Apparatus for rinsing and drying a stream of sliced foodstuff and method

Abstract

An apparatus for removing water from a stream of sliced washed foodstuff portions (69) comprising a porous retaining belt (61) having a pathway, a retaining portion (65) of the retaining belt pathway being adjacent to a section of a pathway through which a main conveyor belt (31) moves to form a capture zone (62), and a motor to drive the retaining belt and the main conveyor belt along their pathways. A plurality of air knives (70) cause air to impinge on the stream of sliced foodstuff within the captured zone, and a plurality of air receivers (80) suck air and removed water from the capture zone. One side of the capture zone may be alternating air knives and air receivers and the opposite side may be air receivers and air knives so that each air knife is across the capture zone from an air receiver, and vice versa.

Description

APPARATUS FOR RINSING AND DRYING A STREAM OF SLICED FOODSTUFF AND METHODBACKGROUNDField of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus and method to dry a stream of a sliced foodstuff such as, for example, potatoes. The present invention relates to an apparatus and method to reduce energy consumption required for drying a stream of sliced foodstuff that has been washed with water.Background of the Related Art

[0002] Some prepared foods are produced by obtaining a foodstuff, slicing the foodstuff into thin slices, washing the slices to remove impurities and then cooking the washed slices. Additional steps may include the addition of seasonings and then packaging the seasoned slices to retain freshness during shipping and stocking in a store. One such foodstuff is potatoes, which are processed in this manner to produce potato chips. The removal of water from the washed slices may add a considerable amount of water to the slices. The water may be partially removed by allowing the water to drip from the stream of sliced foodstuff as the stream is transported from the washing process to the cooking process.BRIEF SUMMARY

[0003] An embodiment of the method of the present invention comprises providing a first conveyor having a porous conveyor belt, providing a second conveyor having a porous belt, a first plurality of rolling elements to engage the first conveyor belt and to maintain the first conveyor belt on a first path, a second plurality of rolling elements to engage the second conveyor belt to maintain the second conveyor belt on a second path. The path of the first conveyor belt moves through a drying zone within which sliced foodstuff engaged by the first conveyor belt within the drying zone is dried, and the path of the secondconveyor belt moves through the drying zone within which sliced foodstuff engaged by the second conveyor is dried. Within the drying zone, the path of the first conveyor belt and the path of the second conveyor belt are positioned proximal one to the other to movably capture and retain the stream of sliced foodstuff between a portion of the first conveyor belt within the drying zone and a portion of the second conveyor belt within the drying zone.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] FIG. l is a diagram illustrating the stages of a system through which the steps of an embodiment of the method of the present invention may be implemented.

[0005] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a tray of a preliminary rinse station having a first side wall, a second side wall opposite the first side wall, a proximal end and a distal end opposite the proximal end.

[0006] FIG. 3 is a sectional side elevation view of the tray of FIG. 2 illustrating the plurality of main conveyor support members extending from the first side wall to the second side wall to provide for intermittent low-friction support to the moving main conveyor.

[0007] FIG. 4 is the side elevation view of the tray of FIG. 3 after the addition of a plurality of overhead rinsing heads, tray drains, gas weirs and a main conveyor belt that may be used to implement an embodiment of the method of the present invention.

[0008] FIG. 4A is an enlarged view of one of the plurality of gas weirs shown in FIG. 4.

[0009] FIG. 5 is a plan view of the tray and the main conveyor support members of the preliminary rinse station of FIG. 4 after a main conveyor belt is installed to support and to move a stream of sliced foodstuff (not shown) through the preliminary rinse station.

[0010] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a hydrocyclone separator vessel for receiving the rinse water discharged through the drains and from the tray of the preliminary rinse station of FIG. 4 and for removing from the discharged rinse water certain impurities that may be rinsed from the stream of sliced foodstuff moved through the preliminary rinse station.

[0011] FIG. 7 is the side elevation view of a recirculation rinse station having a tray and a plurality of overhead rinsing heads, a plurality of tray drains, a plurality of gas weirs and the main conveyor belt that supports and moves the stream of sliced foodstuff.

[0012] FIG. 8 is the side elevation view of a fresh water rinse station having a tray and a plurality of overhead rinsing heads, a plurality of tray drains, a plurality of gas weirs and the main conveyor belt that supports and moves the stream of sliced foodstuff below.

