GB2248010A

GB2248010A - Method and apparatus for the production of wrapped protein products such as sausages

Info

Publication number: GB2248010A
Application number: GB9020768A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Timothy John Mingay Treharne; Christopher Neville Wiggins; Jonathan Edward Gardam
Original assignee: APV Corp Ltd
Current assignee: SPX Flow Technology Crawley Ltd
Priority date: 1990-09-24
Filing date: 1990-09-24
Publication date: 1992-03-25
Also published as: GB9020768D0

Abstract

Protein products in the form of skinless sausages are produced by a moulder 1 and may then be set, and optionally smoked, by heating apparatus 2. The sausages are then fed by a conveyor 3 from the apparatus 2 to a collator 3 from which the sausages proceed on a conveyor 4 in ordered file to a vacuum-packing unit 5. The unit 5 comprises a pair of supply rolls 5, 7 of 'continuous' vacuum packaging material, between the resulting two layers of which the sausage portions are sealed, in well-known manner. The resulting bandolier-like band 8 of vacuum- packed sausages issuing from the unit 5 is then conveyed to a cooker 9 in which the band is conveyed around a tortuous path defined by a plurality of guide rollers within the cooker. From the cooker 9 the band 8 of now-cooked sausages proceeds directly to a cooler 10 in which the band is again conveyed around a tortuous path. On leaving the cooler 10 the band is driven to a separating unit 11 comprising an automatic guillotine arranged to cut along the connections between adjacent sealed packs but without destroying the integrity of the seals. <IMAGE>

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF WRAPPED PROTEIN PRODUCTS SUCH AS SAUSAGES This invention relates to an aseptic method and apparatus for the production of wrapped protein products, such as sausages, frankfurters, re-formed meats and meat balls which may be prepared from a meat paste or meat emulsion, or from meat-like products such as comminuted soya or wheat which can be re-textured to have meat-like properties.

The invention will be described, for convenience, in relation to skinless sausages but it should be appreciated that it is applicable to many other suitable protein products.

Skinless sausages ae conventionally cooked in cellulose casings and then cooled to typically 40 F prior to being peeled, collated and wrapped. Bacteria in the air will often come into contact with the cooled sausages prior to and during wrapping and, accordingly, sausages have a limited 'shelf-life' even when stored in a refrigerator.

According to one aspect of the invention a method of producing a cooked, wrapped protein product comprises vacuum packing the protein product and then cooking the packed protein product.

Some heat may be applied to the protein product before the packaging step, so as to set the product, and such prior heat may result in partial cooking of the product. However, as used herein, the term 'cooking' or 'cooking step' is intended to apply to a post-packaging stage wherein the product is wholly or mainly cooked, and not to a setting step.

Since the cooking step is performed after the product has been vacuum packed, any bacteria present on packing can be killed during the cooking step.

Preferably the packaging material used to produce the vacuum pack is supplied as a 'continuous' length, and the arrangement is such that a 'continuous' band of the sealed vacuum packs is produced, this band being conveyed through a cooker, thereby to convey the sausages through the cooker, the resulting band of cooked, packed sausages being separated into individual packs subsequent to the cooking step.

The cooking step will usually be followed by a cooling step, the packs being separated preferably after the cooling step. Thus the band is preferably also used to convey the sausages through a cooler.

Alternatively the continuous band may be cut pricr to the cooling step, a tray cooler then being used to cool the sausages.

According to a second aspect of the invention we provide apparatus for performing the method according to the first aspect of the invention, the apparatus comprising a vacuum packing assembly adapted to vacuum pack portions of a protein product so as to produce a band of interconnected vacuum packed units, a cooker, and means for conveying the band of packed units through the cooker, and a cooler adapted to receive the packed units issuing from the cooker.

The apparatus preferably comprises means for separating the individual vacuum packed and cooked units, whilst maintaining the integrity of their vacuum seal.

The separating means is preferably located after the cooler, but may possibly be positioned prior to the cooler.

A schematic layout of a production plant, in accordance with the invention, for producing wrapped skinless sausages is shown in the accompanying drawing, by way of example only, and will now be described briefly.

Skinless sausages are produced by a sausage moulder 1 which may advantageously operate in accordance with Patent No. GB 2,004,454.

The sausages may then be set, by the application of heat, and optionally smoked, within heating apparatus 2 of known type.

Alternatively, the setting and/or smoking of the sausages may take place in trough-like channels wherein the sausages are supported and conveyed by heat transfer fluid introduced into the channels by way of perforations formed in the channel bottoms. The fluid may comprise liquid smoke. After setting, and optionally smoking, the sausages are fed by a conventional conveyor 3 from the apparatus 2 to a collator 3 from which the sausages proceed on a conveyor 4 in ordered file to a vacuum packing unit 5.

The vacuum packing unit 5 will generally comprise a pair of supply rolls 6, 7 of 'continuous' vacuum packaging material, between the resulting two layers of which the sausage portions are sealed, in well-known manner. The resulting band 8 of vacuum-packed sausages issuing from the unit 5 is then conveyed to a cooker 9 in which the band is conveyed around a tortuous path defined by a plurality of guide rollers within the cooker, some or all of which are driven to drive the band.

The cooker 9, by the application of heat to the band 8 of vacuumpacked sausages, completes any partial cooking that may have taken place during the setting step.

From the cooker 9, the band 8 which resembles a bandolier, proceeds directly to a cooler 10 in which the band is again conveyed around a tortuous path.

On leaving the cooler the band 8 is driven to a separating unit 11 which may be a suitable automatic guillotine of known type arranged to cut along the connections between adjacent sealed packs but without destroying the integrity of the seals.

The packaging material of rolls 6, 7 may take various forms, as is well known. For example, the lower roll 6 may be a roll of sheet material suitable for moulding, in well known manner, into a series of trays. This moulding step is performed just before the sausages enter the trays, and then the sheet material from upper roll 7 is vacuum sealed to the trays.

Claims

1. A method of producing a cooked, wrapped protein product comprising vacuum packing the protein product and then cooking the packed protein product.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a setting step takes place prior to the vacuum-packing step.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the packaging material is of continuous length.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein a continuous band of sealed vacuum packs is produced, which band is conveyed through a cooker, whereby the protein product is cooked.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the band of cooked protein product is subsequently separated into individual packs.

6. The method of any one of claims 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein the protein cooking step is followed by a cooling step.

7. The method of claim 6, when dependent from claim 5 only, wherein the cooling step takes place prior to the separation step of said claim 5.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein a tray cooler is used to cool the protein product.

9. The method of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the protein product comprises sausages.

10. The method of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the sausages are smoked prior to the packaging step.

11. Protein product produced by the method claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. Apparatus for performing the method according to claim 1 and comprising a vacuum packing assembly adapted to vacuum pack portions of the protein product so as to produce a band of interconnected packs, a cooker, and means for conveying the band of packs through the cooker.

13. Apparatus as claimed in claim 12, provided with means for separating the packs of cooked units, whilst maintaining the integrity of their vacuum seal.

14. Apparatus as claimed in claim 12 or 13, provided with a cooler for receiving the packed units after cooking.

15. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 12, 13 or 14, provided with means for setting the protein product prior to the packaging step.

16. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 15, provided with means for smoking the protein product prior to the packaging step.

17. A method of producing protein products, substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

18. Apparatus for producing protein products, substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

19. Protein product produced by the method claimed in claim 14.