Oven apparatus and method for cooking a whole meat food product with an uncooked initial stage
The oven apparatus uses scanner data to predict effective maximum thickness based on fiber orientation, ensuring accurate cooking to a minimum core temperature, reducing overcooking and weight loss.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2024565174
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2022-05-13
- Filing Date
- 2023-05-10
- Publication Date
- 2025-07-09
AI Technical Summary
Existing oven systems struggle to accurately ensure a minimum final core temperature in cooked whole muscle meat products without overcooking, leading to safety risks and reduced yield due to the variability in food thickness and fiber orientation.
An oven apparatus and method that uses a scanner to acquire both food thickness and fiber orientation data, predicting the effective maximum thickness through a prediction module, and adjusts conveying speed and oven environment to achieve a minimum final core temperature while minimizing safety margins.
Ensures precise cooking of whole muscle meat products to a minimum final core temperature, reducing overcooking and weight loss, thus optimizing yield and oven efficiency.
Smart Images
Figure 2025521373000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to an oven device and method for cooking a meat food product that is initially uncooked and entirely muscle to obtain a cooked food product having a minimum final core temperature.
Background Art
[0002] In the food industry, it is known to cook products that are entirely muscle, such as chicken breast meat, as a whole in an oven housing. Obtaining a cooked food product having a minimum final core temperature is of utmost importance for food safety in the food processing industry. For example, chicken is required to have a minimum core temperature of at least 80°C. In practice, the core temperature is measured with a needle probe in samples of the manufactured product.
[0003] It is well known that the performance of the oven housing is greatly affected by the thickness of the food. The food thickness can vary, for example, from individual to individual or from lot to lot. When undercooked or underprocessed food is detected as it exits the oven housing, this is usually addressed by a person manually adjusting the processing settings.
[0004] From EP2935056, a heat treatment and control system including a heat treatment station for receiving food conveyed on a conveyor system is known. A first scan station is arranged upstream of the heat treatment station to scan the food conveyed by the conveyor. The method includes modeling the heat treatment system by considering the thickness of the food entering the food treatment station. If the modeling result indicates that the measured temperature of the food exiting the heat treatment station exceeds the desired temperature range, the control system adjusts the processing parameters of the heat treatment system or recommends adjusting the processing parameters of the heat treatment system.
[0005] EP2935056 discloses controlling the conveyor speed and the oven environment using the maximum thickness of the food obtained from a scanner device to obtain a cooked food product.
[0006] There is a safety risk associated with inappropriate, i.e., undercooked, food, so the controller includes a safety margin to ensure that all of the resulting cooked products have a minimum final core temperature.
[0007] In the food industry, it is common to sample cooked products. If judged undercooked, a batch of the product may be rejected. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved oven apparatus and method in which a reduced safety margin is applied while ensuring that a cooked product having a minimum final core temperature, i.e., the food is fully cooked.
[0009] This prevents the food from being overcooked, dry and / or unappealing food, and a reduction in the weight of the food, thus effectively preventing a decrease in yield and contributing to the optimization of the use of the oven apparatus, resulting in, for example, a low oven temperature and / or a shortened oven time.
[0010] This object is achieved by an oven apparatus for cooking a whole muscle meat food product that is initially uncooked, to obtain a cooked product having a minimum final core temperature, the oven apparatus comprising an oven housing having an oven environment device, a conveyor for receiving an uncooked food product and conveying the food through the oven housing at a conveying speed to obtain a cooked food product, a scanner device provided upstream of the oven housing for scanning the uncooked food product and configured to acquire food thickness data of the food, a controller for controlling the conveying speed and the oven environment device using the maximum food thickness obtained from the scanner device to obtain a cooked product, and The scanner device is further configured to obtain fiber orientation data of the whole muscle food, A prediction module is provided, and the prediction module is configured to receive both the food thickness data and the fiber orientation data, and is configured to predict the effective maximum thickness of the food resulting from fiber denaturation occurring in the initial cooking stage in the oven based on the fiber orientation data and the food thickness data. The controller uses the effective maximum thickness of the food obtained from the prediction module to control the conveying speed and the oven environment device.
