The dispenser disclosed herein serves a single serving of a powdered nutrient contained within a container having multi-servings of the powdered nutrient. The dispenser has a metering device that operates as a ball valve or guillotine to dispense a single serving of the powdered nutrient into a water container. The dispenser also has a support surface that can be lowered and raised back up in order to fit a water container under the metering device and a distal tip of the metering device into a mouth of the water container so that no powdered nutrient spills out of the water container during transfer of the powdered nutrient from the metering device to the water container.

At least one example embodiment relates to a system for filling a plurality of containers with oral products. The system comprises a container station and a shuttle assembly. The container station is configured to provide a plurality of containers. The shuttle assembly is configured to move between a first shuttle position to receive a plurality of oral products and a second shuttle position to deposit the oral products into the containers. At least one example embodiment relates to a method of filling a plurality of containers with oral products.

A flexible funnel positioned at a filling station of a fill machine. The flexible funnel directs a product dispensed at the filling station of the filling machine into a pouch. The flexible funnel having a rigid upper portion and a plurality of fingers. The rigid upper portion includes an open top end and an open bottom end. Each of the plurality of elongated fingers hingedly connected to the upper portion. The rigid upper portion has a regular polygon shape having a plurality of sides, and each of the plurality of fingers is individually articulatable with respect to one of the plurality of sides of the upper rigid portion.

A food processing system is disclosed. The food processing system includes a food scaling portion, a food bagging portion and a chute portion connecting the food scaling portion to the food bagging portion. The food processing system also includes a foreign object sensor arranged about the chute portion. The foreign object sensor and the chute portion cooperatively form a foreign object sensing zone within a passage formed by the chute portion that extends along a portion of a length of the chute portion. The food processing system also includes at least one sensor testing conduit extending through one or both of the food scaling portion and the chute portion. An exit opening of the at least one sensor testing conduit is arranged in an opposing relationship with respect to the foreign object sensing zone. A foreign object sensor apparatus for detecting non-foodstuff material is also disclosed. A method is also disclosed.

A food arrangement with at least one receptacle which is filled with a liquid, sterile food; a connector, which is introduced into the receptacle and has a pierced membrane arranged in a filler neck; and a tamper-evident seal, which is connected to the connector and closes the filler neck. A sterile food arrangement is thus made available, without the need for final autoclaving of the entire filled receptacle.

An apparatus and method for filling a container with fragile fruit involving submerging the container in water to better distribute the fragile fruit within the container. The container may be filled with fragile fruit either before or after being submerged in water. The fragile fruit may be transported using a stream of water or other suitable fluid medium.

The disclosure relates to a container comprising a plurality of portion packets of a product for oral use.

A connection device for connecting an outlet opening of a downpipe to an upward-facing inlet opening of a container, comprising a body with a continuous opening from an upper side to an underside of the body, wherein the body is designed in such a way that it is suitable to before being connected by its upper side to the outlet opening of the downpipe via a flexible connection element, in particular via a compensator, in such a way that a connection is created between the outlet opening of the downpipe and the opening of the body. The connection device also comprises a coupling device which is attached to the underside of the body and which is suitable for creating a sealed connection between the opening of the body and the inlet opening of the container when the body rests on an upper side of the container.

A system including a flume. The flume can include a fluid and be configured to receive crops. The system also can include crop selectors each sized to move the crops individually from the flume into a scale. The system additionally can include the scale. The scale can be configured to weigh the crops while the crops are in the scale. The system further can include a container carrier configured to (i) hold a container that is submerged in the fluid while the crops are dumped from the scale into the container and (ii) lift the container out of the fluid to allow the fluid to drain from the container while the container holds the crops. Other embodiments are described.

Systems, methods, and computer-readable media are disclosed for defect prevention for flexible container sealing systems. In one embodiment, an example flexible container sealing system may include a first camera configured to image an item disposed in a flexible container, a laser system configured to detect presence of items, a cutting assembly configured to cut a material that forms the flexible container, a sealing assembly configured to seal one or more ends of the flexible container, and a computer system configured to determine, using the first camera, a height of the item disposed in the flexible container.