A moulding installation and method for moulding food products from a pumpable foodstuff mass are described. A revolving mould drum is provided with multiple mould cavities and a mass feed member is arranged at a fill position to transfer foodstuff mass into passing mould cavities. The foodstuff mass forms a food product in the mould cavity. A pressurized air food product ejection system includes air ducts in the mould drum that extend to the cavities and at least a portion of the surface delimiting a mould cavity is air permeable. The ejection system further includes a pressurized air source to feed pressurized air at a regulated ejection air pressure thereof to the air ducts. A controller is adapted to input at least one target parameter related to filling of the mould cavities with the foodstuff mass via the mouth of the mass feed member. The controller is adapted to automatically set an ejection air pressure by the pressurized air source on the basis of the inputted target parameter.

A system that includes: a production device, a cleaning apparatus, and conveyor means. The production device includes: a mould drum with cavities; a mass feed means for feeding food mass to the cavities; and a gas pressure source to force the products from the cavities. The cleaning apparatus connects to a cleaning fluid source and includes: a control system that controls cleaning of the mould drum; means to clean an outer circumference of the mould drum; means to move the mould drum and/or means to move the means to clean the outer circumference of the mould drum during the cleaning; a collection trough to collect the cleaning fluid, and a cover. The control device automatically controls the cleaning such that the cleaning of the outer circumference of the mould drum takes place while and/or after the cavities are rinsed.

An installation for moulding of three dimensional products from a mass of pumpable foodstuff material, for example from ground meat. The installation comprises a feed pump and a moulding device with a mobile mould member having multiple mould cavities. A mass feed member is arranged at a fill position relative to the path of the mobile mould member, which mass feed member is connected to an outlet of the feed pump. The member has a housing defining an elongated chamber with a longitudinal axis and having a pair of spaced apart long lateral walls, short end walls, and a bottom wall facing the mould member at the fill position along the path of the mould member. The bottom wall is provided with a discharge mouth formed by one or more discharge openings spanning the path of said mould cavities, so that foodstuff mass flows into each row of mould cavities via said discharge mouth. The mass feed member is provided with a single elongated plunger that is slidably received in the chamber, sliding between the lateral walls and the end walls. At least one lateral wall is provided with an introduction mouth formed by one or more introduction openings spanning a major portion of the length of said lateral wall.

A moveable mould member is configured for use in an installation for moulding food products from a pumpable foodstuff mass. The mould member has a permeable mould body with an outer surface forming at least part of the outer mould member surface, which outer surface of the permeable mould body is fluid tight; mould cavities and a permeable volume defining fine openings opening out at the mould cavities, such that each mould cavity of the permeable mould body is delimited at least in part by a permeable volume. In addition, the mould drum has, for each group of mould cavities from which food products are to be ejected simultaneously, an ejection fluid inlet allowing the entry of pressurized fluid, and one or more channels extending from the associated ejection fluid inlet to the one or more permeable volumes of the group of mould cavities.

A patty forming machine configured to mold food products, and its method of use, is provided. The patty forming machine includes a stripper plate through which food product is configured to pass when the stripper plate is in a fill position, a sensor configured to determine positions of the stripper plate, a movable mold, and a sensor configured to determine positions of the mold. A processor is operatively coupled with the sensors. The processor is configured to receive information from the sensors and to determine when the stripper plate is to be moved from the non-fill position to the fill position relative to a determined position of the mold.

A system for moulding three-dimensional products from a mass of one or more food starting materials which are suitable for consumption, in particular human consumption, has a production device having a frame, a mould member provided with at least one mould cavity, the frame supporting the mould member, mass feed means for feeding the mass to the one or more mould cavities of the mould member. The system also has at least one cleaning device for cleaning one or more parts of the production device which come into contact with the mass. The mould member is removable from the frame. The system has a storage device for storing a plurality of mould members, which may be provided with an identification, has recognition means for recognizing the identification of a mould member, and may have a memory for storing at least one history of a mould member.

A system for moulding three-dimensional products from a mass of one or more food starting materials which are suitable for consumption, in particular human consumption, has a production device having a frame, a mould member provided with at least one mould cavity, the frame supporting the mould member, mass feed means for feeding the mass to the one or more mould cavities of the mould member. The system also has at least one cleaning device for cleaning one or more parts of the production device which come into contact with the mass. The mould member is removable from the frame. The system has a storage device for storing a plurality of mould members, which may be provided with an identification, has recognition means for recognizing the identification of a mould member, and may have a memory for storing at least one history of a mould member.

A patty forming machine is configured to mold food products. The machine includes a stripper plate through which food product is configured to pass when the stripper plate is in a fill position, a sensor configured to determine positions of the stripper plate, a movable mold, and a sensor configured to determine positions of the mold. A processor is operatively coupled with the sensors. The processor is configured to receive information from the sensors and to determine when the stripper plate is to be moved from the non-fill position to the fill position relative to a determined position of the mold.

A system that includes a mould drum having one or more product cavities, a first front end, and a second front end; a forming apparatus, which utilizes the mould drum to form food products from a food mass; a cleaning apparatus, which cleans the mould drum after forming the food products, the cleaning apparatus is remote from the forming apparatus; a movable unit that is configured to transport the mould drum from the forming apparatus to the cleaning apparatus, and vice versa; and a support structure and a spindle, which are reversibly attached to the forming apparatus during production and reversibly attached to the movable unit during the transport of the mould drum.

A system for forming all variants of hamburger steaks, without being dedicated to a single variant, from a mass of meat comprises a mold including at least one cavity for forming hamburger steak, a channel for supplying the meat mass to the mold, and an element for forming an interface between the channel for supplying the meat mass and the mold. The element for forming an interface includes a pipe length having a first end connected to an outlet of the channel for supplying the meat mass and an opposite second end connected to an inlet of the mold, a grinding plate, and edges for holding the grinding plate in a cross section of the pipe length, the edges for holding the grinding plate being discretely distributed along the pipe length.