[0013] FIG. 9 is a side elevation view of a drying station of an embodiment of the method and system of the present invention in which water is removed from the stream of sliced foodstuff (not shown) discharged from the fresh water rinse station.

[0014] FIG. 10 is a sectional elevation view of the retaining portion of the retaining belt and the adjacent main conveyor belt within the capture zone.

[0015] FIG. 11 illustrates an alternate configuration for each air knife for improved removal of water from the stream of sliced foodstuff by disposing the air knife to impinge air onto the stream of sliced foodstuff at a canted angle to impinge high-velocity air at an angle to the plane of the capture zone.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] FIG. l is a diagram 10 illustrating the stages of a system through which the steps of an embodiment of the method of the present invention may be implemented. The first stage 11 includes a source of sliced foodstuff such as, for example, but not by way of limitation, a foodstuff slicing machine having a plurality of motorized blades arranged to receive and slice a stream of foodstuff, and to discharge that stream on a continuous basis to a main conveyor having openings therein.

[0017] The preliminary rinse station 24 rinses the stream of sliced foodstuff moving on the main conveyor. The stream of sliced foodstuff is rinsed as it moves within an elongate tray as described in more detail below. The stream of sliced and rinsed foodstuff is discharged from the preliminary rinse state of the recirculation rinse station 36 where the stream of sliced foodstuff is rinsed again using rinse water from the preliminary rinse station that has been filtered as described in more detail below. The stream of sliced andtwice-rinsed foodstuff is discharged from the recirculation rinse station 36 to a fresh water rinse station 48 where the stream of sliced foodstuff is rinsed with fresh water as described in more detail below. From the fresh water rinse station 48, the stream of sliced foodstuff is discharged to a drying station 60 where excess water is removed from the stream of sliced foodstuff to reduce the amount of excess water entering frying or cooking stages downstream in order to reduce the energy required to maintain heated environs in which the stream of sliced foodstuff is to be cooked. Optionally, the stream of sliced, rinsed and dried foodstuff is discharged from the drying station 60 and, optionally, discharged from the main conveyor belt 31 to a frying / cooking station 72 where the stream of sliced foodstuff is cooked using, for example, a frying tray with oil, and then the cooked or fried stream of sliced foodstuff is conveyed to a seasoning station 84 where seasoning agents such as, for example, but not by way of limitation, seasoning agents, salt, spices and / or other agents can be added and mixed using a tumble drum or other piece of equipment into the stream of sliced foodstuff. The seasoned, rinsed and sliced stream of foodstuff may be discharged from the seasoning station 84 to a weighing and bagging station 96 where predetermined amounts of the sliced foodstuff is deposited into individual bags and sealed. The sealed bags of the foodstuff are then discharged from the weighing and bagging station 96 and transported to consumers.

[0018] FIG. l is a plan view of a tray 27 of a preliminary rinse station 24 having a first side wall 24A, a second side wall 24B opposite the first side wall 24A, a proximal end 25 and a distal end 26 opposite the proximal end 25. The tray 27 of FIG. 2 has a floor 21 extending from the first end 25 of the tray 27 to the second end 26 of the tray 27. The floor 21 of the tray 27 supports conveyor sliders 28, 29 and 30 that may be used in an embodiment of the method of the present invention. These sliders 28, 29 and 30 comprise a hard, solid and erosion resistant material such as, for example, but not limited to, plastic or metal to reduce friction between the sliders 28, 29 and 30 and the main conveyor (not shown). The sliders 28, 29 and 30 may include a proximal slider 28 positioned proximal to a proximal end 25 of the tray 27 to receive and support a descending portion 31A of the main conveyor 31, a distal slider 30 positioned proximal to a distal end 26 of the tray 27 to receive and support an ascending portion 31B of the main conveyor 31, and a plurality of intermediate sliders 29 disposed therebetween.

[0019] FIG. 3 is a sectional side elevation view of the tray of FIG. 2. FIG. 3 illustrates the sliders 28, 29 and 30 extending from the first side wall 24A to the second side wall 24B to provide for intermittent low-friction support to the moving main conveyor (not shown) that will be moved through a pathway having a section extending from the proximal end 25 to the distal end 26 of the tray 27.

