Apparatus for folding a food product

Abstract

Apparatus (15; 15a) for folding a meat product comprises at least one conveyor (18; 18a – 18f) for conveying a meat fillet (16), that is to be folded, in a forward direction the apparatus (15; 15a) including disposed opposite one another along the conveyor (18; 18a – 18f) first and second upstanding walls (19, 21; 19a – 19f, 21a – 21f), the walls being spaced from one another in a common plane occupied by the conveyor (18; 18a – 18f) and the first wall (19; 19a – 19f) including or having secured thereto a folding element (26; 26a – 26f) The folding element (26; 26a – 26f) defines a curved wall portion that extends upwardly and laterally inwardly relative to the conveyor (18; 18a – 18f) such that a rear end of the folding element (26; 26a – 26f) is spaced from the second wall (21; 21a – 21f) by a distance greater than or approximately equal to the width of the conveyor (18; 18a – 18f)and a forward end of the folding element (26; 26a – 26f) is spaced from the second wall (21; 21a – 21f) by a distance that is less than the width of a said meat fillet (16) whereby on conveying 15 of a said fillet (16) forwardly using the conveyor (18; 18a – 18f) the folding element (26; 26a – 26f) engages a laterally disposed portion of the fillet (16) and folds it relative to the remainder of the fillet (16).

Description

[0001] APPARATUS FOR FOLDING A FOOD PRODUCT

[0002] The invention relates to apparatus for folding a food product. In particular, but not exclusively, the invention concerns apparatus for folding a meat fillet, especially a fish meat fillet, that is intended to be sliced so that it may be sold in packs of slices each of essentially the same dimensions.

[0003] It is well known to cause certain food, especially meat, products to undergo various forms of processing such as cold processing (i.e. processes other than cooking using oven heat, although cold processing may involve warming e.g. to a temperature a little above ambient) or cooking using heat before they are sold. The known cold processes include but are not limited to smoking, marinating, oiling, seasoning (including salting), brining, pasteurizing, drying (whether in air or another food-grade medium), curing, pickling, fermenting, sweetening e.g. using sugar or another food medium, coating (for example with breadcrumbs or another food medium) warming, cooling, freezing and thawing. Known cooking processes include but are not limited to oven cooking, frying, baking, boiling, broiling, microwave cooking and numerous other processes as are known to the person of skill in the art. The invention is suitable for use in a wide range of processes such as those mentioned above.

[0004] The term "meat" as used herein refers to edible animal flesh or organs including but not limited to fish meat; red meat such as beef and pork; cephalopod meat; and crustaceans or meat obtained from crustaceans. The invention however is not limited in its applicability to meat products and indeed is applicable to the processing of various plant-derived products such as but not limited to meat substitutes, vegetable products (including products made from soil-grown, or marine (e.g. seaweed) plants), pasta, dough or pastry e.g. in sheets and numerous other food products.

[0005] The invention is of primary benefit in the processing of food for human consumption, although it may also provide advantages in the processing of foods for animal consumption.

[0006] The production and consumption of, in particular, cold-processed fish meat products have undergone generally continuous growth since the introduction of large-scale commercial marine farms starting in the 1970's. Nowadays the production of cold- processed fin fish products is a very substantial industry, with farming of fish contributing significantly to the economies of several countries including Chile, Canada, Norway, Scotland and the Faroe Islands. Although not limited to the cold processing of fish meat products the invention is herein exemplified by reference to the processing of cold processed fish meat and in particular the cold processing of salmon for human consumption.

[0007] Large-scale fish processing factories are located conveniently for the fish production industry, e.g. in or near to the main fish-landing ports, and / or adjacent logistics infrastructure and / or in locations where labour is available at acceptable costs in such countries. Such factories in many cases carry out processes that are derived from traditional marine product preserving and flavouring techniques such as salting, brining, marinating, seasoning and smoking as well as slicing of whole fish into fillets for subsequent retail packaging and during which bones and fins etc. are removed.

[0008] The raw material in the form of farmed salmon for processing (e.g. as cold-smoked and marinated salmon) normally is delivered to a factory categorised in weight bands within the range 2-9kg. A primary objective of breeding is to target a fish weight of 3- 7kg, including the head of the fish. A preferred weight range is 4-6kg, which is optimal for the breeder with respect to the yield by weight and in payroll costs. Fish weights in this range also provide the fewest irregular slices in the production process. Irregular slice sizes are a significant problem in the industry, as explained herein.

[0009] Typical weight categorisation bands for salmon delivered from the breeder are e.g. ranges of 3-4kg, 4-5kg and 5-6kg. The fact that carcasses of fish such as salmon, as a natural product, grow to different individual sizes causes multiple challenges in the production process. Until now the fish processing industry has not focused on addressing or remedying these challenges. In this regard a very important consideration is to eliminate as far as possible variability in the dimensions of the fish slices.

[0010] In the prior art this may be achieved to a limited degree for example through trimming of the slices so that their dimensions are substantially invariant from one slice to another, at least in respect of slices taken from the same region of a number of fish. This however involves considerable wastage of valuable product, because the trimmings often are simply thrown away; or if they are sold they are marketed in ways that are not associated with high commercial value.

[0011] Moreover trimming of the fish may have to be carried out manually. This is a timeconsuming and costly process that may increase the risk of contamination of the fish with e.g. bacteria and proteins. A typical prior art sequence of processing steps for producing smoked salmon in a factory is:

[0012] 1. receipt of fresh whole gutted salmon from a breeder;

[0013] 2. washing, removal of mucus and surface bacteria;

[0014] 3. slicing of whole fish into fillets, during which bones and fins etc. are removed;

[0015] 4. peeling and rinsing of the (typically skinless) fillets;

[0016] 5. wet salting and / or dry salting of the fillets, either mechanically or manually;

[0017] 5a. placing of the fillets on steel gratings in weight amounts of up to 15 - 18kg of fish meat per grating, which in addition to the grating weight (6 - 7kg) gives a total weight per grating of 21 - 25kg;

[0018] 5b. placing of the gratings on carts or trolleys capable of accommodating approximately 22 gratings giving rise to a total weight of 460 - 550 kg plus the weight of the cart;

[0019] 6. permitting maturing of the salmon in a cold store for a minimum of 6-8 hours;

[0020] 6a. drying of the salmon and then smoking for 6-8 hours at approximately 26°C;

[0021] 6b. cooling of the salmon in a cold room immediately after the smoking process has ended;

[0022] 6c. transporting of the salmon to a freezer the temperature in which is determined by how the salmon is to be sliced, with typical temperatures being from 0 to minus 5°C or minus 8 to minus 12°C;

[0023] 6d. removal from the steel grating of the frozen salmon followed by slicing;

[0024] 6e. packaging of the salmon according to weight; 7. Sealing of the packages using vacuum, modified-atmosphere gas or skin pack machinery;

[0025] 8. Labelling, packaging, cold storage and / or refrigerated shipping of the completed packages.

[0026] Gutting of the fish, which as noted may occur as part of or before Step 1 above, typically involves the removal of the stomach and intestines of the fish (which organs at best may be unpalatable and generally are not desired in a sliced fish product). Alternatively some or all of the stomach / intestine removal process may occur as part of Step 3 above.

[0027] Also as part of Step 3 the fish are sliced horizontally in order to create two fillets per fish carcass which subsequently are cut vertically to form the slices. Regardless of when evisceration of the fish occurs the result following horizontal slicing to form the fillets is a flap of ventral muscle meat (i.e. the muscle meat formerly surrounding the stomach of the fish) that extends along one longitudinal edge of the fillet.

[0028] The presence of this flap is problematic. It is constituted by muscle meat that usually has an inherent commercial value, but it causes the width of the fillet to be too wide to be packed. Consequently it may be cut off and discarded or sold cheaply; or it may be folded as explained below so that it lies under the remainder of the fillet with the intention of giving rise to slices of a uniform width that is correct to allow the slices to undergo further processing and, ultimately, packaging.

[0029] During the salting step (Step 5) the fillets are placed on a belt. The lack of fixation of the fillets on the belt means they can move and / or settle. This leads to inconsistent and / or incomplete salting and is a cause of variability of the output of the production process, as further explained below. The ability of the fillets to settle means that folded belly meat may partially or completely unfold, thereby undermining attempts at rendering the fillet width acceptable and contributing to non-uniform application of salt or another medium used in the preparation process.

[0030] Step 6e takes place at a weighing / packing station that is manned and where the product is weighed and packed in bulk. The packaging step can be done semi- automatically but owing in part to slice size variations, many of the packages that are semi-automatically packaged subsequently have to be manually weighed, corrected and adjusted. During the packaging stage slices of fish product resulting from Step 6d typically are placed on a sheet of foiled cardboard or foam. The size of the sheet will vary according to the weight requirement of the retail packaging. It is desirable that slices of the fish product generally match the dimensions of the packaging in which it is to be sold to customers.

[0031] As an example a typical packaging sheet width is 14 - 17 cm, yet the widths of the fish slices may range from 12 - 28 cm due to the raw material being a natural product with size variations both from one fillet to another and within each fillet, as explained herein. Clearly this variability may lead to significant wastage of fish meat, either because of a need to trim the slices resulting from Step 6d to fit the packaging sheet or because the product is a "premium" one sold on the basis of its uniformity, and in which under-sized slices are not acceptable.

[0032] The gratings do not include any features that constrain the fish fillets after they are placed on them. The gratings therefore do nothing to prevent, and often exacerbate, the variability of the dimensions of the slices of fish product that are produced at Step 6d.