[0011] This object is also achieved by a method of cooking an uncooked whole muscle meat food to obtain a cooked product having a final core temperature, the method comprising: scanning the uncooked food upstream of the oven housing to obtain food thickness data and fiber orientation data; predicting the effective maximum thickness of the food based on the food thickness data and the fiber orientation data; using the effective maximum thickness of the food to control cooking parameters such as cooking time and oven environment to obtain a food having a minimum final core temperature. including the steps of.
[0012] The oven device and method for cooking a whole muscle meat food according to the present invention have improved accuracy.
[0013] The present invention is based on the insight that fiber denaturation and collagen shrinkage mainly occur in the initial cooking stage when cooking a whole muscle meat food, resulting in a significant change in the dimensions of the food. Therefore, the shape of the final cooked product is linked to the shape of the raw uncooked product with a muscle structure having fiber orientation.
[0014] The maximum change in shape occurs between 30% and 40% of the denaturation process, which is at the start of the cooking time and is generally experienced to be between 15% and 40% of the cooking time. Thereafter, the food has an outer layer of denatured meat while most of the cooking is still taking place. This shape change depends on the fiber orientation and generally the fibers contract. This generally results in a decrease in the length and width and an increase in the height of the fillet. At this stage, a preliminary stable shape of the food, i.e., a shape close to the final product, is obtained, which is significantly different from the uncooked shape of the food. In particular, the height of this preliminary stable shape is higher than that of the uncooked product. During the subsequent cooking time, while uniform shrinkage of the food occurs to reach the cooked product, the preliminary stable shape (shape close to the final product) is essentially maintained.
[0015] Due to the fiber orientation being specific to each product, there is no direct relationship between the food thickness data of the food obtained by the scanner device and the height of the food in this preliminary stable shape. Therefore, a controller using the maximum thickness of the food needs to include a safety margin to compensate for this non-direct relationship.
[0016] The present invention provides a prediction module configured to receive both food thickness data and fiber orientation data and to predict the effective maximum thickness of the food resulting from fiber denaturation occurring during the initial cooking stage based on the fiber orientation data and the food thickness data.
[0017] Insight into the influence of fiber orientation on the effective maximum thickness of the food further reveals that this effective maximum thickness of the food is an important factor for modeling the final core temperature. The distance of heat transport towards the core, which is determined by the shape of the product, particularly the thickness, is important for the final core temperature. Considering the fiber orientation and the effective maximum thickness of the food results in improved accuracy. As a result, while ensuring that a cooked product with a minimum final core temperature is obtained, the required safety margin is reduced.
[0018] The present invention is based on the insight that fiber orientation is obtained. Therefore, foods suitable for cooking in the oven device of the present invention must have a scannable fiber orientation. This is possible for raw foods including frozen foods.
[0019] Muscular meats such as beef, pork, chicken, and fish are suitable for the food. It is also conceivable that bound meat is cooked in the oven device of the present invention according to the method of the present invention, and the present invention is based on the insight that fiber orientation is used to determine the effective maximum thickness of the food. Therefore, the present invention can also be applied to foods capable of obtaining fiber orientation and bound meat products having a plurality of zones.
[0020] Generally, the present invention is not applicable to foods without visible fiber orientation, such as foods with skin or coating, or pre-cooked foods.
[0021] The oven device includes an oven housing having an oven environment device. The oven housing may have one or more oven zones. In an embodiment, the oven housing is a so-called spiral oven, and the conveying path is a spiral path. Possibly, the oven device has a double spiral. The present invention is also applicable to ovens having a tunnel housing.
[0022] Advantageously, the food is cooked with conditioned air. Preferably, the oven device uses conditioned air to cook the food. The oven environment is set by parameters affecting the conditioned air. Preferably, the conditioned air flows through the oven housing at a certain air velocity with a certain air flow. In an embodiment, air conditioning means are provided for adjusting the air flow, particularly the air temperature, moisture content, and dew point temperature.
[0023] Therefore, an exemplary oven environment device is a device for setting the air flow, air temperature, moisture content, and dew point temperature.
[0024] The oven device has a conveyor for receiving uncooked food and conveying the food at a conveying speed through the oven housing in order to obtain a cooked food. The conveyor conveys along a conveying path.
