U.S. patent application number 11/540205 was filed with the patent office on 2007-02-01 for method of preserving meat of slaughtered poultry or parts thereof.
Invention is credited to Andries Moret, Adrianus Josephes van den Nieuwelaar.
Application Number | 20070026115 11/540205 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 19774257 |
Filed Date | 2007-02-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070026115 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
van den Nieuwelaar; Adrianus
Josephes ; et al. |
February 1, 2007 |
Method of preserving meat of slaughtered poultry or parts
thereof
Abstract
In a method of chilling slaughtered poultry or parts thereof,
the poultry is conveyed through a chilling room, or at least
through a part of said chilling room, and in the process is exposed
to a stream of chilling air. During the chilling of the poultry the
skin of the poultry is moistened. The skin of the poultry is
moistened by spraying it with water in a spray area that is
separated from the stream of chilling air.
Inventors: |
van den Nieuwelaar; Adrianus
Josephes; (Gemert, NL) ; Moret; Andries;
(Dordrecht, NL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
JOHN S. PRATT, ESQ;KILPATRICK STOCKTON, LLP
1100 PEACHTREE STREET
ATLANTA
GA
30309
US
|
Family ID: |
19774257 |
Appl. No.: |
11/540205 |
Filed: |
September 28, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10840214 |
May 5, 2004 |
7128937 |
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11540205 |
Sep 28, 2006 |
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PCT/NL02/00704 |
Nov 5, 2002 |
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10840214 |
May 5, 2004 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
426/326 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A23B 4/30 20130101; A23B
4/062 20130101; A23B 4/16 20130101; A23B 4/064 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
426/326 |
International
Class: |
A23B 4/20 20060101
A23B004/20 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 5, 2001 |
NL |
1019298 |
Claims
1. A method of preserving slaughtered poultry or parts thereof
provided with skin, in which the poultry is conveyed through at
least a part of a chilling room, and in the process is exposed to a
stream of chilling air, during this exposure of the poultry or
parts thereof to the chilling air at least the skin of the poultry
or parts thereof being moistened by atomization of water, wherein
at least one of a disinfectant and antibacterial agent is added to
the water.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This is a Continuation Patent Application of PCT/NL02/00104,
filed on Nov. 5, 2002, which claims priority to Netherlands Patent
Application No. 1019298 filed on Nov. 5, 2001.
[0002] The present invention relates in general to the preservation
of meat, in particular by chilling slaughtered poultry or parts
thereof as an element in the processing and preservation process of
slaughtered poultry in a slaughterhouse.
[0003] During such a processing and preservation process
slaughtered poultry undergoes a number of steps that are usual in
the slaughterhouse, such as stunning, killing, plucking, hanging
and so forth. On arrival in the slaughterhouse, the poultry is hung
up by the legs in product carriers, which are interconnected by a
chain and are moved along by means of a conveyor. In a subsequent
step the poultry is stunned, and possibly subsequently killed, by
electrical or mechanical means, or by means of a suitable stunning
gas. The carotid artery of the poultry is then severed, so that the
poultry bleeds dry. A subsequent step in the processing process is
the scalding of the poultry. During this step the poultry is
prepared for the subsequent step of plucking, in the course of
which the feathers are removed. In a subsequent step it is usual
for the carcass of the poultry to be opened near the cloaca and for
the viscera to be removed through the opening that has been made in
the abdominal cavity. At this point the poultry is not yet ideal
for consumption. First of all, the meat has to undergo a hanging
period. During the hanging of the meat, it is given the opportunity
to go through the cooling and firming process. Were the hanging
period to be skipped and an immediate start were made on boning of
the carcass, the muscles would stiffen after being detached from
the bone, and a very tough end product would result.
[0004] During the hanging process the slaughtered poultry undergoes
a chilling operation, in which the poultry is conveyed through a
chilling room. The purpose of chilling the poultry is to preserve
the fresh meat of the poultry by reducing the temperature of the
meat as early as possible in the processing process and maintaining
it at a low level.
[0005] The chilling process in a poultry slaughterhouse is carried
out in a number of different ways. Known variants are air chilling,
water bath chilling or immersion chilling and spray chilling. In
the case of air chilling the poultry to be chilled is, generally
speaking, processed completely dry. The poultry is exposed to a
stream of chilled air, and the heat of the poultry is released into
the air. In the case of immersion chilling and spray chilling the
poultry to be chilled is processed wet. In this case the poultry is
immersed in a water bath or sprayed with a large quantity of water
respectively.
[0006] It is also possible to use a combination of these variants.
Which combination is the most suitable depends, inter alia, on the
desired end result (fresh product, deep frozen product) and/or the
preceding process in the slaughterhouse.
[0007] A variant used in practice is chilling the poultry by means
of spray chilling combined with air chilling, sprayers being
disposed in the chilling room in order to moisten the poultry.
