Systems and methods for a food processing are provided. A food processing knockout assembly includes: a motor; a crank arm connected to the motor and configured to be rotated by the motor, around an axis that passes through the crank arm; a connecting arm connected to the crank arm and configured to move in a vertical direction in response to rotation of the crank arm; a beam connected to the connecting arm and configured to move in the vertical direction in response to movement of the connecting arm in the vertical direction; and at least one knockout shaft connected to the beam, at one end of the at least one knockout shaft, and configured to move in the vertical direction in response to movement of the beam in the vertical direction.

Described herein are assemblies, for example, cook top press assemblies for pressing food item on a stove, which cook top press assemblies may include: a first bracket coupled to the stove; a second bracket coupled to the stove; a cross bar having a first end coupled to the first bracket and a second end coupled to the second bracket; a cross sleeve slidably and rotatably coupled to the cross bar; a lateral bar having a first end coupled to the cross sleeve, wherein the lateral bar may be orthogonal to the cross bar; a lateral sleeve slidably coupled to the lateral bar, wherein the lateral sleeve may have a knob; a plate having a finger; a pin extending through the knob and the finger, wherein the finger may be pivotable on the pin; and a handle coupled to the plate.

The production of three-dimensional products from a mass of pumpable fibrous foodstuff material includes feeding the mass into a chamber via an inlet. A perforated plate is stationary arranged at an outlet side and has a multitude of perforations therein between an inlet face and an opposed outlet face. A flow channels assembly include multiple flow channels. Each flow channel receives therein strands of fibrous foodstuff material emerging at an outlet face from a subset of the multitude of perforations. The strands merge into a coherent bundle, in which the strands are arranged against one another in a generally parallel orientation. A production device is arranged at the discharge mouths of the flow channels assembly, which production device is configured and operated to produce three-dimensional products, each product out of a portion of a bundle that is discharged from one of the discharge mouths.

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 patty forming machine for forming heated food patties includes a plurality of mold plates connected together to form an endless loop and driven for circulation around the loop. Each mold plate has a cavity having open top and bottom ends. A manifold is above a lower run of the loop and supplies moldable food material to the cavity of the mold plates. A breather plate is positioned below the lower run and below the manifold. Upper and lower ovens are positioned downstream of the manifold and above and below a lower run of the loop. A knockout mechanism is mounted downstream of the upper oven. A lower heater plate may be positioned below and extend along a substantial portion of the lower run for supporting the food material in the mold plates traverse along the lower run. A wash station cleans the mold plates.

A paper interleaver that is separate from the food patty molding machine for inserting a sheet of paper underneath a meat patty.

Molding device for molding three-dimensional food products from a mass of foodstuff which can be transferred by pumping, for example a meat mass of minced meat. The device comprises a molding drum (16) having a peripheral surface containing multiple series of cavities (44) extending in the peripheral direction. The device comprises a mass feed device which is arranged in a filling position with respect to the peripheral surface of the molding drum. The peripheral surface is embodied as a profiled peripheral surface having a shaping profile. Multiple shoe segments (42) are provided which are arranged next to one another and which have a profiled inner side with a profile which is in meshing engagement with the shaping profile. The shoe segments have freedom of movement with respect to one another, at least in the direction of the rotation axis, in order to each remain individually aligned with respect to the profile of the section with which the inner side of the shoe segment is in meshing engagement.

A fill plate for a food patty molding machine according to some embodiments of the disclosure includes a plate having a plurality of spaced apart passageways extending therethrough. The plate has a center cylindrical passageway and a plurality of passageways surrounding the center passageway. Each surrounding passageway has an inlet section and an outlet section which angled relative to the inlet section. Sets of passageways have differing angles at which the outlet sections are angled relative to the inlet sections.

A system for forming a food product, that includes a mould member with cavities, each of the cavities have an opening with a geometrical shape; a feed channel that feeds the food mass into the cavities, the feed channel has an exit channel for each of the cavities in one of the rows, the exit channel has a cross section with a geometrical shape that corresponds with a geometrical shape of each of the cavities; and an exchangeable insert positioned inside of the feed channel that includes a sloped wall that tapers in a direction opposite a flow direction of the food mass so that the width of the feed channel, in a region of the feed channel where the insert is positioned, reduces along the flow direction of the food mass, and the insert has a straight wall downstream of the sloped wall in the flow direction.

A method is provided for cleaning food product molding inserts that have been temporarily detached from a movable mold member of a molding device that is configured for molding food products from a pumpable foodstuff mass.