[0020] FIG. 4 is the side elevation view of the tray 27 of FIG. 3 after the addition of a plurality of overhead rinsing heads 41, tray drains 42, gas weirs 33 and a main conveyor belt 31 that may be used to implement an embodiment of the method of the present invention. The main conveyor 31 is shown as moving in the direction of the arrows 32 and movably supported by the sliders 28, 29 and 30. The section of the pathway of the main conveyor 31 through which the main conveyor 31 moves within the tray 27 extends from the proximal end 25 of the tray 27 to the distal end 26 of the tray 27. The overhead rinsing heads 41 of FIG. 4 extend, like the sliders 28, 29 and 30, from proximal to the first side wall 24A across the width of the tray 27 to proximal the second side wall 24B to evenly dispense water onto a stream of sliced foodstuff (not shown) supported within the tray 27 by the main conveyor 31 as it moves along the section of its pathway disposed intermediate the proximal end 25 and the distal end 26 of the tray 27 of the preliminary rinse station 24. The rinsing heads 41 are fluidically connected to a source of pressurized rinse water 40 such as a pump or elevated reservoir.

[0021] The tray 27 of FIG. 4 further includes a plurality of tray drains 42 that drain rinse water 22 from the floor 21 of the tray 27 at a controlled rate to maintain a desired level of rinse water on the floor 21 of the tray 27 as illustrated in FIG. 4. The controlled rate at which rinse water 22 is drained from the tray 27 may be determined by pipe size of the drains 42, restricted portions of the drains 42 or by control valves. The tray 27 of FIG. 4 further includes a plurality of gas weirs 23. Each gas weir 23 includes an elongate inverted trough 39 extending substantially the width of the tray 27. The gas weirs 23 of FIG. 4 are regularly spaced along the length of the tray 27 from the proximal end 25 to the distal end 26.

[0022] FIG. 4A is an enlarged view of one of the plurality of gas weirs 23 shown in FIG.4. FIG. 4A shows a portion of the floor 21 of the tray 27 of the preliminary rinse station24, a portion of one of the plurality of sliders 29 and a portion of the main conveyor 31, shown in FIG. 4. Each gas weir 23 is secured to the floor 21 of the tray 27 by a leg 34 that supports the inverted trough 39 above the floor 21 of the tray 27. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4A, the leg 34 and the inverted trough 39 of the gas weir 23 include a hollow bore 33 fluidically coupled by an air supply conduit 37 through which air flowing in the direction of the arrow 43 can enter the leg 34 and flow to the apertures 44 in the inverted trough 39. The air emerging from the apertures 44 fdls the inverted trough 39 of the gas weir 23 to capacity, after which the continuing feed of air into the conduit 37 causes air bubbles to escape the inverted trough 39, thereby causing the rinse water 22 to become disturbed and agitated. This action enhances the rinsing action of the rinse water 22 on the sliced foodstuff (not shown) moving on the main conveyor belt 31.

[0023] FIG. 5 is a plan view of the tray 27 and the sliders 28, 29 and 30 of the preliminary rinse station 24 of FIG. 4 after a main conveyor belt 31 is installed to support and to move a stream of sliced foodstuff (not shown) through the preliminary rinse station 24. The main conveyor belt 31 has a large plurality of pores or holes therein to allow passage, from above and from below the main conveyor belt 31, of fluids used to rinse the stream of sliced foodstuff to be moved thereon. The main conveyor belt 31 has substantial tensile strength to enable the main conveyor belt 31 to be pulled across the sliders 28, 29 and 30 that are supported on the tray 27.

[0024] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a hydrocyclone separator vessel 80 for receiving the rinse water 22 discharged through the drains 42 and from the tray 27 of the preliminary rinse station 24 of FIG. 4 and for removing from the discharged rinse water 22 certain impurities that may be rinsed from the stream of sliced foodstuff moved through the preliminary rinse station 24. One such impurity is, for example, but not by way of limitation, starch. The hydrocyclone separator vessel 80 of FIG. 6 includes an inlet 81 through which the impurities and rinse water 22 discharged through the drains 42 from the tray 27 of the preliminary rinse station 24 enters the hydrocyclone separator vessel 80 in the direction of the arrow 82, a recirculated water 22A outlet 83 through which the rinse water 22 exits the hydrocyclone separator vessel 80 in the direction of arrow 85 after the impurities are removed therefrom, and an impurities discharge outlet 87 through which impurities, which may be suspended or entrained in a small split stream of rinse water 22,are discharged from the hydrocyclone separator vessel 80. Also shown in FIG. 6 are a plurality of cyclonettes 86 in which split streams of rinse water 22 are spun within a chamber (not shown) to separate the impurities from the rinse water 22, thereby enabling the re-use of a substantial portion of the rinse water 22 as recirculated water 22A in a recirculation rinse station 36. U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 63 / 532,406 filed on 13 August 2023 describes a hydrocyclone separator vessel that could be used in this application.

