Meat+Poultry - April 2023 - 51

chicken. The chicken can be placed in a bag
within a box, and it is modified atmosphere
packed. After the bag is vacuumed and gas
flushed, typically with CO2, it is heat sealed.
Hodie specializes in value added and
portioned chicken. Back in December, the
company announced that it was expanding with
a new poultry processing facility in Georgia.
Marel supplies equipment to all sectors
of the poultry processing industry, from the
smallest to the largest, handling up to 15,000
broilers per hour, according to Larry Campbell,
vice president of sales, poultry, for Marel.
" The type of equipment supplied will
depend on the operations, which must be
automated. It is often tailor-made to meet
the local requirements and markets, " he said.
" Marel also supplies equipment for turkey and
waterfowl processors. "
Campbell said that co-packing is a natural
fit for the poultry industry, even more so than
other types of food processing, due to the
increasing number of further-processed poultry
products on offer. He said, " The advantage to
the company that developed the product is that
it remains the company's product, and it does
not have to invest in the people and equipment
to make it. "
Campbell also talked about the difficulties
in setting up an automated deboning line
for a poultry processor, where one did not
exist before.
" The pandemic forced everyone to be open
to change - a change like deboning breast
caps vs. traditional methods. Breast caps may
be a new idea in North America, but the rest
of the world has been doing it for more than
30 years, due to similar labor shortages that
North America is facing today, " he pointed out.
" We're committed to and strive to deliver the
automation that meets the needs of the everchanging
economic environment. "
Campbell described Marel's most popular
deboning equipment, such as the AMF-i, used
in breast cap deboning; the FHF-HB, fed with
front halves with wings or at least their inner
joints left on, which are called " footballs. " The
equipment is suited for all bird sizes, from
small to big, and processes poultry into a
variety of products, including butterflies, fillets,
tenders, and whole wings.
Marel's thigh fillet system harvests
retail quality cuts and uses unique boning
technologies. All is done automatically, in
line, without any human labor or manual
shackling. Campbell said vision and robotics
has improved deboning equipment.
" Software is gaining importance. Food
safety will play a central part in the future
of food processing. Inspection devices like
SensorX can be integrated on the line after
deboning. Using high-end cameras is another
new development that will ensure hygiene,
product integrity and food safety, while saving
labor, " he said.
FUNCTION AND FLEXIBILITY
According to Alex Pangilinan, a marketing
specialist at Baader in Kansas City, Kan., the
company's tools and equipment give poultry
processors the flexibility to process each bird
according to its individual characteristics for
optimal results. Complete factories, functional
areas, processing lines, and individual
machines are served by Baader equipment,
and through collaboration with the company's
poultry processing customers.
The company's Uniload Live Bird Handling
process begins at the farm, with a drawer
system for easy catching and transporting of
birds. There are two controlled atmosphere
stunning options, above or below ground,
based on customer preference.
The remainder of the slaughter line
includes scalding and picking, then a highspeed
evisceration line, including automatic
giblet harvesting. The birds are then sent to
Baader's clean air chill system, then sorted for
cut-up at the company's Premium Pro-Flex
Cut-Up Line, offering anatomical in-line wing
segmenting and thigh filleting. The company
also provides poultry evisceration and portion
cutting to the industry.
www.meatpoultry.com | 04.23 | MEAT+POULTRY
51
Marel supplies equipment
to all sectors of the
poultry industry with
flexible systems capable
of handling up to 15,000
birds per hour.
http://www.meatpoultry.com
Meat+Poultry - April 2023

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