A method for the production of a stabilized packaged food product comprising the steps of: filling a tray with a predetermined quantity of a food starting material; introducing the tray into a pressure vessel and conveying the tray through the pressure vessel while performing the following steps in sequence inside the pressure vessel: (i) treating the food starting material with high-temperature pressurized steam to sterilize the material, and (ii) dosing the sterile food material inside said tray with a predetermined amount of sterile water; and (iii) applying a lid to the tray to seal the food product inside the tray while maintaining the tray in a sterile environment. Suitable food starting materials comprise starchy food products, such as rice, wheat or pasta, and/or meat or vegetable pieces. Also provided are an apparatus for performing the method and packaged stabilized full moisture food products obtainable by the process.

A retort agitation system (100) for thermal processing of products includes product carriers 102a and 102b mounted on a low friction support system 104 for reciprocal movement of the carriers along the interior of a retort. The product carriers are driven in reciprocating motion by a drive actuator system 106 that can be positioned between the carriers 102a and 102b or endwise of the two carriers 102a and 102b. A drive actuator system 106 is linked to the carriers to cause the carriers to move along opposite reciprocating paths lengthwise of the retort. Reaction actuators 108 act on the carriers in opposition to the drive actuator system 106 to apply forces on the carriers for accelerating the carriers along the reciprocating paths of travel when such carriers reach the distal and proximal ends of the reciprocating travel paths.

Systems and methods for implanting a spinal implant between two vertebral bodies are provided. The spinal implant may include a main body adapted to rest between and adjacent to the two vertebral bodies, the main body having a cavity therein adapted to hold a filler and a cap adapted to connect to the main body where the cap is connectable after the main body has been inserted between the vertebral bodies and after the filler has been inserted into the cavity of the main body. The cap is securable to the main body by means of a securement member providing for a permanent connection between the main body and the cap.

An umbilical vein resuscitation kit has a multiple-way selection valve having at least three inputs and one output; two pre-filled saline-filled syringes, each coupled through pre-flushed tubing to the valve; a catheter of size between 3 and 5 French coupled to the output of the valve; a sealing device at an end of the catheter; where the valve, syringes, and catheter contained in a package sealed to maintain sterility until the package is opened.

A process for the treatment or processing of containers is provided. The process includes automatically conveying the containers past a processing station for the treatment or processing by or through a conveying device and then inserting the containers into a transport or packaging container having a bottom, a circumferential side wall and an insertion opening opposite to the bottom. In some embodiments, a plurality of containers are placed on a flat supporting base so that the bottoms of the containers directly rest on the flat supporting base; the containers, while resting on the flat supporting base, are conveyed to a processing station by the conveying device to be treated or processed; and after the treatment or processing of the containers, the transport or packaging container is placed on the flat supporting base so that all the containers of the plurality of containers are accommodated in the transport or packaging container.

A method for controlling a packaging machine in which at least two operating states of the packaging machine are defined and independent from one another. At least one of a plurality of defined process sequences is allocated to each of the operating states and at least one actuator of the packaging machine is actuated by a process sequence, in order to carry out at least one action. Improved control and maintenance of the machine is made possible by an authorisation for access to an actuator being exclusively and specifically allocated to only one process sequence depending on the operating state.

One embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for processing sealed plastic containers having a first headspace pressure. The apparatus may include: an open entry port or tunnel for continuously receiving containers; a sanitizer configured to sanitize outside surfaces of the received containers; a perforator configured to perforate or open a cap or seal of the containers within the apparatus; a sealer configured to seal the perforation or opening formed in the cap or seal of the containers; an open exit port of tunnel for continuously exiting the processed containers; and a conveyor system configured to transporting or convey the containers from the open entry port or tunnel, through and within the apparatus, to the open exit port or tunnel and away from the sanitized environment of the apparatus. The apparatus may be further configured to maintain a sanitized environment within the apparatus, perforator, and/or sealer.

A method for the production of a stabilized packaged food product comprising the steps of: filling a tray with a predetermined quantity of a food starting material; introducing the tray into a pressure vessel and conveying the tray through the pressure vessel while performing the following steps in sequence inside the pressure vessel: (i) treating the food starting material with high-temperature pressurized steam to sterilize the material, and (ii) dosing the sterile food material inside said tray with a predetermined amount of sterile water; and (iii) applying a lid to the tray to seal the food product inside the tray while maintaining the tray in a sterile environment. Suitable food starting materials comprise starchy food products, such as rice, wheat or pasta, and/or meat or vegetable pieces. Also provided are an apparatus for performing the method and packaged stabilized full moisture food products obtainable by the process.

The present disclosure provides a fully automated filling line for tissue culture flasks and a control method therefor. The line covers stations for material loading, flask loading, flask sorting, flask righting, degreasing, cleaning, filling, cap screwing, material unloading, transferring, sterilization, etc. Through the collaborative operation of a mechanical arm and a conveying line, an automatic processing flow of tissue culture flasks is achieved. The flask righting station accurately detects and processes a fallen flask through an image recognition algorithm. A visual detection mechanism includes steps of image collection, preprocessing, and feature extraction and matching, where camera parameters are optimized according to a conveying speed and a light intensity, image quality is improved through a composite filtering and correction algorithm, and a plurality of feature group vectors are extracted and input into a model to recognize a flask posture.

A filler assembly comprising a pouch preheat zone, a pouch sterilization zone, and a pouch flush zone. The preheat zone includes a preheat nozzle assembly having an inlet and an outlet, the outlet engageable with a pouch assembly, and a preheat vacuum nozzle assembly having an inlet engageable with a pouch assembly and an outlet attachable to a vacuum. The pouch sterilization zone includes a sterilization nozzle assembly having an inlet and an outlet, the outlet engageable with a pouch assembly, and, a sterilization vacuum nozzle assembly having an inlet engageable with a pouch assembly and an outlet attachable to a vacuum. The pouch flush zone includes a pouch flush nozzle assembly having an inlet and an outlet, the outlet engageable with a pouch assembly, and, a pouch flush vacuum nozzle assembly having an inlet engageable with a pouch assembly and an outlet attachable to a vacuum.