MEAT, FISH & POULTRY
Cut it your way: technology
creating an infinite number of cutting options
The huge volumes of chicken fillet needed to satisfy global demand go way beyond doing the job at home by hand. In high volume processing plants, intelligence has now become a truly indispensable aid in the automatic production of breast fillets. Factories need solutions that combine hardware and software in imaginative ways and can really think for themselves to make the best of each individual fillet. This means the optimum use of raw material, truly minimal giveaway and maximum profit.
Here’s some frequently asked questions
weight, resulting in avoidable and unwanted
about high-volume chicken fillet
giveaway. Portioning fillets to a uniform size
portioning.
and weight is an excellent solution to this
Q
How do consumers want their fillets?
problem. Intelligent equipment and making use of smart software will calculate how each fillet can be portioned most effectively
Most people eat their breast meat
to give the best possible use of raw material,
products either at home or in a restaurant.
reducing any giveaway to a minimum and
In both cases, their choice will depend
maximising yield.
on family size and taste. This could be for fillets, tenderloins, medallions, strips, nuggets or cubes, each with its own detailed specification. Products should look and
Q
How to make more of offcuts?
Trim is an inevitable by-product of portioning.
weigh the same and it should be possible to
You will always have offcuts, however small.
produce them in large volumes. Only high-
These are from top quality muscle meat and
speed intelligent portioning equipment can
can be used to maximum effect in value-
achieve this. These systems should have dual
added further processed products. To realise
lanes and it should be easy to change from one
their full potential, even the smallest pieces
portioning option to another.
must be managed efficiently. It may sound obvious, but the best way to do this is to
Q
How to cut a large chicken breast?
automatically separate trim from the main product in a controlled way, so that both
Broilers are becoming heavier with their
proceed on separate conveyor systems to
large breast fillets becoming increasingly
their next destination in the process. In
difficult to accommodate on retail tray packs.
this way, valuable off-cuts don’t end up as
These packs often have a fixed weight and
a bulk low value item. Their own dedicated
a fixed price. Heavier fillets, however, make
processing line upgrades them to high-quality
it more difficult to hit the required pack
poultry meat.
The Marel I-Cut 122 TrimSort cutting chicken
Q
How to make portion cuts look natural?
Good presentation is important too. Trimmed breast fillet should look natural and like it has not been trimmed at all. This means cutting with a slanting fillet edge. When cutting medallions, strips, nuggets or cubes, it is particularly important that all portions look identical and weigh exactly the same. Modern portion cutters work extremely precisely and produce identical naturallooking cuts. It is even possible to adjust the angle of cut. This natural look no longer has to result in costly giveaway. Today, portioning is a fast process, where every gram counts.
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October 2021 | FOOD RE VIEW