[0033] This variability arises e.g. because the fillets are not of constant cross-section along their lengths, so (for instance) a slice taken from near the tail end of the fillet will be smaller than a slice cut from nearer the lengthwise mid-point of the fillet. A slice cut from the tail region of the fillet may be too small to be packed, meaning it may be wasted.

[0034] Equally, part of the fillet near the belly of the fish as explained may as a result of the evisceration process, or for other size-variation reasons, be too wide to produce slices of the desired dimensions. In such a situation it is known as mentioned to fold the belly meat (i.e. what remains of the ventral muscle after the various preparation steps) under the remainder of the fillet when placing the fillet on the grating; but this is a manual, time-consuming process that itself may introduce variability and hygiene risks.

[0035] The variations in fillet cross-section dimensions also may mean that as indicated the fillets may be processed unevenly. When for example the principal processing step involves salting of the fillet this can be critical to product acceptability. If part of the fillet by reason of its width or thickness receives too little salt its keeping qualities become adversely affected, thereby increasing the risk of survival of harmful bacteria or parasites. If on the other hand because of diminished dimensions part of the fillet receives an excess of salt this renders the slices from that part of the fillet unpalatable and hence of little or no commercial value.

[0036] The application of a processing medium such as salt in many instances is carried out manually or at best using only a semi-automated process, in part because automated processes are not capable of accommodating the fillet dimension variability explained above unless very expensive machinery is employed.

[0037] Furthermore the gratings are such that the fillets can move during processing. Surface proteins on fillets that contact one another as a result of movement can cause the fillets to stick to one another in a manner leading to waste when they are pulled apart. Also many of the known processes involve freezing the fillets prior to slicing as a final stage of processing. Fillets that as a result of movement or settling are in contact with one another at such a time may be very hard to separate and may suffer damage in the separation process. The damaged slices that can result are of low commercial value and may have to be thrown away.

[0038] In light of the foregoing there is a need for apparatus that improves the processing of meat fillets, especially fish fillets, in a factory environment.

[0039] According to the invention in a broad aspect there is provided apparatus for folding a food product, that preferably but not necessarily is a meat product such as a meat (e.g. fish) fillet, comprising at least one conveyor for conveying a food product, that is to be folded, in a forward direction the apparatus including disposed opposite one another along the conveyor first and second upstanding or depending walls, the walls being spaced from one another in a common plane occupied by the conveyor and the first wall including or having secured thereto a folding element defining a curved wall portion that extends upwardly or downwardly and laterally inwardly relative to the conveyor such that a rear end of the folding element is spaced from the second wall by a distance greater than or approximately equal to the width of the conveyor and a forward end of the folding element is spaced from the second wall by a distance that is less than the width of a said food product whereby on conveying of a said food product forwardly using the conveyor the folding element engages a laterally disposed portion of the food product and folds it relative to the remainder of the food product. Terms such as "forward", "forwardly", "rear" and derivatives are, unless the context requires otherwise, construed herein in accordance with the foregoing definition. Hence the forward direction of conveyance is the direction of movement of the food product when undergoing processing as described herein.

[0040] The first upstanding / depending wall and the second upstanding / depending wall (that defines the folding element) have no moving parts. Therefore they may be manufactured at low cost as robust items that are easy to clean and service.

[0041] The apparatus as defined advantageously may automate the folding of laterally excess meat of a meat or other food fillet, layer or sheet. Such automation derives from the action of the at least one conveyor conveying the fillet etc. forwardly such that the laterally excess matter of the food product becomes engaged by the folding element in a manner that causes folding of it relative to the remainder of the fillet etc.

[0042] The invention is not limited to any particular form of conveyor, and numerous suitable conveyor designs are known in the food processing industry. One preferred but nonlimiting form of conveyor is an endless flexible belt that is looped around respective rotatable end rollers to present an upwardly facing conveyor surface and optionally supported between the end rollers by one or more rotatable support rollers.

[0043] The conveyor belt may be made from naturally occurring materials but more typically will be of food grade plastics or elastomeric synthetic materials such as polymers or composite materials.

[0044] At least one of the end rollers is powered to cause motion of the belt and thereby convey a food product supported on the conveying surface in a forward direction.

[0045] In the vicinity of the first and second upstanding walls the width of the belt forming part of such a conveyor is slightly greater than the lateral width of a food product intended to be conveyed by it.

[0046] Apparatus as defined hereinabove may be configured to cause folding of the laterally disposed portion of the fillet etc so that it overlies the remainder of the fillet etc or so that it becomes folded under the remainder of the fillet etc. In the case of folding of fish fillets it is strongly preferable that the laterally disposed portion is folded under the remainder of the fillet, because the mass of the remainder of the fillet acting downwardly on the folded portion tends to maintain the fold in existence. To this end preferably the shape, location and dimensions of the folding element cause it to fold the laterally disposed portion under the remainder of the fillet.

[0047] Furthermore the apparatus is effective regardless of the direction in which (when the food products are fish fillets) the food product is fed into it. Hence it is viable within the scope hereof for the fillet to be fed in a "head first" or a "tail first" orientation.

[0048] However it may in some circumstances be desirable for the apparatus to cause the laterally disposed portion to be folded to overlie the remainder of the food product, in which case the folding element may be designed to achieve this effect rather than folding under the remainder of the food product.

[0049] In practical embodiments of the invention the apparatus may comprise a plurality of conveyors each being for conveying one or more respective food product such as a meat (e.g. fish) fillet, that is to be folded, in a forward direction the apparatus including disposed opposite one another along each conveyor first and second upstanding or depending walls, the walls being spaced from one another in a common plane occupied by the conveyor and each first wall including or having secured thereto a folding element defining a curved wall portion that extends upwardly or downwardly and laterally inwardly relative to the associated conveyor such that a rear end of the folding element is spaced from the associated second wall by a distance greater than or approximately equal to the width of the associated conveyor and a forward end of the folding element is spaced from the said second wall by a distance that is less than the width of a said food product (e.g. a meat fillet) whereby on conveying of plural said food products forwardly using the conveyors the folding elements respectively engage a laterally disposed portion of a said food product and fold each said laterally disposed portion relative to the remainder of the food product of which it forms part.

[0050] The presence of a plurality of the conveyors each in accordance with the broadly defined aspect of the invention permits the apparatus to process fillets or other food products on a scale and at a rate that at least are commensurate with the requirements of a fish processing factory. As in the case of the broadly defined aspect of the invention involving a single conveyor, in multi-conveyor embodiments preferably the shapes, locations and dimensions of the folding elements cause them to fold respective laterally disposed portions under the remainders of the food products to which they are attached. However it is not precluded within the scope of this disclosure that in multi-conveyor embodiments one or more of the folding elements causes folding of the laterally disposed meat portions to overlie the remainders of the food products. It is even theoretically possible for over-folding and under-folding elements to be provided in one and the same apparatus, although presently it is not thought that there would be significant demand for such an embodiment.

[0051] Preferably the plurality of conveyors extend parallel to one another in the same horizontal plane and are spaced laterally from one another in the said plane. This advantageously permits the feeding of plural fillets etc. at the same level in the apparatus, for example by being readily placed by hand, dispensed from a container or placed by a robotic manipulator onto the plural conveyors.

[0052] Further preferably the respective conveyors conveyably connect to a common mass handling conveyor having a conveying surface whereby, after folding, the fillets etc. pass onto the mass handling conveyor for further forward conveying.

[0053] An advantage of the invention in respect of use of the described mass handling conveyor is that the widths of excessively wide meat products (such as fillets having a significant mid-point width and / or a relatively wide lateral portion) are, at an early stage of processing, reduced in width to a chosen standard or near-standard dimension. This in turns means that a mass handling conveyor may be made more efficient than in the prior art, because a larger number of fillets etc. may be conveyed per unit of mass handling conveyor width.

[0054] A further advantage of reducing the widths of the food products through operation of the invention is additionally described below in relation to a processing booth also described below.

[0055] Various mass handling conveyor designs are known in the food processing industry. The invention is not limited to any particular mass handling conveyor design of the many suitable ones. However one preferred form of mass handling conveyor is similar in principle and construction to the conveyor described above, with the modification that the width of the endless belt is greater whereby plural meat fillets etc. may be forwardly conveyed simultaneously.

[0056] The plurality of meat fillets etc. may be conveyed in a side-by-side fashion or in a "staggered" configuration in which they do not all reach the same point on the mass handling conveyor at the same time. The latter is likely to occur at least when the invention is used to process fish, because fish fillets are produced in pairs as a result of horizontal slicing of e.g. a fish carcass as explained. This results in pairs of fillets being placed onto the conveyors at a time, with the members of each pair transversely in line with one another but not with the next pair subsequently to be placed onto the conveyors.

[0057] Conveniently the mass handling conveyor optionally includes upstanding or downwardly depending relative to its conveying surface two or more guide walls that guide one or more fillets etc. during conveying on the mass handling conveyor and that are shaped and / or positioned such that they constrain the lateral edges of the one or more fillets etc. such that the folding thereof is maintained. The guide walls therefore ensure that the folded configuration of the one or more meat fillets etc. is maintained during conveying after the initial folding operation.

[0058] More specifically the apparatus may include a plurality of the guide walls that cause a corresponding plurality of fillets etc. being conveyed on the mass handling conveyor to become laterally closer to one another as they are conveyed forwardly. In a preferred arrangement this is achieved through convergence of the parts of the guide walls that constrain the lateral edges of the folded fillets etc. This in turn allows the fillets etc. to pass from a relatively wide mass handling conveyor onto a further conveyor that is narrower in the lateral direction than the mass-handling conveyor, thereby containing the dimensions of the conveying parts of the apparatus.