[0025] It is also conceivable that the conveyor extends outside the oven housing and a scanner device scans the uncooked food on the conveyor. In an embodiment, a supply conveyor is provided adjacent to the conveyor for conveying the product through the oven housing. The scanner device can scan the uncooked food on this supply conveyor.
[0026] A controller known in the art uses the maximum food thickness acquired from the scanner device to control the conveying speed and the oven environment in order to obtain a cooked product.
[0027] The controller models the core temperature of the product exiting the oven housing based on the food thickness. Based on this prediction of the core temperature, the conveying speed and the oven environment are controlled and in particular adjusted to ensure that a desired minimum final core temperature is obtained for all products exiting the oven housing.
[0028] Actually, the conveying speed determines the residence time of the product in the oven housing. Thus, the conveying speed indicates the cooking time. In an embodiment without a conveyor, the controller may control the cooking time.
[0029] The oven device has a scanner device provided upstream of the oven housing for scanning the uncooked food, and the scanner device is configured to acquire food thickness data of the food. The scanner device of the present invention is further configured to acquire fiber orientation data of the food that is entirely muscle.
[0030] The scanner device according to the present invention preferably has one or more laser scanners. Such laser scanners are generally used to measure the thickness of a product.
[0031] The scanner device acquires both the thickness and the fiber array. These data may be acquired after a process that requires following the scanner with the food or memorizing and labeling the food. If the scan is performed in a later process, it is conceivable that only the fiber orientation of the thickest product will be acquired.
[0032] It is also conceivable that not all raw foods are scanned, but only a selected sample of foods are scanned. In particular, relatively thick foods may be selected and scanned because they potentially have the maximum effective thickness of the food.
[0033] In an advantageous embodiment, the scanner device is further configured to simultaneously obtain food thickness data of the food and fiber orientation data of a food that is entirely muscle.
[0034] In an embodiment, the scanner device has a plurality of scanners for scanning raw foods.
[0035] To obtain fiber orientation data of a food that is entirely muscle, the scanner device includes an optical camera. It is known in the art that the pattern of light scattering recorded by transmission or backscattering, i.e., the spatial distribution of the reflectance of light on the surface of the fibrous product, contains information about the internal structure of the meat. This method visualizes the degree of fiber formation and fiber orientation. There is a diffusing wave spectrometer for the expansion of light scattering, and products with strong scattering can be measured. It is also conceivable that near-infrared reflection is used to analyze the fiber orientation of raw meat.
[0036] In a preferred embodiment, the scanner device includes a 3D laser scanner such as a QC scanner commercially available under the name MS2920 quality scanner by the applicant and an optical camera. Preferably, a laser triangulation 3D scanner using a laser beam and a camera is used, and the deformation of the laser beam on the object is analyzed by triangulation calculation.
[0037] The scanner device is provided upstream of the oven housing, for example, along the upstream end of the conveyor transport path. The arrangement upstream of the oven housing enables sufficient control of the transport speed and the oven environment. Generally, since controlling the oven environment requires adjustment time, providing the scanner at a further upstream position may be advantageous from the perspective of sufficient control of the oven parameters.
[0038] In an embodiment, the scanner device is further configured to obtain the food temperature before entering the oven housing, and this food temperature is also sent to the prediction module for predicting the effective maximum thickness of the food. Additionally or alternatively, the scanner device is configured to obtain further food data such as heating history (frying, boiling) and (salt) treatment, etc., and these data are sent to the prediction module for predicting the effective maximum thickness of the food.
[0039] According to the present invention, both food thickness data and fiber orientation data are sent, and a prediction module is provided that is configured to predict the effective maximum thickness of the food resulting from fiber modification occurring during the initial cooking stage in the oven based on the fiber orientation data and the food thickness data.
[0040] With this effective maximum thickness of the food, the controller can model the minimum final core temperature, and thus can control the transport speed and the oven environment device to obtain a cooked product having the minimum final core temperature.
[0041] In fact, the computing capacities of the controller and the prediction module can be integrated.
[0042] In an embodiment, the prediction module predicts only the effective maximum thickness of the food for the thickest food. It is conceivable that the prediction of the effective maximum thickness of the food is calculated only for the thickest food, that is, the fiber orientation is obtained for all products, but is used only for the selected products for predicting the effective maximum thickness of the food. This is advantageous from the perspective of computing capacity.
