A cutting system is provided for cutting carcass parts while the carcass parts are carried by carriers connected to and moved by an overhang transport system. A detection device is provided for determining a cutting position of an incoming carcass part. At least one cutting device having an upwardly and downwardly facing surface structure is provided and a moving mechanism is mechanically connected to the at least one cutting device for controlling the position of the at least one cutting device on the basis of the determined cutting position. A carcass displacement device is arranged to initiate displacement of the carcass part away from the at least one cutting position while the carcass part or a resulting sub-part carried by a carrier and is located between the upstream cutting edge and the downstream edge.

The invention relates to a method for treating a food product by non-conventional resistive heating using. contact with spaced-apart electrically conductive electrodes connected to a power source that regulates current to the electrodes by pausing heating of the food product to a predetermined temperature. The electrodes are configured into two groups at a first distance from one another. Each electrode group has individual electrodes, similar to a comb-like set of needles, wherein neighboring needles of each group are at a second distance from one another that is greater than or equal to the first distance. Each set of needles penetrates the food product such that points of the needles leave penetration points, wherein the food product is accommodated in a space between two conveyor belts and the individual electrodes extend from at least one of the conveyor belts in the direction of the opposite conveyor belt.

A support element (45a,45b,45c,45d,45e,45f,45g,45h,45i,45l,45m,45n) is described for a portion of meat (10), adapted to hook said portion of meat and to allow the handling of said portion of meat, said support element comprising: a bar (50a,50b,50c,50d,50e,50f,50g,50h,50i,50l,50m,50n) developing longitudinally along a longitudinal axis (X), a plurality of straight needles (55), adapted to penetrate the portion of meat (10), arranged with longitudinal axes (K) parallel to each other and arranged in a row parallel to the longitudinal axis (X), a connection body (60a,60b,60c,60d,60e) connecting the straight needles to the bar and comprising a first face (65a,65b,65c,65d,65e), from which said needles (55) rise, and a second face (70a,70b,70c,70d,70e) facing in the opposite direction to the first face. Wherein said support element comprises: a grasping appendage (75a,75b,75c,75d,75e), which rises from a portion of the second face (70a,70b,70c,70d,70e) proximal to the needles (55) and develops both in a direction away from the first face and from the second face and in a longitudinal direction parallel to the longitudinal axis (X) of the bar (50a,50b,50c,50d,50e,50f,50g,50h,50i,50l,50m,50n). Wherein said grasping appendage (75a,75b,75c,75d,75e) is rigidly integral with the second face (70a,70b,70c,70d,70e) in at least a plurality of side-by-side sections along said longitudinal direction along which the grasping appendage develops, and wherein there is at least one of said sections every two consecutive needles (55).

A method is described for unhooking a portion of meat from a support element to which the portion of meat is hooked, the support element including a plurality of hooks by means of which the portion of meat is hooked to the support element, a bar to which the hooks are rigidly connected by a connection body comprising a first face, from which the hooks rise, and a second face facing in the opposite direction to the first face, and a grasping appendage rising from the second face at least in a direction away from the first face and from the second face. The method includes pulling the grasping appendage in a predetermined extraction direction, and holding the portion of meat, or pushing the portion of meat in a direction opposite to the predetermined extraction direction, at the same time as the step of pulling the grasping appendage in the predetermined extraction direction, completely pulling the hooks off the portion of meat.

A method is described for unhooking a portion of meat from a support element to which the portion of meat is hooked, the support element including a plurality of hooks by means of which the portion of meat is hooked to the support element, a bar to which the hooks are rigidly connected by a connection body comprising a first face, from which the hooks rise, and a second face facing in the opposite direction to the first face, and a grasping appendage rising from the second face at least in a direction away from the first face and from the second face. The method includes pulling the grasping appendage in a predetermined extraction direction, and holding the portion of meat, or pushing the portion of meat in a direction opposite to the predetermined extraction direction, at the same time as the step of pulling the grasping appendage in the predetermined extraction direction, completely pulling the hooks off the portion of meat.

An apparatus for loading and unloading slices of bacon includes a loading portion including: a motor-driven conveying arrangement arranged to convey the slices of fresh bacon; a first motor-driven conveyor arranged to convey the seasoning hooks; a second motor-driven conveyor arranged to receive the seasoning hooks loaded with the slices of fresh bacon, and to move away the seasoning hooks from the loading zone; and a manipulator device configured to load onto the seasoning hooks the slices of fresh bacon. The apparatus further includes: an unloading portion including a motor-driven conveying arrangement, arranged to convey the seasoning hooks, loaded with the slices of seasoned bacon; and a manipulator device cooperating with the conveying arrangement to unload/extract one hook after another of the seasoning hooks from the slices of seasoned bacon.

An indoor smoker includes a smoking chamber that is defined at least in part by a chamber wall and a smoke generating assembly for providing a flow of smoke into the smoking chamber through a chamber inlet defined in the chamber wall. A rack assembly is positioned within the smoking chamber and includes a ladder rack mounted to the chamber wall for supporting a plurality of racks. The ladder rack includes L-shaped mounting flanges that are secured to the chamber wall and a support plate that is secured to the distal ends of the mounting flanges to define a flow plenum for distributing the flow of smoke throughout the smoking chamber.

Provided is a stick turning device capable of turning a stick on which a chain of sausages is suspended while reducing defects in the sausages when delivering the stick from an upstream device to a downstream device. The stick turning device includes a turning arm unit, a turning driving unit, and an actuator unit. The turning driving unit causes the turning arm unit to turn at a predetermined angle around a turning shaft. The actuator unit lifts the turning arm unit such that both ends of the stick are horizontally picked up from the upstream device and the stick is lifted, and such that by bringing the stick close to the turning shaft, a peripheral speed of the stick is reduced with respect to a turning speed of the turning driving unit, and defects in the sausages are reduced, and lowers the stick turned by the turning driving unit.

A method and a plant for the storage of sausages, according to which two rows of sausages are simultaneously transferred from a loading station to a support cross member of a vertical store by means of a pick-and-place device provided with two support arms, which are parallel to one another, have an elongated shape, are provided with respective pluralities of holding members and are movable relative to one another between a closed position and an open position; the sum of the holding members of the two support arms being equal to the number of hooking members of the support cross member of the store. Main drawing: FIG. 1

The present disclosure relates to a system and method for processing a carcass leg part comprising a holding section at or near a foot portion. The system comprises a loading station comprising a first conveying device having a supporting surface for supporting and transporting the carcass part towards a loading zone and comprising a positioning device having a first positioning element arranged to be moved along with the carcass part while supported on the supporting surface, configured for positioning the holding section with respect to the supporting surface. The system further comprises a second conveying device comprising a plurality of carriers which are movable through the loading zone. The system is configured such that in the loading zone a carcass part is transferred from the supporting surface to a carrier at the holding section of the carcass part, in an automated manner in use.