[0059] Preferably the mass handling conveyor conveys the fillets into a processing booth that further is capable of conveying the fillets etc. forwardly and in which processing of the fillets etc. occurs. Causing the convergence of the fillets in the lateral direction as described above ensures that they are correctly positioned to feed in to the processing booth, the lateral width of which may be limited for any of a range of reasons. The reduction in width of the fillets etc. further is advantageous at this stage, because it means that a greater number of fillets etc. at a time may be processed in the processing booth than is the case in the prior art.

[0060] Further preferably the processing booth is selected from the list comprising a brine salting booth; a dry / granular salting booth; a marinating booth; a spicing booth; a sugaring booth; a washing or sterilising booth; or any of a range of further, optional processing booths that are used in the preparation of fish or non-fish food products. Multiple such booths may be provided e.g. as a sequential line to which the fillets etc. successively pass on the described conveyors. As explained herein in certain embodiments of the invention such a booth may be available only in a form having a limited-width entrance. In such a case the effect of the folding elements in reducing the widths of excessively wide fillets etc., together with the effect of the guide walls of the mass handling conveyor in bringing the fillets laterally closer together, means that the use of such a booth is optimised with respect to the number of fillets etc. that can be processed at a time.

[0061] Optionally the processing booth includes one or more processor conveyors for further conveying food products forwardly inside the processing booth and including a plurality of restraining walls that extend upwardly from or depend downwardly towards the plane of the processor conveyor to define a series of laterally adjacent processing booth conveying channels in which the food products are restrained at their lateral edges such that folding of the food products is maintained. The one or more processor conveyors may be or may include the further conveyor of narrowed lateral dimension referred to above.

[0062] In practical embodiments restraining walls of the processing booth may be continuations or extensions of the guide walls of the mass handling conveyor as also referred to above.

[0063] Preferably the apparatus includes one or more outfeed conveyor for conveying the food products forwardly following processing or transporting in the processing booth. In a preferred embodiment the one or more outfeed conveyor may be operatively connected to or adjacent the processing booth so as to convey the fillets etc. forwardly away from the processing booth following treatment therein.

[0064] The one or more outfeed conveyor may be constituted as or may include one or more further mass handling conveyor. This may be of a similar design to the mass handling conveyor indicated above, but this is not mandatory.

[0065] Conveniently at least one said outfeed conveyor includes a plurality of restraining walls that extend upwardly from or depend downwardly towards the plane of the outfeed conveyor to define a series of laterally adjacent downstream conveying channels in which the food products are further conveyed forwardly while being restrained at their lateral edges such that folding of the food products is maintained. Consequently the folding is a feature at all stages of conveying of the food products. It is additionally preferable that one or more said downstream conveying channel includes a selectively closeable and openable gate that when closed arrests forward movement of a said food product in the conveying channel and when open permits further forward conveying of the said food product. In practical embodiments all the downstream conveying channels that are provided include such a gate. Each gate may be constituted by a gate element that may be selectively positioned so as to block the conveying channel with which it is associated; or may be withdrawn such that food products in the conveying channels may pass under the influence of the conveyor through the region of the gate.

[0066] The apparatus further may include one or more control devices for controlling selective opening and closing of one or more said selectively closeable and openable gates. The combined effect of the gates and the control device(s) is to permit (in particular) fish fillets that are travelling forwardly in the apparatus to become transversely aligned such that they thenceforth advance together in the apparatus. This effect may be achieved by closing the gates until a plurality of fillets respectively in the conveying channels all abut the associated gate elements. At this point opening of the gates simultaneously, under the control of the control device, causes the fillets to advance forwardly in a transversely aligned manner. This sequence further may give rise to net acceleration of the fillets in the apparatus since once the fillets are aligned as described it is more viable to convey them at high speed on the provided conveyor(s).

[0067] The control device may take a number of forms. Non-limiting examples are disclosed herein and include both programmable and non-programmable devices.

[0068] In particularly preferred embodiments the one or more outfeed conveyors conveyingly connects to a retractable plate (loader) that overlies a transfer conveyor under the outfeed conveyor, the transfer conveyor being for conveying one or more food processing trays under the retractable plate that is retractable away from a position overlying the transfer conveyor whereby one or more food products on the retractable plate may be deposited into a said food processing tray on the transfer conveyor. This especially convenient feature allows transferring of the fillets, etc., in the folded condition, into one or more food processing trays that as explained herein also may be such as to preserve the folded nature of the fillets.

[0069] Preferably the transfer conveyor extends at an angle to the one or more outfeed conveyor, and especially at right angles to the one or more outfeed conveyor. This feature is desirable when for example the space for accommodating the length of the apparatus is limited.

[0070] Further preferably the apparatus includes an indexing control device for controlling the transfer conveyor such that a plurality of respective said food processing trays is sequentially arrestable in a position underlying the one or more outfeed conveyors for a time period corresponding to arrival of one or more food products on the retractable plate and retraction of the retractable plate to deposit the one or more food products into a said food processing tray. Such an arrangement may readily be arranged to ensure correct timing of the arrival of a plurality of food trays to coincide with readiness of the retractable plate to deposit the folded food products into the food processing trays.

[0071] Conveniently the apparatus includes conveyed on the transfer conveyor one or more food processing tray, wherein the food processing tray comprises a base member defining an in-use upwardly facing surface; and a plurality of compartment walls that extend upwardly from the upwardly facing surface, the tray including within the perimeter of the upwardly facing surface a series of compartments that are each at least partly bounded by a respective pair of the plurality of compartment walls and a portion of the upwardly facing surface, and that are open on an upper side for the placing therein of a food product to be processed in the tray, wherein the base member includes formed passing therethrough a plurality of perforations whereby the base member in the compartments is permeable to fluid and the food processing tray being characterized in that the compartment walls are spaced from one another in each compartment by a lateral distance that is such as to maintain folding of the laterally disposed food product portion relative to the remainder of the food product of which it forms part.

[0072] Such a food tray design is of particular advantage in the cold processing of meat products, in particular marine products. As explained herein the known cold processing procedures often involve coating a meat product in a fluid or at least flowable medium or allowing such a medium to surround and permeate the food product. The preferred design of tray by reason of the presence of the perforations promotes successful cold processing steps of this kind.

[0073] At the same time the food tray(s) integrate(s) with the remainder of the apparatus in a way that ensures the folding step, which in embodiments may occur at the beginning of the operational sequence of the apparatus, is not reversed even until after cold processing may be completed.

[0074] Preferably the perforations extend over the whole area of the base member, but this is not essential.

[0075] The disclosure hereof additionally extends to apparatus as defined and / or described herein including one or more food products such as but not limited to meat fillets positioned for conveying on at least one said conveyor of the apparatus and / or in at least one said food processing tray.

[0076] The one or more food products may be of any of a wide variety of kinds, including but not limited to those specifically listed herein. In embodiments specifically disclosed herein the one or more food products is or includes a fish fillet, especially a cold-cured salmon fillet.

[0077] In accordance with the primary use intention of the apparatus preferably the laterally disposed portion of the fillet is or includes the belly meat of the fillet. However this need not necessarily be the case, and folding of other meat (or other food product), especially fillet, parts is contemplated herein. In this regard many techniques of butchering involve folding of meat other than belly meat and such activity is contemplated herein.

[0078] As outlined above, preferably one or more respective conveyor of the apparatus is formed as an endless, flexible belt of a food hygiene material defining an upwardly facing conveying surface and that is supported on at least two rollers at least one of which is powered to rotate such that the belt may be caused to move and thereby convey one or more food products such as but not limited to meat fillets placed on the conveying surface.

[0079] The upwardly facing conveying surface optionally but desirably may include features, such as but not limited to protruding ridges spaced from one another by recesses, dimples spaced from one another by lands, or protruding pips (preferably defining a pattern), that assist to grip meat fillets or other food products conveyed on the conveyor and minimise the risk of settling or movement. The choice of finish of the upwardly facing surface is not particularly limited and as indicated may not be provided at all in some embodiments. Different surface features may be specified for when the apparatus disclosed herein is used to convey particular food products. As will occur to the person of skill in the art however other forms of conveyor are possible and are within the scope of this disclosure. Such conveyors do not necessarily have to be of a belt type, and bucket or gripper type conveyors, for example, may be contemplated, the primary design requirement of the conveyors being that they seek to preserve the folded nature of the meat fillets and convey them without damage.

[0080] The disclosure hereof extends to a method of folding a food, especially meat, product comprising the steps of placing at least one food product, including a laterally disposed (typically but not necessarily meat) portion extending along one side edge, on a conveyor of apparatus according to the disclosure hereof; and causing the conveyor to convey the food product forwardly so that the laterally disposed portion engages the folding element of at least one said first upstanding or depending wall and is folded relative to the remainder of the food product while at least one said second upstanding or depending wall laterally constrains the food product on the opposite side edge to that of the laterally extending portion.

[0081] Preferably the laterally disposed portion is folded under the remainder of the food product.

[0082] Further preferably the apparatus is of a kind including a plurality of conveyors each being for conveying one or more respective food product, that is to be folded, in a forward direction the apparatus including disposed opposite one another along each conveyor first and second upstanding or depending walls, the walls being spaced from one another in a common plane occupied by the conveyor and each first wall including or having secured thereto a folding element defining a curved wall portion that extends upwardly or downwardly and laterally inwardly relative to the associated conveyor such that a rear end of the folding element is spaced from the associated second wall by a distance greater than or approximately equal to the width of the associated conveyor and a forward end of the folding element is spaced from the said second wall by a distance that is less than the width of a said food product.