[0025] FIGs. 7 and 8 are substantially similar to FIG. 4. FIGs. 7 and 8 are side elevation views of subsequent or downstream rinsing stations that are used to further clean the stream of sliced foodstuff moved on the main conveyor belt 31 through the preliminary rinse station 24. In the embodiment shown in the appended drawings, the main conveyor belt 31 moves the stream of sliced foodstuff through all three rinsing stations 24, 36 and 48 in sequence. In other embodiments, a first main conveyor belt 31 support and move the stream of sliced foodstuff through the preliminary rinse station 24 and then it may deposit the stream of sliced foodstuff onto an adjacent conveyor belt that supports and moves the stream of sliced foodstuff through one or both subsequent or downstream recirculation rinse station 36 and the fresh water rinse station 48. Although it is largely redundant given the substantial similarity of the recirculation rinse station 36 and the fresh water rinse station 48 to the above-described preliminary rinse station 24, for the sake of completeness, the recirculation rinse station 36 and the fresh water rinse station 48 are described below.

[0026] FIG. 7 is the side elevation view of a recirculation rinse station 36 having a tray 127 and a plurality of overhead rinsing heads 141, a plurality of tray drains 142, a plurality of gas weirs 33 (structured as that shown in FIG. 4A) and the main conveyor belt 31 that supports and moves the stream of sliced foodstuff from the preliminary rinse station 24 to the recirculation rinse station 36, across the tray 127 of the recirculation rinse station 36 and to the fresh water rinse station 48 as discussed in more detail below. The main conveyor 31 is shown as moving in the direction of the arrows 32 and movably supported by the sliders 128, 129 and 130. The section of the pathway of the main conveyor 31 through which the main conveyor 31 moves within the tray 127 extends from the proximal end 125 of the tray 127 to the distal end 126 of the tray 127. The overhead rinsing heads 141 of FIG. 7 extend, like the sliders 128, 129 and 130, from proximal to the first side wall124A across the width of the tray 127 to proximal the second side wall 124B to evenly dispense recirculated rinse water onto a stream of sliced foodstuff (not shown) supported within the tray 127 by the main conveyor 31 as it moves along the section of its pathway disposed intermediate the proximal end 125 and the distal end 126 of the tray 127 of the recirculation rinse station 36. The rinsing heads 141 are fluidically connected to the outlet 83 of the hydrocyclone separator vessel 80.

[0027] The tray 127 of FIG. 7 further includes a plurality of tray drains 142 that drain recirculated rinse water 22 from the floor 121 of the tray 127 at a controlled rate to maintain a desired level of recirculated rinse water on the floor 121 of the tray 127 as illustrated in FIG. 7. The controlled rate at which recirculated rinse water 22 is drained from the tray 127 may be determined by pipe size of the drains 142, restricted portions of the drains 142 or by control valves. The tray 127 of FIG. 7 further includes a plurality of gas weirs 23. Each gas weir 23 includes an elongate inverted trough 39 extending substantially the width of the tray 27. The gas weirs 23 of FIG. 4 are regularly spaced along the length of the tray 127 from the proximal end 25 to the distal end 26.