[0043] The prediction module may have a database and / or an algorithm for predicting the effective maximum thickness of the food.
[0044] Advantageously, the prediction module is specific to the product in that different modules are used for different types of food, such as chicken breast fillets, chicken legs, fish fillets, pork tenderloin, beef steaks, etc. Thus, not only the animal from which the meat is derived but also the type of meat is considered. In an embodiment, it may also be considered to take into account the slaughter process used to obtain meat that is entirely muscle.
[0045] In an embodiment, the scanner device according to the present invention also has a (digital) optical recognition device that captures a series of images for the purpose of food recognition. The acquired data can be used to (automatically) provide a prediction module specialized for the type of food.
[0046] In an embodiment, the prediction module also takes into account the set points of the oven environment, such as temperature and / or dew point. The effective maximum thickness of the food is determined more accurately when the oven environment is taken into account. The dew point has been confirmed to have a great influence on the total change in shape, the rate of increase in height, i.e., the rate of increase in thickness, of the meat, especially chicken breast fillets, and the rate of decrease in length and width. A higher dew point changes the shape of the chicken breast fillet faster and more significantly.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0047] The present invention will be further described in relation to the drawings.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Mode for Carrying Out the Invention
[0048] In FIG. 1, an uncooked chicken breast meat 1, which is entirely muscle, is shown from above. At the upper part of the illustrated breast meat, the fiber orientation generally extends across the width of the breast meat as represented by the line Fu. The fiber orientation at the lower part of the illustrated breast meat generally extends along the length of the breast meat as represented by the line Fb.
[0049] This is a very rough generalization of chicken breast meat. The illustrated fiber orientations Fu and Fb are overly simplified representations of the fibers. However, considering the (background) function of the muscle for flying, the muscle and fibers at the upper part of the breast meat generally extend across the width of the breast meat, and the fibers at the lower part extend along the length.
[0050] What is referred to as the "upper part" having the above fiber orientation Fu actually varies between 20% and 40% of the total length of the breast meat. The "lower part" having the fiber orientation Fb actually varies between 60% and 80% of the length of the breast meat.
[0051] The thickest part of the breast meat is at the upper part. This part contracts in width, and as a result, bulges in the height direction, increasing the thickness of the food.
[0052] This can be understood from the data shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, which represent the relationship between the changes in height, weight, length, and width of a number of chicken breast meats and the heating time. The experimental conditions were the same, and the breast meats were cooked in an oven housing at a temperature of 160°C, a dew point of 84°C, and an air velocity of 2.8 m / s. The minimum final core temperature of the breast meat is 80°C. This minimum final core temperature is reached after cooking in the oven housing for about 20 minutes. The data was obtained for 8 breast meats with an uncooked weight of 145 - 153 grams.
[0053] From FIG. 2, it is understood that the height, i.e., the food thickness, increases significantly during the initial cooking time, increasing by approximately 50% from ~22 mm to ~30 mm. This increase in height occurs at the start of the cooking time. Most of the increase in height occurs within the first 4 - 5 minutes of the 20 - minute cooking time. Thereafter, the height does not change significantly. Some shrinkage occurs, but the magnitude is on the order of only 1 - 2 mm, i.e., on the order of 10%.
[0054] From FIG. 3, it is understood that the weight of the chicken breast meat decreases during cooking. This is an essentially linear decrease. This is not due to the loss of moisture from the breast meat, but rather explains that due to fiber orientation, changes in the initial shape occur during cooking.
[0055] From FIG. 4, it is understood that the length of the chicken breast meat decreases during cooking. On average, most of the decrease in length occurs at the start of the cooking time, within the first 4 - 5 minutes of the 20 - minute cooking time. Even thereafter, the length continues to decrease. The results obtained from these 8 breast meat samples show a trend.
[0056] From FIG. 5, it is understood that the width of the chicken breast meat decreases during cooking. The results obtained from these 8 breast meat samples show a trend.
[0057] The shrinkage behavior of the breast meat across its length and width is clearly less uniform than the change in thickness.