[0083] When this is the case further preferably the method includes respectively placing on the conveyors a plurality of food products corresponding in number to the number of conveyors; and causing the conveyors to convey the food products forwardly so that the laterally disposed portions thereof each engage a respective folding element of a said first upstanding or depending wall and are folded relative to the remainders of the food products while a corresponding plurality of said second upstanding or depending walls laterally constrain the food products on the opposite side edges to those of the laterally extending portions.

[0084] There now follows a description of preferred embodiments of the invention, by way of non-limiting example, with reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0085] Figure 1 is a perspective view of apparatus for folding a food product in accordance with the disclosure hereof, the apparatus including a folding element forming part of a single-channel conveyor having as an exemplary non-limiting food product therein a fish fillet;

[0086] Figure 2 is a perspective view, from above and to one side, of a first section of apparatus, for folding a food product, in accordance with the disclosure hereof and illustrating a plurality of fish meat fillets in a plurality of conveyor channels that are in the process of being folded;

[0087] Figure 3 is a similar view to Figure 2, showing the apparatus a short distance "downstream" (with respect to the motion of food products in the apparatus), and showing a processing booth and an infeed section therefor;

[0088] Figure 4 is a perspective view of the apparatus of Figures 2 and 3 in the vicinity of an outfeed conveyor section that is downstream of the processing booth of Figure 3;

[0089] Figure 5 is a perspective view of the Figures 2 - 4 apparatus in a region in which the outfeed conveyor section transitions into a plurality of downstream conveying channels including a plurality of closeable and openable gates;

[0090] Figure 6 is a perspective view showing the effect of the openable and closeable gates when they are closed in transversely aligning the plurality of fish fillets of Figure 2;

[0091] Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 6 and showing the effect of opening of the gates;

[0092] Figure 8 is a perspective view showing the transversely aligned fillets being conveyed in the downstream conveying channels onto a retractable plate and positioning of a food processing tray under the retractable plate on a transfer conveyor;

[0093] Figure 9 shows the apparatus of Figure 8 part-way through retraction of the retractable plate; and

[0094] Figure 10 shows the situation following complete retraction of the retractable plate, with the fish fillets deposited into respective compartments of the food processing tray prior to operation of the transfer conveyor to convey the food processing tray to another location and position a replacement food processing tray under the location of the retractable plate. In the following description various motions of parts of the illustrated apparatus are described. Such motion may be induced by a variety of mechanisms as will be familiar to the person of skill in the art. The motive means therefore are not described in detail in the following. A non-limiting example of a suitable motive means is an electric motor coupled to cause looping motion of the endless, flexible belts that constitute the various conveyors illustrated in the figures. Such a motor may operate by drivingly causing rotation of one or more rollers around which the flexible belts are looped.

[0095] Reference to motive means herein implies the presence of suitable power supplies, control devices and, when required, programmable controllers as are desirable to effect the requisite motion. Such aspects will be familiar to the person of skill in the art and therefore are not described in detail herein.

[0096] Further motive means may be employed to activate the openable and closeable gates described herein. Such further motive means may non-limitingly include e.g. one or more energy stores (such as springs or resiliently deformable elements) for storing potential energy that is used to convert the gates between a closed and an open configuration; one or more latches for latching the gates in a closed position; and one or more motors (such as electric motors) for restoring the gates to the closed configuration from the open configuration following release of the latches and dissipation of the energy stored in the one or more energy stores in moving the gates to the open configuration. Again such means are known to the person of skill in the art and therefore are not described in detail herein.

[0097] Referring to the figures, and initially to Figure 1, there is shown a basic form of apparatus 15 in accordance with the disclosure hereof. The apparatus serves the purpose of folding a meat product that in Figure 1 is exemplified as a fish fillet 16, especially a cold-processed fish fillet of the kind explained above. The remainder of this disclosure refers to the processing of fish fillets. However as noted the described apparatus is useable to process a variety of food products other than fish fillets, if necessary following minor customising to suit the precise food product under consideration. Exemplifying the invention with reference to fish fillets therefore does not limit the disclosure hereof to any particular kind of food product.

[0098] As mentioned, the process of creating the fish fillet 16 includes evisceration of a fish carcass and horizontal slicing to form a fillet. These steps result in the presence of a flap 17 of belly meat, i.e. a laterally disposed portion of the meat of the fillet 16. In the absence of steps to render the flap 17 commercially valuable this is an inconvenience. In the prior art therefore the belly meat flap 17 may be cut off and discarded; or it is folded by hand to lie under the remainder of the fillet 16.

[0099] Such folding results in an acceptably uniform lateral width dimension of the fillet 16 and the mass of the fillet 16 pressing downwardly under gravity onto the flap 17 to a limited extent maintains the folded nature of the product.

[0100] Nonetheless the prior art technique is sub-optimal for a number of reasons. These include the slowness of the manual folding process as mentioned above; and additionally the risk of product contamination for example by bacteria on the hands of the person performing the folding step. Also it may be difficult to carry out the manual folding step in a consistent manner from one fillet to the next.

[0101] Furthermore reliance on the mass of the fillet to maintain the fold is not particularly successful because of the described tendencies for the fillets to move laterally and / or settle as they are conveyed using conventional fish factory apparatus. Consequently the folds may tend to undo during subsequent processing of the fillets, and this is strongly undesirable.

[0102] The apparatus 15 of Figure 1 addresses these drawbacks of the prior art through the provision of a conveyor 18 for conveying fillets of meat (especially fish fillets 16 as illustrated) in a forward direction, the conveyor being bounded on laterally opposite sides by respective first and second upstanding walls 19, 21. The conveyor presents a horizontally extending, upwardly facing conveying surface 22.

[0103] Surface 22 preferably includes features as described herein for assisting to grip fish fillets conveyed on it. Figure 1 shows a follow-on conveyor 23, to which conveyor 18 operatively connects, including a pattern of upwardly protruding pips 24 that are useful for this purpose. Such pips or another type of surface feature may readily be included on surface 22 of conveyor 18 and indeed any of the other conveyors described herein.

[0104] Conveyor 18 defines and occupies a common plane that in the illustrated embodiment extends horizontally and spaces the first and second upstanding walls 19, 21 from one another.

[0105] First wall 19 in the illustrated embodiment is formed as a single, blade-like element on the right hand side of conveyor 18 as viewed and that curves initially laterally outwardly from the conveyor 18, then upwardly and finally inwardly at its free upper edge to define a folding element 26. The curving of the wall 19 is smooth and continuous in order to avoid the presence of abrupt changes in surface direction that might hinder movement and / or folding of a fish fillet 16.

[0106] Wall 19 is formed from a single sheet of a rigid food-grade material that in the embodiment of Figure 1 is a stainless steel, although other materials (including for instance certain polymers and composite materials) are possible. In Figure 1 wall 19 is formed with an optional pattern of indentations that assist sliding of the fillet 16 in a manner promoting folding a length 17 of belly meat extending along the right hand side thereof as described below, but such surface features are refinements that are not essential in rudimentary versions of the invention.

[0107] The rear (as judged with reference to the direction of movement of fish fillets in the apparatus) end of wall 19 is spaced from the second wall 21 by a greater horizontal distance than its forward end, with the wall 19 being angled laterally inwardly for this purpose. The spacing of the rear end of wall 19 from wall 21 is greater than or essentially equal (subject to tolerancing that permits relative movement of the parts) to the width of the conveyor 18.

[0108] Second wall 21 is a straight, upstanding wall that is also made from a rigid, food-grade material and extends parallel to the adjacent left hand lateral edge of the conveyor 18. The surface of second wall 21 may also include features such as the indentation pattern applied to first wall 19.

[0109] The inward angling of the first wall 19 relative to second wall 21 means that at the forward end of the walls the lateral spacing of the walls is less than the width in the lateral direction of the fillet 16 when the belly meat 17 is unfolded.

[0110] The conveyor 18 is of one of the kinds described herein and is capable when powered of conveying a fish fillet 16 in a forward direction between the first and second walls 19, 21. The shape of first wall 19 and its positioning relative to second wall 21, defining a diminishing lateral gap as explained, cause the belly meat 17 on the right hand side of a so-conveyed fillet 16 to become folded under the remainder of the fillet 16 as it progresses along the length of the first and second walls 19, 21.

[0111] It is of course possible to configure the first upstanding wall 19 such that it causes folding of the belly meat 17 on top of the remainder of the fillet 16, but this is less preferred (at least in the case of a fish fillet as illustrated) than folding the belly meat under the remainder of the fillet 16 because the fold is easier to maintain in the latter case than the former. Further, optional features of the apparatus of the invention are intended to help preserve the fold after the fillet 16 has passed the out of the diminishing-width gap defined by the first and second walls 19, 21.

[0112] The apparatus 15 of Figure 1 addresses a number of drawbacks of the prior art. The first wall 19 causes folding of the belly meat 17 under the remainder of the fillet 16 in a manner that is consistent from one fillet to the next. This is in part because the lateral spacing of the first and second walls at their forwardmost end may be selected to be less than the probable narrowest fillet width following folding. Hence the apparatus 15 may accommodate a variety of fillet widths by folding a greater or lesser width, as appropriate, of the belly meat 17 under the remainder of the fillet. Consistent-width folded fillets then result, without a need to adjust the apparatus or intervene in any other way.

