The present disclosure relates to a filling machine and a method for filling of filling medium, in particular for the production of sausages with a hopper for accommodating filling medium, a conveyer for supplying the filling medium and a filling element, in particular a filling tube, as well as a device for measuring the filling level in the hopper. The device for measuring the filling level comprises a radar sensor.

A filling line is provided and includes a first filling machine having a first machine controller, and one or more second filling machines having a second machine controller, which is selectively operable independently of the first filling machine. The filling line also includes a data interface for connecting the machine controllers to each other for control communication. The machine controllers are configured to be operated reciprocally either in a slave control mode or in a master control mode, depending on control information provided. The slave control mode transmits read and write rights in respect of recipe-relevant process parameters to the machine controller operated in the master control mode, and the master control mode implements the transferred read and write rights in the machine controller operated in the master control mode. A method for operating such a filling line is also provided.

An apparatus for processing a foodstuff material is provided, specifically for producing sausage products from sausage meat. The apparatus includes a stationary housing which has a wall and which can be connected in fluid-conducting relationship to a conveyor pump, and has a discharge opening for delivery of the foodstuff material. Arranged within the housing is an element for partially swirling the foodstuff material within the housing, which is rotatable relative to the wall and along which in operation at least a partial amount of the foodstuff material to be conveyed flows. The rotatable element ends within the housing before the discharge opening for delivery of the foodstuff material. The apparatus can produce a string with a substantially cylindrical outer contour from a foodstuff material like sausage meat.

The invention relates to a method for applying a consumable treating liquid to an individual meat product, comprising the steps of placing an individual meat product on a carrier; moving the meat product towards a liquid applier; applying a consumable treating liquid to a meat product; forcing excess liquid towards the bottom of the meat product and/or the carrier, and controllably removing the excess liquid from the meat product and/or the carrier by a liquid remover. The invention also provides a device for applying a consumable treating liquid to an individual meat product.

A method and a device for separating shirred casing sticks, where a row R.sub.1 with a first number of consecutively disposed shined casing sticks in a shined casing stick storage is pushed in a first stroke cycle by a pusher along a sloped plane in the direction of a separation edge and one after the other over the separation edge and, once the last shined casing stick of the row has been pushed over the separation edge, the pusher moves back along the sloped plane and takes a row R.sub.2 with a second number of consecutively disposed shined casing sticks and pushes them in a further stroke cycle in the direction towards the separation edge, characterized in that a control device determines the filling level of shined casing sticks in the shined casing stick storage from the number of shined casing sticks pushed over the separation edge.

A filling machine includes a suspension device, and is operable to suspend sausages, in particular sausage chains, with a plurality of circulating suspension hooks. The suspension device includes an integrated weighing unit for weighing at least one sausage or at least one sausage chain.

An apparatus for closing pasty-substance-filled tubular casings to form products, in particular for closing sausage-meat-filled casings is disclosed. The apparatus includes a filling tube with an outlet opening, having a brake and having clipper blades, which can be moved toward one another in a direction transverse to a filling direction, and which includes a measuring device, which establishes the caliber of the products in a contactless.

The forced convection treatment unit has a conveyor device for conveying slices of meat product arranged in a single layer on a permeable support surface along a path inside an enclosure, and an air circulation device with an air moving device associated to an arrangement of conduits provided with a plurality of inlet and outlet ports in communication with the inside of the enclosure and arranged to make two mutually parallel conditioned air currents flow in opposite directions parallel to the support surface and transverse to the direction of travel of the conveyor device and pass through two respective regions of the enclosure traversed by the slices along the path.

The forced convection treatment unit has a conveyor device for conveying slices of meat product arranged in a single layer on a permeable support surface along a path inside an enclosure, and an air circulation device with an air moving device associated to an arrangement of conduits provided with a plurality of inlet and outlet ports in communication with the inside of the enclosure and arranged to make two mutually parallel conditioned air currents flow in opposite directions parallel to the support surface and transverse to the direction of travel of the conveyor device and pass through two respective regions of the enclosure traversed by the slices along the path.

The present invention relates to a method and a filling machine for portioning pasty masses for the purpose of food production, wherein a pasty mass is fed by the filling machine into the filling flow divider, where it is separated into a plurality of mass flows and discharged in portions in the discharge direction. At the end of each portion the mass flow is sucked back in a direction opposite to the discharge direction.