[0058] At the top of FIG. 6, two exemplary raw chicken breast meats having the same food thicknesses H0 and H’0 are shown. In prior art oven devices, the scanner acquires the same food thickness data H0 and H’0 for both breast meats. In the prior art, since the data from the scanner is the same, this same height is sent to the controller, and the controller controls the conveyor speed and the oven environment in the same manner for both breast meats.
[0059] At the bottom of FIG. 6, the effect of fiber orientation is schematically shown. The swelling of the left breast meat is different from that of the right breast meat. In particular, it can be seen that the effective maximum thickness of the food of the left breast meat is smaller than that of the right breast meat. According to the present invention, these separate effective maximum thicknesses of the food are sent to the controller. The controller uses the maximum effective thickness of the food, thus 1.35H’0, to control the conveyor speed and the oven environment device.
Claims
1. An oven device for cooking a meat food product (1) that is initially uncooked and entirely muscle to obtain a cooked product having a minimum final core temperature, said oven device comprising: an oven housing having an oven environment device; a conveyor for receiving the uncooked food and conveying the food at a conveying speed through the oven housing to obtain a cooked food; a scanner device provided upstream of the oven housing for scanning the uncooked food and configured to acquire food thickness data of the food; a controller for controlling the conveying speed and the oven environment device using the maximum food thickness acquired from the scanner device to obtain the cooked product; characterized in that: the scanner device is further configured to acquire fiber orientation data of the food that is entirely muscle; a prediction module is provided, the prediction module being adapted to receive both the food thickness data and the fiber orientation data, and being configured to predict an effective maximum thickness of the food resulting from fiber denaturation occurring during an initial cooking stage in the oven based on the fiber orientation data and the food thickness data; the controller controls the conveying speed and the oven environment device using the effective maximum thickness of the food acquired from the prediction module.
2. The scanner device is further configured to simultaneously acquire the food thickness data of the food and the fiber orientation data of the food that is entirely muscle, The oven device according to claim 1.
3. The scanner device includes a 3D laser scanner and an optical camera, and laser triangulation is used to acquire the fiber orientation data, The oven device according to claim 1 or 2.
4. The scanner device is further configured to acquire the food temperature before the food enters the oven housing, and the food temperature is also sent to the prediction module to predict the effective maximum thickness of the food, The oven device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
5. The prediction module predicts only the effective maximum thickness of the thickest food, The oven device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
6. The prediction module also takes into account set points of the oven environment, such as temperature and / or dew point. The oven device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
7. The controlled oven environment device is capable of controlling air flow, air temperature, moisture content and / or dew point temperature. The oven device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
8. The scanner device scans the uncooked food on the conveyor. The oven device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.
9. A method of cooking a meat food product that is initially uncooked and entirely muscle to obtain a cooked product having a minimum final core temperature, preferably using the oven device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, the method comprising: Scanning the uncooked food upstream of the oven housing to obtain food thickness data and fiber orientation data; Predicting the effective maximum thickness of the food based on the food thickness data and the fiber orientation data; Controlling cooking parameters such as cooking time and oven environment using the effective maximum thickness of the food to obtain a food having the minimum final core temperature. A method comprising the steps of.
10. An oven housing having an oven environment device; A conveyor for receiving uncooked food and conveying the food at a conveying speed through the oven housing to obtain a cooked food; A scanner device provided upstream of the oven housing for scanning the uncooked food and configured to obtain food thickness data of the food and further configured to obtain fiber orientation data of the food that is entirely muscle; Both the food thickness data and the fiber orientation data are sent, and it is configured to predict the effective maximum thickness of the food resulting from fiber modification occurring in the initial cooking stage in the oven based on the fiber orientation data and the food thickness data. A prediction module; A controller that controls the conveying speed and the oven environment device using the effective maximum thickness of the food obtained from the prediction module to obtain the cooked product. An oven device comprising is used. The method includes: Scanning the uncooked food upstream of the oven housing to obtain food thickness data and fiber orientation data and sending these data to the prediction module; Predicting the effective maximum thickness of the food based on the food thickness data and the fiber orientation data; To obtain the food product having the final core temperature, the controller uses the effective maximum thickness of the food product to control the conveying speed and the oven environment. Conveying the food product through the oven housing including the step of The method according to claim 9.