[0113] Furthermore the apparatus 15 folds the belly meat without any need for handling of the fillet by a human. This altogether obviates the stated drawbacks of such handling. In turn this may reduce the costs and hygiene risks of fish processing operations.

[0114] In Figure 1 the walls 19, 21 are upstanding as mentioned. However in other embodiments to which the invention pertains one or both the walls 19, 21 may be formed as downwardly depending walls. Appropriate frame elements may in such a case be provided so as to overlie the conveyor 18 in a manner permitting suspension of one or both the ewalls 19, 21 from above.

[0115] The apparatus 15 of Figure 1 while representing a beneficial embodiment of the invention disclosed herein includes only a single conveyor 18 and a single pair of first and second walls 19, 21. As a result only a single fillet may be folded at a time. Depending on the forward speed of the conveyor 18 this may give an acceptable product throughput in some situations but in practice it is unlikely to be sufficient for most commercial processing factories. Figures 2 to 10 show a version of apparatus 15a within the scope of the disclosure that provides much greater processing capacity through the provision of plural conveyor channels as further described below.

[0116] In Figure 2 a plurality of coplanar conveyors 18a - 18f are shown extending parallel to one another in the forward direction of the apparatus 15a. Three of the conveyors 18a, 18b, 18c are arranged on the left hand side (as viewed from the rear of the apparatus) of a central void 27; and three (respectively labelled 18d, 18e and 18f) are on the right hand side. The conveyors are supported on a machine frame the exact design of which will be chosen to suit the factory installation where the apparatus 15a is to be used. Precise details of the machine frame are not important for an understanding of this disclosure.

[0117] The conveyors 18a, 18b and 18c are each essentially the same as conveyor 18 of Figure 1, with a respective first wall 19a, 19b, 19c upstanding relative to the upper surface of the adjacent conveyor 18a, 18b, 18c; and a respective second wall 21a, 21b, 21c laterally spaced therefrom by the width of the upper surface of the adjacent conveyor 18a, 18b, 18c.

[0118] Such first and second walls 19a - 19c, 21a - 21c are each respectively of the same design as either the first wall 19 or the second wall 21 (as appropriate) of Figure 1. Consequently a series of folding elements 26a - 26c is defined.

[0119] The conveyors 18d, 18e, 18f are similar to conveyors 18a, 18b, 18c except that the positions of the first and second upstanding walls 19d - 19f and 21d - 21f are reversed. Consequently in conveyors 18d - 18f the respective first upstanding walls 19d - 19f are on the left hand sides of the adjacent conveyors; and the second upstanding walls 21d - 21f are on the right hand side.

[0120] The curvature of the first upstanding 19d - 19f walls moreover is oppositely "handed" to that of the first upstanding walls 19a - 19c. As a result the first upstanding walls 19d - 19f in contrast to first upstanding walls 19a - 19c define a series of folding elements 26d - 26f that respectively fold, under the remainder of a fillet, a laterally disposed portion of the fillet extending on the left hand side of the fillet instead of the right hand side. This arrangement suits the orientation of pairs of fish fillets after they are formed.

[0121] In further detail the processing step of horizontally slicing a fish carcass to create two fillets naturally results in (for each pair of fillets so created) a laterally disposed portion of meat extending along the right hand side of one of the fillets and a laterally disposed portion of meat extending along the left hand side of the other fillet. These are the orientations of the laterally disposed portions of meat when the fillets are separated from through lateral flipping of the upper fillet on forming so that the two fillets lie adjacent one another. The fillets may then each be placed on a respective conveyor 18a - 18c (in the case of the fillets having belly meat portions extending along the right hand fillet edges) or 18d - 18f (in the case of fillets having belly meat portions extending along the left hand fillet edges) without any need to manipulate the fillets to position the belly meat so as to be engaged by the relevant first upstanding wall.

[0122] As a result of this arrangement slicing machinery may rapidly create a large number of fillets in succession and a worker may place them on the conveyors. A target in many fish processing factories is to produce 40 fillets per minute. Operation of the conveyors to convey the fillets forwardly causes the folding elements 26a - 26f respectively repeatedly to engage a laterally disposed portion of a said fillet and fold each said laterally disposed portion relative to the remainder of the fillet of which it forms part.

[0123] The apparatus 15a of Figure 2 is capable of receiving up to six fillets created from three fish carcasses and may be termed a "six-channel" apparatus since each conveyor 18a - 18f is associated with a respective channel defined by the upstanding walls 19a - 19f and 21a— 21f. In other versions of the apparatus 15a it is possible to provide more or fewer conveyors and upstanding walls and thereby create a multi-channel apparatus that can fold larger or smaller numbers of fillets at a time. Since the fillets are normally produced in pairs however it is desirable that the number of conveyors and associated upstanding walls is even.

[0124] The respective conveyors 18a - 18f connect as illustrated to a common mass handling conveyor 28. This is of a similar design to the individual conveyors 18a - 18f in that it is constituted by an endless flexible belt wrapped around and supported by rollers at least one end roller of which is capable of being driven by motive means to rotate. The mass handling conveyor 28 defines a continuation of the common plane defined by the conveyors 18a - 18f. Its lateral width is considerably greater than that of each individual conveyor 18a - 18f such that it spans the entire lateral width defined at the ends of the conveyors 18a - 18f, this dimension including the void 27.

[0125] The mass handling conveyor 28 is located so that meat fillets conveyed on the conveyors 18a - 18f transfer onto the upwardly facing conveying surface 29 of the mass handling conveyor 28 without interruption to their forward movement. The fillets 16 therefore are subject to further forward conveying after they have passed on to the mass handling conveyor 28. As in the case of the conveyors 18a - 18f, the conveying surface 29 may include any of a number of features intended to enhance conveying of the meat fillets without slipping. Such features may include but are not limited to protruding ridges spaced from one another by recesses, dimples spaced from one another by lands, and / or protruding pips that preferably define a repeating pattern.

[0126] A series of guide walls 31a - 31h are upstanding relative to and overlie the conveying surface 29 define a series of channels 32 that are shaped and dimensioned to constrain the lateral edges of meat fillets 16 that transfer from the conveyors 18a - 18f onto the mass handling conveyor, and guide the forward motion of the fillets 16. The guide walls 31a - 31h are spaced vertically above the conveying surface 29 by a short distance so that the mass handling conveyor 28 may operate without its belt fouling the guide walls 31a - 31h. Such spacing however is small enough that the conveyed meat fillets 16 do not become dragged under the guide walls 31a - 31h.

[0127] The lateral constraint provided by the guide walls 31a - 31h maintains the folded nature of the fillets 16 and inhibits settling or lateral movement of them such that uniformity of the cross-sectional dimensions of the fillets is promoted as much as possible. The guide walls at this location and indeed elsewhere in the apparatus 15a furthermore prevent contact with one another of adjacent fish fillets 16. As a result the prior art problem of fillets 16 sticking to one another while undergoing processing is eliminated.

[0128] As is apparent from Figures 2 and 3 the channels 32 converge in the forward direction. As a result any fillets 16 conveyed in the channels 32 become laterally closer together as a result of being conveyed forwardly on the mass handling conveyor 28. Figures 2 and 3 illustrate this phenomenon. In Figure 2 four fillets are shown either on or in the process of being fed to four of the conveyors 18a, 18b, 18e and 18f. At this point the fillets are laterally spaced from one another by distances corresponding to the lateral spacings of the conveyors 18a - 18f.

[0129] One reason for causing the fillets to converge in the lateral sense as they move forwardly relates to the dimensions of a prcessing booth 33 that is illustrated in the Figures. As further explained below booth 33 adopts a box-like construction that is substantially closed save for an entrance 34 at its upstream side and an outlet, on the downstream side, that is not visible in the figures but may readily be envisaged. During operation of the apparatus 15a the conveyors 18 and 28 run continuously. Figure 2 shows the placing of a first pair of fillets, formed from a first carcass, in the outermost two channels 32; and the placing of a second pair of fillets 16, made from a second carcass, in the innermost pair of channels 32. The second pair of fillets 16 are placed a short time after placing of the first pair, as is a consequence of the carcass slicing process. By reason of such placing and the continuous motion of the conveyors the first pair of fillets therefore travels ahead of the second pair.

[0130] The fillets 16 shown in Figure 2 are fed to the conveyors 18a, 18b, 18e, 18f from a pair of laterally spaced mass handling conveyors that are located upstream of the conveyors 18a - 18f. However this element of the apparatus is not essential and could be dispensed with or provided in a modified form.

[0131] A third pair of fillets, formed from a third carcass, may be placed in the channels 32 positioned intermediate the innermost and outermost channels 32 that in Figure 2 are occupied by fillets 16. Such a third pair of fillets would travel behind the second pair of fillets 16 visible in Figure 2.

[0132] Figure 3 shows the same four fillets 16 a few seconds after the situation illustrated in Figure 2. In Figure 3 all the fillets have transferred onto the mass handling conveyor 28 and have converged laterally together by reason of the mutually convergent nature of the channels 32. However the four fillets 16 are at this stage still spaced longitudinally apart by reason of placing of the pairs of fillets 16 onto selected ones of the conveyors 18a - 18f at different times as described.

