising a variable and/or exchangeable reconstitution and deposition device configured for hydrating and/or structuring and/or reconstituting in batches the raw food material provided by the one or more food containers (20) in order to create a homogeneous edible mass of food product, the device being further configured to deposit in-line with a controlled flow the edible mass of food product once prepared. The invention further relates to a method for operating a food processing system (100) as the one described in order to prepare an edible mass of food product starting from raw food material: the information on the kind of raw food material and on its processing is retrieved from identification means on the one or more food containers (20) and/or from a connected database, in order to process the raw food material in the one or more of the dispensing and reconstituting chambers (10) according to a certain recipe, acting on the hydration ratio and/or mixing speed and/or mixing time and/or temperature and/or viscosity and/or texture

The invention relates to a food processing system (100) for preparing an edible mass of a food product starting from a raw food material, the system comprising: one or a plurality of food containers (20), each one comprising a raw food material in form of dehydrated material and/or paste and/or chunks; one or a plurality of dispensing and reconstituting chambers (10), each chamber being associated to at least one food container (20), each of the chambers (10) comprising a variable and/or exchangeable reconstitution and deposition device configured for hydrating and/or structuring and/or reconstituting in batches the raw food material provided by the one or more food containers (20) in order to create a homogeneous edible mass of food product, the device being further configured to deposit in-line with a controlled flow the edible mass of food product once prepared. The invention further relates to a method for operating a food processing system (100) as the one described in order to prepare an edible mass of food product starting from raw food material: the information on the kind of raw food material and on its processing is retrieved from identification means on the one or more food containers (20) and/or from a connected database, in order to process the raw food material in the one or more of the dispensing and reconstituting chambers (10) according to a certain recipe, acting on the hydration ratio and/or mixing speed and/or mixing time and/or temperature and/or viscosity and/or texture