A holding apparatus for holding a gutted poultry body/part during processing has a support body supporting the body/part, a fastening body for holding the support body and fastening the holding apparatus to a circulatingly driven transport unit, and a clamping device for securing the body/part to the support body. The clamping device has a hook for penetrating into soft parts and a clamping lever. The lever has a clamping jaw for clamping parts of the body/part against the hook lower side directed towards the support body. The hook lower side is spaced apart from the support body to form a free space for receiving the parts to be clamped. The clamping lever is movable, against a spring force, from a standby position into a clamping position, and back. The clamping lever also has a centring shoulder projecting into the free space when the clamping lever is in the standby position.

A support for carrying a front-half of a chicken through a deboning process, including an upper portion, a lower portion, and a base for attaching to a conveyor belt. The upper portion includes a first shelf and a second shelf for resting under the shoulder knuckles of the front-half of the chicken and a protrusion positioned between the first shelf and the second shelf for spreading the shoulder knuckles. The lower portion of the support has two sections for resting under the breast meat of the front-half of the chicken. The first section of the lower portion of the support slopes downward and outward from the upper portion, while the second section of the lower portion slopes downward and inward from the first section.

A treatment device or method for preparing a poultry carcass, as provided herein, may serve to remove a portion of the carcass's keel bone on a conveyor line. The treatment device may include a blade carriage and bone blade. The blade carriage may be disposed at a preharvest station on a conveyor path of the conveyor line. The bone blade may be mechanically linked to the blade carriage at the preharvest station to remove a tip of the keel bone. The bone blade may be aligned with the keel bone between a pair of fillets of the carcass within the preharvest station. The bone blade may also be spaced apart from a sternum of the carcass.

A system for automatic organization, hanging and driving of slaughtered animals installed at the outlet of a slaughtered animals processing station such as a chiller. The system comprises a receiving and aligning means of slaughtered animals in longitudinal position, which is previously disposed to an accumulator device of slaughtered animals positioned longitudinally. The system further comprises a suspension and movement assembly of each slaughtered animal from the axial alignment assembly to a driving guide of each slaughtered animal to a hanging transfer device of each animal slaughtered in the hanging line.

A bird cleaning machine is provided that enables a user to cut through a body of a bird from inside out to remove internal organs and parts (breast) of a bird such as a dove. In a particular illustrative embodiment of the invention, a bird cleaning machine includes but is not limited to a vertical guide spear rod, a back spreader bar, two side blades, wing flanges, a bird holding plate, a spring and a foot lever.

A roasting rack and carving board system includes a roasting rack having a number of spaced support members that support a food item. The system also includes a carving board that has a body with a cutting surface. The body and cutting surface features a number of grooves that receive the spaced support members of the roasting rack so that at least portions of some of the plurality of spaced support members are recessed into the carving board body with respect to the cutting surface.

System for placement of a supply of poultry front halves in a processing line equipped with a train of movable carriers for the poultry front halves. Exemplary embodiments may include a train of receptacles provided and movable in a conveyor line, wherein the receptacles are equipped to receive the front halves at an input station of the system, and the conveyor line is equipped to move the receptacles with the poultry front halves received therein from the input station towards and along the processing line with the carriers. The receptacles can be equipped to transfer the poultry front halves onto the carriers in the processing line and may be equipped with a breast support plate, a bottom plate and upstanding inserts.

An apparatus and method for processing poultry carcasses with a slaughter opening located between the legs includes a drivable transport conveyor for continuously conveying the carcasses, at least one holding apparatus on the transport conveyor for holding the carcasses, and a processing station. The station includes an engagement basic body rotatably mounted on a rotary axis and at least one engagement element. The engagement element is configured for at least partial engagement with the slaughter opening. During the at least partial engagement of the at least one engagement element with the carcass a widening of the slaughter opening is effected while maintaining the continuous conveyance with the generation of a torque. The engagement basic body is configured for receiving the torque. If the torque exceeds a predetermined torque, the engagement basic body is automatically released from the slaughter opening by rotation of the engagement basic body about the rotary axis.

The present invention relates to a carrier for holding poultry carcasses, comprising a frame part, for attaching the carrier to a processing line; a hook part, fixed to the frame part; and a support part, rotatably connected to the frame part, wherein the support part is movably between an unloaded position, in which a poultry carcass can be loaded on the carrier, between the hook part and the support part; and a loaded position, in which the poultry carcass is being held by the carrier, between the hook part and the support part. The poultry carcass may for instance be a breast cap, including breast fillets and a breast bone. The invention also relates to a method of providing poultry carcasses on such carrier.

A paw tracker for maintaining poultry paws in an ordered, indexed manner so that each paw can be matched with the carcass from which it was removed is provided. The paw tracker has a plurality of columns defining a plurality of pockets vertically aligned on the column. A rotatable gate corresponds to each pocket of the plurality of pockets. At least one gate arm urges each gate of the plurality of gates from a closed position to an open position at a predetermined time and a rotating assembly is configured to move the plurality of columns at a predetermined speed.