[0133] The convergent arrangement of the channels 32 defined by the guide walls 31a - 31h is optional but is useful when, as in the case of Figures 2 - 10, the apparatus 15a includes a processing booth 33 having a relatively narrow entrance 34. As is apparent in Figure 3 entrance 34 is significantly narrower in the lateral direction than the spacing of the conveyors 18a - 18f and in one typical embodiment non-limitingly is 94cm. It is necessary to ensure that the lateral extent of the fillets on the mass handling conveyor 28 is less than the width of the entrance 34, and the convergent guide walls 31a - 31h achieve this.

[0134] The effect of the various walls in laterally constraining each fillet in combination with such convergence of the walls 31a - 31h moreover means that the lateral-dimension occupancy, and hence the overall efficiency, of the processing booth 33 is optimised. Following convergence in the lateral direction as described the fillets 16 pass into the processing booth 33 via the entrance 34. The most forwardly advanced fillets 16 are in Figure 3 shown entering the processing booth 33 in this manner.

[0135] Processing booth 33 may carry out any of a range of processing steps it is desired to perform on the fillets 16. As non-limiting examples the processing booth may be a brine salting booth; a dry / granular salt applying booth; a marinating booth; a spicing booth; a sugaring booth; a washing booth; or a sterilising booth. Such nooth types are suitable for the processing of fish fillets; but of course if the food products processed by the apparatus 15a is other than fish fillets the nature of the booth 33 may be altered accordingly, in order to provide an appropriate processing effect.

[0136] Processing booth 33 includes extending therethrough a processing conveyor 36 that is a mass handling conveyor. Processing conveyor 36 is of a similar design to mass handling conveyor 28, but it is narrower in the lateral direction so it fits inside the relatively narrow processing booth 33.

[0137] Processing conveyor 36 causes the fillets to move forwardly inside the booth 33 while undergoing processing. Conveyor 36 may operate continuously or may be controlled to operate e.g. in a periodically interrupted manner. Such a mode of operation may be useful for instance if it is desirable to halt the fillets 16 inside the booth 33 while processing takes place. Control of the processing conveyor 36 may be automated or may be effected manually, depending on the precise design of the apparatus 15a.

[0138] The interior of the processing booth 33 is provided with a series of longitudinally extending, mutually laterally spaced, restraining walls 37 that overlie the processor conveyor 36 in a similar manner to the way in which the guide walls 31a - 31h overlie the mass handling conveyor 28.

[0139] The restraining walls 37 define a series of longitudinally extending, laterally spaced processing booth conveying channels in which the lateral spacing of the restraining walls 37 is the same as the lateral spacing of the walls upstream of them. Consequently when the fillets enter the booth 33 on the processing conveyor 36 the lateral pressure on the fillets 16 is maintained. As a result the folds formed by the folding elements 26a - 26f are preserved while the fillets 16 move forwardly inside the booth 33, and settling or lateral movement of the fillets 16 is inhibited at the same time. Some of the restraining walls 37 of the processing booth 33 are visible in Figure 4 via an optional side window 39 formed in a lateral wall of the processing booth 33. Typically the side window 39 would be glazed and when present is provided primarily to permit visual monitoring of the fillets 16 inside the booth 33. This may be of particular benefit when for example the degree of processing of the fillets inside the processing booth 33 is not the subject of automated control (as may in some embodiments be the case); and instead relies on human judgement of its completeness. In such a situation it may be desirable for an operator to operate a manually actuated control in order to slow down, halt or speed up the processing conveyor 36 and thereby achieve a desired degree of processing of the fillets 16.

[0140] Downstream of the processing booth 33 the apparatus 15a includes an outfeed conveyor 38 that is visible in Figures 4 and 5. Outfeed conveyor 38 conveys the fillets 16 forwardly away from the processing booth 33 after its processing activity is completed to a desired degree.

[0141] In some embodiments and / or some modes of operation of the apparatus 15a the fillets 16 may be caused to pass through the processing booth 33 without undergoing processing. In such a case the outfeed conveyor 38 conveys the fillets 16 forwardly following transporting through the processing booth 33.

[0142] The design of the outfeed conveyor preferably is essentially the same as the other conveyors described herein, in that an endless, flexible belt of a food-grade material is looped around and supported by a plurality of rollers in order to define the conveyor. One or more of the rollers may be powered in order to effect forward motion of any fillets supported on the conveyor 38. Surface features promoting transporting of the fillets 16, as explained above, may be provided as part of the conveyor 38.

[0143] The outfeed conveyor 38 may however adopt other designs than the one shown, as would be apparent to the person of skill in the art.

[0144] The outfeed conveyor 38 also includes a series of mutually laterally spaced, parallel longitudinally extending restraining walls 41 that overlie the outfeed conveyor in a similar manner to the processing booth restraining walls 37.

[0145] The restraining walls 41 define a series of parallel, longitudinally extending downstream conveying channels. In like manner to the processing booth conveying channels, when the fillets 16 enter and move along the downstream conveying channels they are constrained laterally by the restraining walls 41 the mutual spacing of which is such as to promote this effect. As a result the folds in the fillets are at this stage of processing in the apparatus 15a also maintained; and settling / latera I movement of the fillets is inhibited.

[0146] As is apparent in Figure 5 in one embodiment as disclosed herein the outfeed conveyor is constituted by three essentially longitudinally contiguous but distinct outfeed conveyor sections 38a, 38b, 38c. Constructing the outfeed conveyor 38 in this way allows a degree of modularity such that for example the length of the outfeed conveyor may be adjusted (e.g. by substituting a longer or shorter middle outfeed conveyor section 38b) to suit the space available in a particular factory.

[0147] It is not however essential that the outfeed conveyor 38 is constructed in this fashion. Instead, more or fewer outfeed conveyor sections may be provided; and it is within the scope of the disclosure hereof to provide a single-section outfeed conveyor if desired.

[0148] As previously mentioned the various conveyors typically will be supported on machine frames the exact designs of which may be adjusted to suit the particular installation. Non-limiting examples of such frames are visible e.g. in Figure 5.

[0149] The forwardmost outfeed conveyor section 38c visible in Figure 5 includes in the downstream conveying channels an optional, transversely extending line of respective, selectively closeable and openable gates 42a - 42f.

[0150] The precise design of the gates 42a - 42f may be varied within the scope of the disclosure although it is desirable (but not essential) that they are of similar or are identical designs.

[0151] Each such gate 42a - 42f when closed blocks the downstream conveying channel in which it is installed in a manner preventing further forward movement of the fillets 16, even if the outfeed conveyor 38 continues to run. At such a time the outfeed conveyor slides under the fillets 16 which are restrained against forward movement by the gates 42a - 42f.

[0152] As indicated the gates 42a - 42f are openable. Such opening may be effected by one or more control devices, by activation of a control element (such as but not limited to a release rod) by a factory worker or for example when the cumulative pressure of arrested fillets 16 in the downstream conveying channels exceeds a threshold so as to trigger releasing of e.g. a latch that holds the gates 42a - 42f in a closed position. Sensing devices, which may operate on the basis of any of a range of physical principles, may be provided to control operation of the gates 42a - 42f. As non-limiting examples optical cameras connected to appropriate circuitry and / or processing devices may be provided to provide such control.

[0153] When opened the gates permit the fillets 16 to advance forwardly once again, under the driving influence of the outfeed conveyor 38, while being constrained laterally, as described, by the restraining walls 41 defining the downstream conveying channels.

[0154] The gates 42a - 42f may include one or more motors that effect their movement, when required, between the open and closed positions described. Alternatively they may be provided with potential energy stores, such as springs, and associated latches that on releasing (that may be initiated by a command or actuator action) permit conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy to cause movement of the gates 42a - 42f. The potential energy store(s) may be re-energised e.g. by one or more motors such as electric motors when it is desired to return the gates 42a - 42f to their closed configurations.

[0155] As will be apparent from the foregoing there are numerous options for the design and implementation of the gates 42a - 42f. The disclosure is not particularly limited in this regard; and numerous gate actuation designs will occur to the person of skill in the art.

[0156] An important reason for providing the gates 42a - 42f is that they allow a plurality of the fillets that are progressing through the apparatus 15a in a staggered manner as is illustrated in the figures to become transversely aligned so that they subsequently proceed together through the remainder of the apparatus. This is desirable from the standpoint of filling one or more food processing trays, as described below, in an efficient way.

[0157] This effect is illustrated through comparison of Figures 5, 6 and 7. In Figure 5 the four fillets 16 visible in Figures 2 and 3 are shown advancing through the apparatus 15a in a staggered fashion, with the first pair of fillets 16 in the outermost downstream conveying channels being in front of a second pair of fillets 16 in the next innermost pair of downstream conveying channels. A third pair of fillets 16 is shown progressing behind the second pair, respectively in the innermost downstream conveying channels. The third pair of fillets 16 results from horizontal slicing of a third fish carcass the slicing of which took place after slicing of the first and second carcasses. All the fillets have been the subject of folding of laterally extending belly meat as described above.

[0158] In Figure 5 the first pair of fillets 16 has reached the respective gates 42a and 42f that are in a closed configuration preventing progress of the fillets 16 further in a forward direction. The other four fillets are in Figure 5 yet to reach the gates 42b, 42e (second pair of fillets) or 42c, 42d (third pair of fillets) that are capable of preventing movement of them beyond the locations of the gates.

[0159] The closed nature of the gates 42a - 42f in the situation shown in Figure 5 means that the first pair of fillets 16 is held at the location of the gates 42a - 42f until initially the second pair of fillet 16 and then the third pair of fillets 16 catch up with the first pair of fillets 16 as illustrated in Figure 6.