[0028] FIG. 8 is the side elevation view of a fresh water rinse station 48 having a tray 227 and a plurality of overhead rinsing heads 241, a plurality of tray drains 242, a plurality of gas weirs 33 (structured as that shown in FIG. 4A) and the main conveyor belt 31 that supports and moves the stream of sliced foodstuff from the recirculation rinse station 36 to the fresh water rinse station 48, across the tray 227 of the fresh water rinse station 48 and to the drying station 60 as discussed in more detail below. The main conveyor 31 is shown as moving in the direction of the arrows 32 and movably supported by the sliders 228, 229 and 230. The section of the pathway of the main conveyor 31 through which the main conveyor 31 moves within the tray 227 extends from the proximal end 225 of the tray 227 to the distal end 226 of the tray 227. The overhead rinsing heads 241 of FIG. 8 extend, like the sliders 228, 229 and 230, from proximal to the first side wall 224A across the width of the tray 227 to proximal the second side wall 224B to evenly dispense fresh water onto a stream of sliced foodstuff (not shown) supported within the tray 227 by the main conveyor 31 as it moves along the section of its pathway disposed intermediate the proximal end 225 and the distal end 226 of the tray 227 of the fresh water rinse station 48. The rinsing heads 241 are fluidically connected to a pressurized source of fresh potable rinse water.

[0029] The tray 227 of FIG. 8 further includes a plurality of tray drains 242 that drain fresh rinse water 22 from the floor 221 of the tray 227 at a controlled rate to maintain a desired level of fresh rinse water on the floor 221 of the tray 227 as illustrated in FIG. 8. The controlled rate at which fresh rinse water 22 is drained from the tray 227 may be determined by pipe size of the drains 242, restricted portions of the drains 242 or by control valves. The tray 227 of FIG. 8 further includes a plurality of gas weirs 23. Each gas weir 23 includes an elongate inverted trough 39 extending substantially the width of the tray 27. The gas weirs 23 of FIG. 8 are regularly spaced along the length of the tray 227 from the proximal end 225 to the distal end 226.

[0030] FIG. 9 is a side elevation view of a drying station 60 of an embodiment of the method and system of the present invention in which water is removed from the stream of sliced foodstuff (not shown) discharged from the fresh water rinse station 48 shown in FIG. 8. The drying station 60 of FIG. 9 includes a plurality of low-friction sliders 29 to support the main conveyor belt 31 as it moves through the drying station 60, a retaining belt 61 having a retaining portion 65 in which the retaining belt 61 moves through a capture zone 62 in close proximity to an adjacent portion of the main conveyor belt 31 that is supported by the sliders 29 of the drying station 60, a plurality of air knives 70 that impinge air at elevated speed onto the stream of sliced foodstuff 69 to remove water from the stream of sliced foodstuff captured intermediate the retaining portion 65 of the retaining belt 61 and the main conveyor belt 31 within the capture zone 62 and a plurality of air receivers 80 that withdraw air and water displaced by the impingement of air from the stream of sliced foodstuff captured intermediate the retaining portion 65 of the retaining belt 61 and the main conveyor belt 31 within the capture zone 62. The main conveyor belt 31 may be powered to move through its pathway including through the preliminary rinse station 24, the recirculation rinse station 36, the fresh water rinse station 48 and the drying station 60 by a motor 50 coupled through drive belts or chains 51 and 52 and by an intermediate pulley or gear 53 therebetween to rotate main drive gear or pulley 59, and the retaining belt 61 may be powered to move through its pathway shown in FIG. 9, at the same speed as the main conveyor belt 31, by a motor 54 coupled through drive belt or chain 57 to rotate retainer belt drive gear 58. Each air knife 70 is disposed across from a corresponding air receiver 80 and each air receiver 80 is disposed across from a corresponding air knife 70.Each air knife 70 is disposed adjacent to and air receiver 80 such that, on each side of the portion of the stream of sliced foodstuff captured intermediate the retaining portion 65 of the retaining belt 61 and the main conveyor belt 31 within the capture zone 62, the air knives 70 and the air receivers 80 are arranged in alternating order. Each of the air knives 70 is fluidically coupled to a source of pressurized air 71 and each air receiver 80 is fluidically coupled to a source of vacuum 81. The air drying station 60 operates to remove water from the stream of sliced foodstuff 69 and to thereby reduce the energy requirement at the frying / cooking station 72 of the embodiment of the system and method illustrated in the drawings appended hereto.

