Disclosed is a food product comprising a packaged quantity of raw fish, the fish having been combined, in the preferred embodiment, with diced vegetables, egg whites, seasonings, and other selected ingredients, thereby forming a food mixture. The entirety of the food mixture is inserted into a container, the container comprising a semi-elastic material and having the contour of an oblong, oval-shaped tubular food casing. Thereupon, the tubular food casing is sealed in an airtight manner. The tubular food casing, may also be vacuum sealed. The container may further be subjected to a process of flash freezing. The sealed tubular food casing, upon being accessed, may be thawed or reduced in temperature so as to allow a consumer to cut individually-sized sections of the tubular food casing for cooking in any selected manner, including baking, broiling, or frying.

A container has a base flange on a base, and a lid flange on a lid. When the container is in a closed position the lid flange and the base flange are in juxtaposition and one of the flange edges defines a flange support surface. A lid surface is spaced above an upper base periphery when in the closed position to define a lid volume, and the base section defines a base volume. The flange support surface extends a first distance such that when the volume of the container is loaded with a rated capacity of product and the container is placed in a standing position on a flat surface using the flange support surface and a front base corner as support elements, a center of gravity of the container generates a moment about an axis of the base corner that biases the container in the standing position.

Instead of a loading line consisting only consisting of conventional belt conveyors or strap conveyors, the invention uses—in addition to a conventional feed conveyor unit (10)—a large number of vehicles (F) which move independently of one another, freely on a driving surface (3″), and are driven from below the driving surface (3″), which each carry a packaging element (V) such as a tray, which—loaded with a single slice (S) or a portion—very flexibly permit the specific assembly of portions (P), but also the buffering of partial portions.

The buffer possibility can be supplemented by a (known) buffer (17) in the form of a vertical buffer with a vertically movable storage rack (17).

Instead of a loading line consisting only consisting of conventional belt conveyors or strap conveyors, the invention uses—in addition to a conventional feed conveyor unit (10)—a large number of vehicles (F) which move independently of one another, freely on a driving surface (3″), and are driven from below the driving surface (3″), which each carry a packaging element (V) such as a tray, which—loaded with a single slice (S) or a portion—very flexibly permit the specific assembly of portions (P), but also the buffering of partial portions.

The buffer possibility can be supplemented by a (known) buffer (17) in the form of a vertical buffer with a vertically movable storage rack (17).

A device and a method for providing a product stream with mutually aligned food products on product substrates are described According thereto, a first conveyor belt for the supply transport and mutual transverse alignment of the food products to each other, a second conveyor belt that adjoins in the direction of transport at a gap-shaped belt transition and can be controlled separately for the discharge transport and mutual longitudinal alignment of the food products to each other, and a substrate placement device for supplying the product substrates from below through the belt transition in front of/under the food products that are respectively transported across the belt transition. This enables the alignment and substrate placement in a particularly compact and reliable configuration at a single belt transition.

An improved method for the packaging and long-term preservation of meat products without cold chain, which avoids the loss of liquids during radiation, in order to improve the preservation and maintenance of the organoleptic properties of meat pieces.

A tofu packaging apparatus includes: a pack covering device configured to cover each of a plurality cakes of tofu with a pack that is in a reversed state, the plurality of cakes of tofu being arranged at predetermined intervals in a front, rear, left, and right on a conveyance surface of a transfer conveyor; and an inversion device disposed on a downstream side of the pack covering device, the inversion device being configured to invert the tofu upside down while the tofu is covered with the pack. The pack covering device includes a tip end grip portion configured to grip the pack in the reversed state and cover the tofu halfway with the pack. The inversion device is configured to invert the tofu covered with the pack in the reversed state to store the tofu in the pack.

A tofu packaging apparatus includes: a pack covering device configured to cover each of a plurality cakes of tofu with a pack that is in a reversed state, the plurality of cakes of tofu being arranged at predetermined intervals in a front, rear, left, and right on a conveyance surface of a transfer conveyor; and an inversion device disposed on a downstream side of the pack covering device, the inversion device being configured to invert the tofu upside down while the tofu is covered with the pack. The pack covering device includes a tip end grip portion configured to grip the pack in the reversed state and cover the tofu halfway with the pack. The inversion device is configured to invert the tofu covered with the pack in the reversed state to store the tofu in the pack.

An inversion guide device is configured to guide tofu conveyed by a transfer conveyor and inverted by a turn-back portion at one end of the transfer conveyor. The inversion guide device includes an endless conveyor configured to support the tofu along a track of the turn-back portion and guide the tofu while being driven in a circulating manner.

A tofu conveying machine includes a conveyor, a support member, and an elevation device. The conveyor is configured to convey tofu placed thereon. The support member is configured to support at least a portion of the conveyor from below, and the portion allows the tofu to be placed thereon. The elevation device is configured to elevate and lower the support member.