[0160] At this point all the gates 42a - 42f are caused simultaneously to open, by means of one of the mechanisms described herein, or by means of any suitable alternative mechanism. The immediate aftermath of opening of the gates 42a - 42f is visible in Figure 7, which shows all the fillets 16 advancing under the motive influence of a fourth section 38d of the outfeed conveyor. The fillets at this time proceed in a transversely aligned row and the staggered movement is no longer apparent.

[0161] The fourth section 38d of the outfeed conveyor is of a very similar design to the outfeed conveyor sections 38a, 38b and therefore includes a plurality of upstanding walls 43 that define a series of laterally adjacent, longitudinally extending outfeed conveyor channels. These in like manner to the channels described above are dimensioned to constrain the fillets 16 laterally as they move, thereby preserving the folding initiated at the beginning of treatment of the fillets 16 in the apparatus 15a and preventing as far as possible settling or movement of the fillets 16 that leads to inconsistent slice dimensions, contact of the fillets and other undesirable occurrences as explained.

[0162] An upwardly facing conveying surface 44 of the fourth outfeed conveyor section 38d may as desired include surface features, as exemplified herein, that assist conveyance of the fillets 16. The fourth outfeed conveyor section 38d feeds the fillets 16 onto a retractable plate (loading device) 46. Feeding of the fillets 16 onto such a plate 46 is illustrated on Figure 8. As a result of alignment of the fillets 16 at the gates 42a - 42f all six fillets 16 transfer onto the retractable plate 46 at the same time and in a transversely aligned manner as shown.

[0163] The retractable plate / loading device 46 overlies a transfer conveyor 47. The purpose of transfer conveyor 47 is to position a series of food processing trays 48 one at a time under the retractable plate 46.

[0164] To this end the transfer conveyor 47 preferably includes or is operatively connected to an indexing control device that is not shown in the drawings but that may take any of a range of forms as will occur to the person of skill in the art. The indexing control device controls operation of the transfer conveyor to advance each respective food processing tray 48 to a position in register with the underside of the retractable plate 46 and temporarily halt the conveyor while transfer of the fillets into the thus- positioned tray 48 occurs.

[0165] A programmable line controller (PLC), which type of controller is widely used in the food production and packaging industries, is one suitable form of control device. Numerous other control devices, including but not limited to computers, hydraulic circuits, pneumatic circuits and op amp circuits, may also be adopted for use as the control device. Combinations of control devices also are possible.

[0166] Transfer of the fillets 16 takes place by reason of rapid retraction of the retractable plate 46. This is arranged to occur very quickly in order to minimise any tendency of the fillets 16 to flex while being transferred into the food processing tray 48 for the time being halted under the retractable plate 46.

[0167] Figure 9 shows one kind of retraction movement of the plate 46. In this embodiment the plate 46 is slid (for example under the influence of one or more springs against the potential energy of which the retractable plate 46 is latched until retraction is required, or by reason of energising of one or more rapidly operating electric motors) horizontally in a rearward direction (judged with reference to forward motion of the fillets 16 in the apparatus).

[0168] As shown this cause the fillets 16 to cease being supported from underneath whereupon they drop into the food processing tray 48. At this time a series of upstanding walls in the vicinity of the retractable plate 46 assist to maintain the horizontal orientations of the fillets 16 while constraining them laterally. The lateral constraint together with the downward movement of the fillets 16 into the food processing tray means there is no chance for folding of the fillets 16 to undo. Consequently the fillets land in respective compartments 49 of the food processing tray 48, that are described in more detail below, with the folds in the same configuration as when they are formed.

[0169] At various locations herein guide walls are described as being upstanding, but in many if not all instances they could equally be depending walls that extend downwardly instead of upwardly. Suitable frame members, as would occur to the person of skill in the art, may in such embodiments be provided so as to overlie the conveyors and provide suspension points for such downwardly extending guide walls. For the avoidance of doubt, combinations of upstanding and downwardly depending guide walls may be present in one and the same embodiment.

[0170] The retractable plate 46 could be caused to retract in any of a variety of ways other than the reverse movement shown. For example the plate 46 could pivot along one edge to swing away from a position supporting the fillets 16; or the plate 46 could slide in a retraction direction other than that shown. Horizontal sliding retraction of the plate 46 is preferred since this does not require as big a vertical drop, between the plane of the retractable plate when it supports the fillets and the food processing tray 48, as would be required for instance to accommodate hinged swinging retraction of the plate 46.

[0171] After the fillets 16 have dropped into the food processing tray 48 the retractable plate 46 may be caused to revert to its original position ready to support the next batch of (in the illustrated embodiment) six fillets 16 to pass through the apparatus 15a. This may be achieved through any of a range of means, including but not limited to one or more electric motors, a latched spring arrangement, a hydraulic or pneumatic circuit or a combination of restoring means.

[0172] The purpose of transfer conveyor 47 is to convey the fillets 16 in the compartments 49 of the food tray 48 to a further part of the processing factory. Typically this would be a location where the fillets undergo processes as exemplified by one or more of Steps 4 - 8 of the typical processing method summarised above. In the illustrated embodiment the transfer conveyor 47 extends at an angle to, and in particular at right angles to, the longitudinal dimension of the last section 38d of the outfeed conveyor. However such an orientation of the transfer conveyor is chosen primarily in order to avoid creating an excessively long processing line, and it may not be required in at least some factories where there exists sufficient space for the transfer conveyor to continue in the same direction as the outfeed conveyor 38.

[0173] As an alternative to an elongate transfer conveyor 47 it is possible in alternative arrangements to provide a tray elevator that repeatedly presents trays 48 from below a filling level so that they underlie the loading device 46. Trays presented in this way once their compartments are filled with fillets as explained may be fed onto a further conveyor that conveys them to another part of the processing factory.

[0174] Each of the food processing trays 48 preferably includes a base member 51 defining an in-use upwardly facing surface; and a plurality of compartment walls 52 that extend upwardly from the upwardly facing surface, the tray including within the perimeter of the upwardly facing surface a series of compartments 49 that are each at least partly bounded by a respective pair of the plurality of compartment walls 52 and a portion of the upwardly facing surface, and that are open on an upper side for the placing therein of a food product to be processed in the tray 48. These features are illustrated in an empty try 48 that is partially visible at the right hand side of e.g. Figure 10.

[0175] The dimensions of the compartments 49 defined by such features are such as to constrain the fillets 16 laterally after they drop as described into the respective compartments. This maintains the folded nature of the fillets 16 and prevents deleterious settling / lateral movement that as explained can cause damage and / or inconsistent slice sizes when the fillets are subsequently sliced transversely.

[0176] As a further refinement the base member 51 includes formed passing therethrough a plurality of perforations 53 whereby the base member in the compartments is permeable to fluid. The perforations 53 preferably but not necessarily are formed in a regular pattern, that preferably extends over the whole area of the base member 51.

[0177] The upstanding walls of the food processing trays 48 in practical embodiments include outer peripheral walls that assist to define the compartments 49 and help to rigidify the trays 48. Features such as stacking notches and / or protuberances, gripping handle recesses, rigidifying ribs and weight-saving recesses or perforations may also be provided as features of the food processing trays 48. As explained in WO 2022262922 A a tray such as tray 48, especially if it is made from a food grade plastics material, offers significant advantages in terms of the economics of cold fish processing, component costs, lightness, hygiene and ease of cleaning. The apparatus 15, 15a of the invention integrates with such trays firstly by improving the efficiency and reliability with which folds in meat fillets, especially fish fillets, are formed; and moreover by (in the more extensive embodiments described herein) including a number of processing stages in which such folds are preserved and indeed reinforced. Such aspects of the invention further improve the effectiveness of the trays 48 by reducing the chance of fold variability.

[0178] The invention as disclosed for the avoidance of doubt extends to apparatus 15, 15a as described herein when including one or more food products such as but not limited to the illustrated fish meat fillets (especially cold-processed fish fillets 16) positioned for conveying on at least one of the conveyors described herein and / or in at least one food processing tray. Such a food processing tray preferably is, but need not be, as described herein.

[0179] When the meat fillet is a cold-processed fish fillet 16 preferably it is a cold-cured salmon fillet having a laterally disposed portion that is or includes the belly meat of the fillet.

[0180] The disclosure hereof also extends to methods of folding a meat or other food product. Such a method is described above in terms of operation of the various stages of the apparatuses 15, 15a. The claims hereof further define optional aspects of such a method.

[0181] The disclosure hereof yet further extends to a meat product that has been processed using apparatus as described herein or in accordance with a method as described herein. In particular such a meat product is a meat fillet having a laterally disposed meat portion that as a result of use of apparatus as described herein or practising of a method as described herein is folded under the remainder of the meat fillet.

[0182] In particular such a meat fillet may be a cold-processed fish fillet; and optionally the laterally disposed meat portion may be or may include a region of belly meat extending along a longitudinal edge of the fillet.

[0183] Overall the invention represents a significant improvement in meat processing, and in particular in the cold processing of fish meat. Among the benefits of the invention when processing fish meat is the ability entirely to dispense with the prior art gratings, and consequently the disadvantages of such gratings do not arise in use of the invention. As explained however the apparatus disclosed herein is useable to process a wide variety of meat products and its use is not limited to fish processing.

[0184] The apparatus as disclosed herein is of particular benefit when it is integrated with the use of food processing trays as described herein; although the use of such trays is not essential, as explained.

