A method for automatically detecting surface defects of curved articles of the food processing industry includes: conveying the articles in a conveying direction by a conveyor belt, illuminating the articles by a line laser light source above the belt such that the laser line is oriented transverse to the conveying direction, line-by-line detection of backscattered light while the articles are being conveyed, using a camera above the belt, by recording a line profile in each case, determining raw line height data representing the cross-sectional heights, from the line profile recorded, determining raw surface height data by compiling the raw line height data determined in the conveying direction, determining smoothed surface height data by filtering the raw line height data and/or the raw surface height data using at least one filter criterion, and determining differential height data by subtracting the smoothed data from the raw data. An apparatus is also provided.

The invention relates to a system and method for recording and presentation of performance data where the system comprises a transport system for transport of subjects or products to a measuring station which records one or more performance data for subjects which are transported by the transport system or wherein is entered one or more performance data related to the subjects which are transported by the transport system, an information system installed along with the transport system and where this information system releases an information related to one or more performance data for subjects with is transported by the transport system and where the released information is performed in immediate vicinity of or in contact with the respective subject for which the information is relevant.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for optical inspection of the opened abdominal cavity (10) of gutted fish (11), comprising a conveying device (12) configured for conveying the fish (11) along a processing line in the longitudinal direction, pivotable ventral flaps holding elements (17) configured for holding open the abdominal cavity (10) of the fish, at least one optical imaging system (21, 22, 23) arranged along the processing line, said optical imaging system being designed and configured to take at least one sequence of images of abdominal cavity regions of one of the fish (11) in each case, said sequence comprising a plurality of single images, at least one illumination device (24, 25) configured for illuminating the abdominal cavity regions in each case with light of a predetermined spectral composition, in each case at the times the single images are taken, an evaluation unit (26) configured to evaluate the image sequence according to prescribed quality parameters, said evaluation unit being designed to activate an ejection device to remove the relevant fish (11) from the processing line by ejecting it, should the evaluation reveal any deviation from the prescribed quality parameters. The invention further relates to a corresponding method.

Provided is an apparatus and a method for producing a mix of a first type of food products and a second type of food products that fulfills at least two target criteria including a desired weight ratio between the first and second type of food products and a lean/fat ratio of the mix. At least three controllable in-feed channels at an in-feed end of a conveyor supply separate streams of the first and second food products. One of the in-feed channels supplies the first type of food products and two of the in-feed channels supply a second type of food products being distinguished via a different lean/fat ratio estimate. The determined weight of food products and the measured lean/fat ratio of the food products are used as operation parameters so that the mix fulfills the at least two target criteria.

The method and equipment described are for coherent scanning, that is where sections of the same object are comparable in the images, of objects such as food stuff based on scanning with the utilization of electromagnetic waves from at least two ranges within vision (visible light), NIR (near infrared light) and X-rays. The method consist of determination an object's reflection in the NIR and/or vision ranges associated with the same object's transmission in the X-ray range to obtain an even higher degree of details concerning the structure of the object by determining its surface texture together with description of its inner structure and/or composition. The equipment comprises a cabinet (2), a computer (6), a camera (3), an X-ray source (4), a light source (7), and an X-ray detector (5). An additional start sensor (8) registers the presence of objects on the conveyor belt (1) and the scanning is triggered.

This disclosure concerns methods for processing and grading food articles including x-raying the food articles a first time and taking a 3D image of the food articles.

A carcass processing system having a method and apparatus for monitoring the quality of processing carcasses manually or automatically (robotically) by implementing a vision-based architecture, incorporating machine learning and/or artificial intelligence (AI) and empirical data analysis forming a vision-based quality control and audit system, and method of performing the same, for the purpose of performing quality cutting of the carcasses, and making adjustments to the cutting apparatus during processing.

An apparatus for trussing a slaughtered bird, is described the apparatus including: two or more members having trussing band retaining members, wherein the apparatus is configured to truss a slaughtered bird with a trussing band. Also described is a slaughtered bird holder, a method for trussing's a slaughtered bird, a vision system and a controller.

The image sorting system sorts normal chicken breast meat fillets from chicken fillets that exhibit wooden breast myopathy (i.e. WB fillets). In the preferred embodiment, a camera and associated controller gather data and construct a digital image of a chicken breast fillet as it travels on a conveyer belt. The digital image is used to calculate a centroid (i.e. center of mass) of the fillet. As the fillet moves over a nose of the conveyor belt and free-falls to a lower conveyor belt, the controller determines the distance between the fillet centroid and a reference point (preferably the conveyer belt axis of rotation). If the distance exceeds a predetermined minimum distance, the fillet is designated a WB fillet.

A thermal processing and control system (10) includes a thermal processing station (12) for receiving food products (14) being carried on a conveyor system (16). A first scanning station (18) is located upstream from a similar processing station (12) for scanning the food products being carried by the conveyor (16). A second scanning station (20) is located downstream of the thermal processing station (12). A diverter conveyor (24) diverts selected food products (14) from the conveyor (16) to a transverse conveyor (26) which is capable of positioning the diverted food product onto a temperature measurement station (28), whereat the temperature of the food product is measured, either manually or automatically.