Fowl positioning system, comprising a dosing belt, arranged to receive randomly oriented slaughtered fowl and dose them one by one on a conveyor belt linked to a computer vision system, the belt being arranged to sequentially position the fowl under the computer vision system in order to determine the placement in which each fowl is found on said conveyor belt, and a robotic arm with a gripper on the end, arranged to sequentially grasp each fowl from the conveyor belt and thread them one by one in a predefined position on one of the supports located in a fowl processing line, the robotic arm being linked to the computer vision system such that it determines the position for the gripper to clamp and release the fowl.

A method of creating batches for food items conveyed by a conveyor means, comprises measuring an image profile for a food item, processing the measured image profile for the food item, cutting the food item into a plurality of portions based on the processed measured image profile, and distinguishing the portions within the partial batch from the remaining portions. The number of portions from one or more of subsequent food items needed to complete the partial batch is such that it fulfills the pre-defined batch-criteria taken from the same or similar area of the food items from where the partial batch originates.

The present disclosure describes methods and systems for processing meat products via mechanical tenderization and high-pressure pasteurization in a manner that improves the texture and extends the shelf life of the processed meat. Methods of meat processing may involve mechanically tenderizing the cuts of meat and slicing the cuts of meat into meat products. Methods may also involve packaging the meat products and pasteurizing the meat products under a high pressure. The meat products produced may have an extended shelf life compared to other meat products not mechanically tenderized and pasteurized under high pressure. The high pressure pasteurization, in addition to inactivating microorganisms, may further tenderize the meat products. Methods may also involve marinating the cuts of meat, which can be performed by injecting liquid marinate into the meat via mechanically operated injection needs in some examples. The liquid marinate may include natural enzymes that further tenderize the meat.

A modular conveyor belt constructed of a series of conveyor belt modules, some of which include retainers for removably retaining plates, such as cutting boards, to the outer surface of the belt. The longitudinal extent of each of the retained plates in the direction of belt travel exceeds the articulation pitch of the conveyor belt.

A system 10 for analyzing and trimming irregularly shaped food products which are to be subsequently pressed into a three-dimensional shape (volume) and optionally thereafter sliced or otherwise portioned so as to achieve an optimum harvest, includes a conveyor 12 for carrying the workpieces (WP) to be trimmed past a scanning system 14 for scanning the workpiece (WP) to ascertain the physical characteristics of the workpiece (WP), including, for example, its three-dimensional shape, as well as its position on the conveyor 12, and then past a cutting station 26 for trimming the workpiece (WP) into a desired two-dimensional shape which represents an optimum shape for the workpiece for pressing the workpiece into a desired three-dimensional shape having at least one fixed or specified dimension or other physical specification. Thereafter, the workpiece can be transferred to a slicing station utilizing high speed cutters or slicers for portioning/slicing the workpiece.

A hand device includes left and right finger-shaped portions each including a first member and a second member that are configured to operate to open and close. The first member and the second member are disposed in the vicinity of each other in each finger-shaped portion, and an inner edge portion of the first member is configured to project and retract relative to an inner edge portion of the second member. A food arrangement device uses the hand device to perform the steps of holding a middle portion in a length direction of a food article at a collection position with the left and right finger-shaped portions of the hand device, moving the hand device to above a set region, and moving the hand device in a downward direction and a lateral direction relative to the set region to bring the food article into contact with the set region from a hanging end side of the food article, cause the food article to lay down in a folded state, and discontinue the hold. A food batch formation device automatically repeats these steps to form a food batch in the set region.

A frozen block separation system is disclosed herein. An example system includes a product receptacle having an elevator and an opening configured to receive a frozen product in a stacked block format and elevate the frozen product to a cutting height, a cutting member positioned above the product receptacle, the cutting member configured to move perpendicularly to the frozen product and remove a portion of the frozen product when the frozen product is at the cutting height, and a first plate that is configured to move the portion in a first direction, from the cutting member into a batch enclosure.

A machine for processing meat includes a motor with a shaft driven by the motor and a receptacle for a meat piece to be processed. The receptacle is open toward the driven shaft so that a part of the meat piece held in the receptacle is fed by an auger arranged in sections on the driven shaft toward a set of blades. The set of blades has a perforated disk arranged essentially perpendicular to the rotational axis of the driven shaft and a blade is arranged on a blade pin and is rotatable with this blade pin in a plane essentially parallel to the perforated disk. The blade pin is arranged on the driven shaft such that rotation of the driven shaft is transferred to the blade pin, so that the blade rotates.

An overhead system for the manual and/or automatic movement of frames in particular for moving and/or storing meat and/or cold cuts, in which the frames are moved from one location to another by hooking them to a trolley-mounted device sliding along a track, the track includes first and second guideways arranged side-by-side in a transverse direction and arranged at a distance from each other to form a gap sufficient to allow passage of one or more trolley-mounted devices, which are slidably engaged on an upper surface of the guideways and protrude through the gap below the guideways to receive the frames. The first and second guideways have an open cross-sectional profile having an opening and are arranged side-by-side so that the opening faces outwards defining a track with open outer sidewalls.

A robot gripper that takes stacked patties from a conveyor and moves them to a packaging device.