[0185] Such trays as explained in themselves significantly improve the efficiency, consistency, "carbon footprint" and economics of cold fish processing. Use of the trays in combination with apparatus as described herein is expected to confer very significant economic benefits in the production of cold-processed fish products. Such products typically are highly nutritious (and in particular proteinaceous) ones the carbon footprint and saturated fat levels of which can be low compared to other food types such as various types of land-farmed meat. By reason of the locations of fish processing factories cold-processed fish production moreover often provides employment in areas where there can be limited other opportunities to enjoy paid work. Development of processing factories including the apparatus as described herein therefore is likely to give rise to numerous benefits in terms of public health / dietary improvement, economic development and minimising the impact of carbon dioxide on the atmosphere.

[0186] In certain of the figures hereof white rectangles are included in order to obliterate irrelevant textual matter. The rectangles are not technically significant in any way.

[0187] The listing or discussion of an apparently prior-published document in this specification should not necessarily be taken as an acknowledgement that the document is part of the state of the art or is common general knowledge.

[0188] Preferences and options for a given aspect, feature or parameter of the invention should, unless the context indicates otherwise, be regarded as having been disclosed in combination with any and all preferences and options for all other aspects, features and parameters of the invention.

Claims

CLAIMS1. Apparatus for folding a food product comprising at least one conveyor for conveying a food product, that is to be folded, in a forward direction the apparatus including disposed opposite one another along the conveyor first and second upstanding or depending walls, the walls being spaced from one another in a common plane occupied by the conveyor and the first wall including or having secured thereto a folding element defining a curved wall portion that extends upwardly or downwardly and laterally inwardly relative to the conveyor such that a rear end of the folding element is spaced from the second wall by a distance greater than or approximately equal to the width of the conveyor and a forward end of the folding element is spaced from the second wall by a distance that is less than the width of a said food product whereby on conveying of a said food product forwardly using the conveyor the folding element engages a laterally disposed portion of the food product and folds it relative to the remainder of the food product.

2. Apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein the shape, location and dimensions of the folding element cause it to fold the laterally disposed portion under the remainder of the food product.

3. Apparatus optionally according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 comprising a plurality of conveyors each being for conveying one or more respective food product, that is to be folded, in a forward direction the apparatus including disposed opposite one another along each conveyor first and second upstanding or depending walls, the walls being spaced from one another in a common plane occupied by the conveyor and each first wall including or having secured thereto a folding element defining a curved wall portion that extends upwardly or downwardly and laterally inwardly relative to the associated conveyor such that a rear end of the folding element is spaced from the associated second wall by a distance greater than or approximately equal to the width of the associated conveyor and a forward end of the folding element is spaced from the said second wall by a distance that is less than the width of a said food product whereby on conveying of plural said food products forwardly using the conveyors the folding elements respectively engage a laterally disposed portion of a said food product and fold each said laterally disposed portion relative to the remainder of the food product of which it forms part.

4. Apparatus according to Claim 3 wherein the shapes, locations and dimensions of the folding elements cause them to fold respective laterally disposed portions under the remainders of the food products to which they are attached.

5. Apparatus according to Claim 3 or Claim 4 wherein the plurality of conveyors extend parallel to one another in the same horizontal plane and are spaced laterally from one another in the said plane.

6. Apparatus according to Claim 5 wherein the respective conveyors conveyingly connect to a common mass handling conveyor having a conveying surface whereby, after folding, the food products pass onto the mass handling conveyor for further forward conveying.

7. Apparatus according to Claim 6 wherein the mass handling conveyor includes upstanding or depending relative to its conveying surface two or more guide walls that guide one or more food products during conveying on the mass handling conveyor and that are shaped and / or positioned such that they constrain the lateral edges of the one or more food products such that the folding thereof is maintained.

8. Apparatus according to Claim 7 including a plurality of the guide walls that cause a corresponding plurality of food products being conveyed on the mass handling conveyor to become laterally closer to one another as they are conveyed forwardly.

9. Apparatus according to any of Claims 6 to 8 wherein the mass handling conveyor conveys the food products into a processing booth that further is capable of conveying the food products forwardly and in which processing of the fillets occurs.

10. Apparatus according to Claim 9 wherein the processing booth is selected from the list comprising a brine salting booth; a dry / granular salting booth; a marinating booth; a spicing booth; a sugaring booth; a washing booth; or a sterilising booth.

11. Apparatus according to Claim 9 or Claim 10 wherein the processing booth includes one or more processor conveyors for further conveying food products forwardly inside the processing booth and including a plurality of restraining walls that extend upwardly from or depend downwardly towards the plane of the processor conveyor to define a series of laterally adjacent processing booth conveying channels in which the food products are restrained at their lateral edges such that folding of the food products is maintained.

12. Apparatus according to any of Claims 9 to 11 wherein the apparatus includes one or more outfeed conveyor for conveying the food products forwardly following processing or transporting in the processing booth.

13. Apparatus according to Claim 12 wherein at least one said outfeed conveyor includes a plurality of restraining walls that extend upwardly from or depend downwardly towards the plane of the outfeed conveyor to define a series of laterally adjacent downstream conveying channels in which the food products are further conveyed forwardly while being restrained at their lateral edges such that folding of the food products is maintained.

14. Apparatus according to Claim 13 wherein one or more said downstream conveying channel includes a selectively closeable and openable gate that when closed arrests forward movement of a said food product in the conveying channel and when open permits further forward conveying of the said food product.

15. Apparatus according to Claim 14 wherein each said downstream conveying channel includes a said closeable and openable gate, the closeable and openable gates being aligned such that when they are closed the forward movements of a plurality of food products in the respective downstream conveying channels are arrested at the same location along the one or more outfeed conveyors.

16. Apparatus according to Claim 14 or Claim 15 including one or more control devices for controlling selective opening and closing of one or more said selectively closeable and openable gates.

17. Apparatus according to any of Claims 12 to 15 wherein the one or more outfeed conveyors conveyingly connects to a retractable plate that overlies a transfer conveyor, the transfer conveyor being for conveying one or more food processing trays under the retractable plate that is retractable away from a position overlying the transfer conveyor whereby one or more food products on the retractable plate may be deposited into a said food processing tray on the transfer conveyor.

18. Apparatus according to Claim 17 wherein the transfer conveyor extends at an angle to the longitudinal direction of the outfeed conveyor and especially at right angles to the longitudinal extent of the one or more outfeed conveyors.

19. Apparatus according to Claim 17 or Claim 18 including an indexing control device for controlling the transfer conveyor such that a plurality of respective said food processing trays is sequentially arrestable in a position underlying the one or more outfeed conveyors for a time period corresponding to arrival of one or more food products on the retractable plate and retraction of the retractable plate to deposit the one or more food products into a said food processing tray.

20. Apparatus according to any of Claims 17 to 19 including conveyed on the transfer conveyor one or more food processing tray, wherein the food processing tray comprises a base member defining an in-use upwardly facing surface; and a plurality of compartment walls that extend upwardly from the upwardly facing surface, the tray including within the perimeter of the upwardly facing surface a series of compartments that are each at least partly bounded by a respective pair of the plurality of compartment walls and a portion of the upwardly facing surface, and that are open on an upper side for the placing therein of a food product to be processed in the tray, wherein the base member includes formed passing therethrough a plurality of perforations whereby the base member in the compartments is permeable to fluid and the food processing tray being characterized in that the compartment walls are spaced from one another in each compartment by a lateral distance that is such as to maintain folding of the laterally disposed food product portion relative to the remainder of the food product of which it forms part.

21. Apparatus according to any preceding claim including one or more food products positioned for conveying on at least one said conveyor of the apparatus and / or in at least one food processing tray.

22. Apparatus according to Claim 21 wherein the one or more food products is or includes a fish fillet, especially a cold-cured salmon fillet, having a laterally disposed portion that is or includes the belly meat of the fillet.

23. Apparatus according to any preceding claim one or more respective conveyor of which is formed as an endless, flexible belt of a food hygiene material defining an upwardly facing conveying surface and that is supported on at least two rollers at least one of which is powered to rotate such that the belt may be caused to move and thereby convey one or more food products placed on the conveying surface.

24. Apparatus according to Claim 23 wherein at least one said upwardly facing conveying surface includes one or more features selected from the list includingprotruding ridges spaced from one another by recesses, dimples spaced from one another by lands, and / or protruding pips.

25. A method of folding a food product comprising the steps of placing at least one food product, including a laterally disposed portion extending along one side edge, on a conveyor of apparatus according to any preceding claim; and causing the conveyor to convey the food product forwardly so that the laterally disposed portion engages the folding element of at least one said first upstanding or depending wall and is folded relative to the remainder of the food product while at least one said second upstanding or depending wall laterally constrains the food product on the opposite side edge to that of the laterally extending portion.

26. A method according to Claim 25 wherein the laterally disposed portion is folded under the remainder of the food product.

27. A method according to Claim 25 or Claim 26 wherein the apparatus is according to Claim 3 or any preceding claim depending from Claim 3, and wherein the method includes respectively placing on the conveyors a plurality of food products corresponding in number to the number of conveyors; and causing the conveyors to convey the food products forwardly so that the laterally disposed portions each engage a respective folding element of a said first upstanding or depending wall and are folded relative to the remainders of the food products while a corresponding plurality of said second upstanding or depending walls laterally constrain the food products on the opposite side edges to those of the laterally extending portions.

28. A food product processed using apparatus according to any of Claims 1 to 24 or by a method according to any of Claims 25 to 27.

29. A food product according to Claim 28 wherein the food product is a meat fillet including a laterally disposed meat portion folded under the remainder of the meat fillet.

30. A meat product according to Claim 28 or Claim 29 when constituted as a cold- processed fish fillet.

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