[0031] In one embodiment of the system and method of the present invention, the main conveyor belt 31 continues to support and move the stream of sliced foodstuff 69 from the drying station 60 to the frying / cooking station 72 and in other embodiments, such as that illustrated in FIG. 9, the main conveyor belt 31 deposits the dried stream of sliced foodstuff 69 onto a separate conveyor 75 that supports and moves the dried stream of sliced foodstuff 69 in the direction of arrow 66 to the frying / cooking station 72. From the frying / cooking station 72, the fried / cooked stream of sliced foodstuff 69 is conveyed to a seasoning station 84 (see FIG. 1) that may include a seasoning dispenser and a tumble drum that is used to uniformly mix seasonings such as, for example, oil, flavoring agents and / or salt, with the fried / cooked stream of sliced foodstuff 69.

[0032] FIG. 10 is a sectional elevation view of the retaining portion 65 of the retaining belt 61 and the adjacent main conveyor belt 31 within the capture zone 62. The stream of sliced foodstuff 69 is seen in FIG. 10 as moving away from the viewer. The air knife 70 is shown as being fluidically coupled to a source of pressurized air 71. The pressurized air enters the interior 78 chamber of the air knife 70 and is jetted at high velocity towards the retaining portion 65 of the retaining belt 61 as indicated by arrow 79, across the stream of sliced foodstuff 69 and through the main conveyor belt 31 to remove water from the stream of sliced foodstuff 69. The air and water emerging from the capture zone 62 are drawn into the air receiver 80 as indicated by arrow 89. The air and water drawn into the interior 88 of the air receiver 80 are then drawn away by the source of vacuum 81 to, for example, a scrubber or knock-out vessel (not shown) where the water is separated from the air flow.

[0033] FIG. 11 illustrates an alternate configuration for each air knife 70 for improved removal of water from the stream of sliced foodstuff 69. FIG. 11 shows an air knife 70 disposed at a canted angle 77 to impinge high-velocity air in a direction indicated by arrow 79. The impingement of high-velocity air at an angle 77 to a plane defined intermediate the retaining portion 65 of the retaining belt 61 and the main conveyor belt 31 may induce fluttering, flapping or vibrating motion to the individual pieces of the stream of sliced foodstuff 69 captured intermediate the retaining portion 65 of the retaining belt 61 and the main conveyor belt 31, thereby causing the stream of sliced foodstuff 69 to shed more water to be withdrawn with air by the air receiver 80 disposed across the capture zone 62 from the air knife 70. FIG. 11 shows only one air knife 70 and only one corresponding air receiver 80, but air knives 70 on both sides of the capture zone 62 may be canted at an angle 77 to induce fluttering, flapping or vibration to the stream of sliced foodstuff 69 to promote and enhance removal of water. The air and water drawn into the air receiver 80 are routed to the source of vacuum 81 that is fluidically coupled to the air receiver 81, or to a scrubber or knock-out vessel (not shown) and then to the source of vacuum.

[0034] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and / or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and / or groups, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof. The terms “preferably,” “preferred,” “prefer,” “optionally,” “may,” and similar terms are used to indicate that an item, condition or step being referred to is an optional (not required) feature of the invention.

[0035] The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or steps plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but it is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent tothose of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A method of rinsing and drying a stream of a sliced foodstuff, comprising the steps of: providing a slicing apparatus for receiving and slicing a stream of bodies of a foodstuff to produce a stream of sliced foodstuff; providing a continuous, porous and flexible main conveyor belt, and a rotating drive member to engage the main conveyor belt, the drive member being coupled to a motor that is operable to move the belt along a main conveyor belt pathway; providing a first tray having a receiving end, a discharge end, a first side wall, a second side wall, a bottom along which the main conveyor belt may move, a plurality of water dispensers positioned above the bottom of the tray to dispense a stream of preliminary rinse water onto the stream of sliced foodstuff, and one or more preliminary rinse water drains through which preliminary rinse water may be discharged from the first tray after being used to rinse the stream of sliced foodstuff; providing a liquid / solids separator to receive the stream of rinse water as it is discharged from the drains of the first tray and to thereby remove impurities from the discharged preliminary rinse water; providing a second tray having a receiving end, a discharge end, a first side wall, a second side wall, a bottom along which the main conveyor belt may move, a plurality of water dispensers positioned above the bottom of the tray to dispense a stream of recirculated rinse water from the liquid / solids separator onto the stream of sliced foodstuff, and one or more recirculated water drains through which water may be discharged from the second tray after being used to rinse the stream of sliced foodstuff; providing a third tray having a receiving end, a discharge end, a first side wall, a second side wall, a bottom along which the main conveyor belt may move, a plurality of water dispensers positioned above the bottom of the tray to dispense fresh water onto the stream of sliced foodstuff, and one or more fresh water drains through which fresh water may be discharged from the third tray;providing a continuous, porous and flexible retaining belt having a pathway, a retaining portion of the retaining belt pathway being parallel to and immediately adjacent to a corresponding section of a pathway through which the main conveyor belt moves to form a capture zone therebetween, the capture zone to move a stream of sliced foodstuff from a location downstream of the discharge of the fresh water rinse station and through a capture zone, the retaining belt coupled to a motor to drive the retaining belt along its pathway; providing a plurality of air knives disposed immediately adjacent to each of the retaining portion of the retaining belt pathway and the portion of the main conveyor belt that is immediately adjacent to the retaining portion of the retaining belt pathway, each air knife providing a stream of drying air at high-velocity to impinge on the stream of sliced foodstuff captured intermediate the retaining portion of the retaining belt and the adjacent portion of the main conveyor belt; fluidically coupling the plurality of air knives to a source of pressurized air; providing a plurality of air receivers disposed immediately adjacent to each of the retaining portion of the retaining belt pathway and the portion of the main conveyor belt that is immediately adjacent to the retaining portion of the retaining belt pathway, each air receiver fluidically coupling the plurality of air receivers to a vacuum source; receiving the stream of sliced foodstuff onto the porous conveyor belt; introducing a stream of rinse water into the plurality of water dispensers of the first tray and onto the stream of sliced foodstuff as the conveyor belt moves along the bottom of the first tray; receiving the stream of rinse water from the one or more water drains of the first tray to the liquid / solids separator; receiving the stream of recirculated rinse water from the liquid / solids separator; introducing the stream of recirculated rinse water into the plurality of water dispensers of the second tray and onto the stream of sliced foodstuff as the conveyor belt moves along the bottom of the second tray; discharging the stream of recirculated rinse water from the one or more drains of the second tray;introducing a stream of fresh water into the plurality of water dispensers of the third tray and onto the stream of sliced foodstuff as the conveyor belt moves along the bottom of the third tray; discharging the stream of recirculated rinse water from the one or more drains of the third tray; a first porous conveyor belt movable within a first pathway and maintained in the first pathway by a first plurality of rolling elements, a section of the first pathway being within a capture zone, the first porous conveyor belt having an engaging side and a nonengaging side; at least one first driven roller to move the first porous conveyor belt along the first pathway; a second porous conveyor belt movable within a second pathway and maintained in the second pathway by a second plurality of rolling elements, a section of the of the second pathway being proximal to the section of the first pathway within the capture zone to movably capture a portion of the stream of sliced foodstuff intermediate the first porous conveyor belt and the second porous conveyor belt, the second porous conveyor belt having an engaging side that is proximal to the engaging side of the first conveyor belt within the capture zone and a non-engaging side; at least one second driven roller to move the second porous conveyor belt along the second pathway; and at least one air knife having an inlet and an outlet, the outlet of the at least one air knife disposed adjacent to the non-engaging side of one of the first porous conveyor belt and the second porous conveyor belt and adjacent to the capture zone and proximal to the non-engaging side of the second conveyor, the outlet of the at least one air knife being directed to impart air exiting the outlet of the at least one air knife towards the portion of the stream of sliced foodstuff captured intermediate the first porous conveyor belt and the second porous conveyor belt; at least one drive motor to rotate at least one of the at least one first driven roller and the at least one second driven roller.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:at least one air receiver having an inlet and an exit, the at least one air receiver disposed within the drying zone and proximal to the non-engaging side of the first conveyor, the at least one air receiver being positioned to withdraw air exiting the at least one air knife and water blown by the at least one air knife from the portion of the stream of sliced foodstuff captured intermediate the first conveyor belt and the second conveyor belt.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: an air mover having an exit to deliver pressurized air from the air mover to the inlet of the at least one air knife.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising: an air mover having an inlet to withdraw air from the at least one air receiver and an exit to deliver pressurized air from the air mover to the inlet of the at least one air knife.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising: a scrubber vessel disposed intermediate the at least one air receiver and the at least one air mover to separate at least some of the water withdrawn from the drying zone into the at least one air receiver from air to be delivered by the air mover to the at least one air knife.

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