[0008] Chilling slaughtered poultry in such a way is known from,
for example, Dutch Patent Application NL-8800567, which has been
laid open for inspection. This publication discloses a method and a
device for chilling slaughtered poultry, in which one of the
chilling methods used constitutes chilling of the poultry with
chilled air combined with spraying it with chilled water. The known
method also comprises a second chilling phase with air cooling
alone, in which the poultry, and in particular the skin of the
poultry, is left dry, so that the end product is dry. The known
chilling process has a number of disadvantages.
[0009] A first disadvantage is connected with the scalding of the
poultry earlier in the processing process. When a so-called high
scalding process is used on the slaughtered poultry, in the case of
which the poultry is scalded for a certain period of time at a
temperature of around 55.degree. C. or more, the epidermis of the
skin of the poultry has largely disappeared. When such a highly
scalded bird is chilled by means of air chilling, moisture will be
drawn from the bird and the skin will dry. The result of the drying
of the skin is that the latter becomes water-repellent.
Furthermore, discoloration of the skin occurs, which is undesirable
from the point of view of presentation. In addition, chilling with
air has the disadvantage that an uneven moisture distribution
occurs in the bird. The fact is that some parts of the bird dry
more quickly than other parts, such as the thick parts, and an
unbalanced distribution of moisture therefore occurs in the
bird.
[0010] Another disadvantage of the combined spray chilling and air
chilling, as described, for example, in the document VEERKAMP, C.
"Evaporative Air Chilling of Sub-scald Poultry", Poultry
International, Part 20, No. 1, 1981, hereinafter called Veerkamp,
is that an additional quantity of moisture is introduced into the
chilling room. In order to obtain good moistening of the poultry,
the chilled water is atomized in the direction of the poultry. The
size of the droplets is kept as small as possible, in order to be
able to guarantee good moistening of the poultry. In the chilling
room there is, however, an air stream that entrains a
(considerable) part of the atomized water and distributes it in the
chilling room, so that the humidity in the chilling room will
increase. The increase in the air humidity in the chilling room
will contribute in an adverse way towards more rapid and greater
frosting of that part of the evaporators of the chilling plant that
is located in the chilling room, than the frosting that occurs when
no air chilling at all is used. With the aid of fans, chilling air
is blown over the evaporators, which are very cold, in particular
having a temperature that is below the freezing point of water.
This means that water will immediately freeze on the evaporators
(frosting). This therefore matters in particular when chilling air
temperatures below freezing point are used, in which case
additional defrosting capacity has to be provided for the
evaporators.
[0011] A direct consequence of this is also that a relatively large
quantity of water will be needed to spray the poultry completely,
because a considerable part of the atomized water will go into the
chilled air stream in the case of the process described above. A
further consequence of it is that a considerable amount of
evaporation of the atomized water will occur in the stream of
chilling air, which adversely affects the degree of chilling that
can be achieved.
[0012] It is an object of the present invention to provide an
improved method of chilling slaughtered poultry, in the case of
which the abovementioned disadvantages are eliminated or at least
reduced, or at the very least to provide an alternative to the
known method of chilling slaughtered poultry.
[0013] This object is achieved by a method according to claim 1, in
which the poultry is conveyed through a chilling room, or at least
through a part of said chilling room. During the conveyance the
poultry is exposed to a stream of chilling air. During this
exposure of the poultry or parts thereof to the chilling air, at
least the skin of the poultry or parts thereof is moistened by
atomization of water. At least a disinfectant and/or antibacterial
agent is added to the water for moistening the poultry, so that the
growth of bacteria is inhibited. Besides, with the method according
to the invention, only a small quantity of a disinfectant and/or
antibacterial agent is needed because, on the one hand, little
water is needed for moistening the poultry and, on the other hand,
the concentration of the agent will increase in the water film as
the water film evaporates. This means that during the evaporation
of the water film on the skin of the poultry an increasingly better
effect is obtained from the disinfectant and/or antibacterial
agent.
[0014] The moistening of the poultry may be carried out when the
poultry or parts thereof is/are separated from the stream of
chilling air.
[0015] A very focused spraying of the poultry is achieved by the
method, and in particular it has the great advantage that no water
in atomized form is introduced into the chilling room, where it is
spread through the chilling room and can precipitate in the form of
frost on the evaporators. Certainly, where chilling air at a
temperature below freezing point is used, this will be very
advantageous, if only from the point of view that no additional
defrosting capacity will be needed for the evaporators. Moreover,
it is possible to work at a lower air temperature than is the case
with the known method, so that there can be more rapid and deeper
chilling.
[0016] Another important advantage that can be achieved by the
method according to the invention is that, because of the fact that
less or no atomized water goes into the stream of chilling air,
there is no adverse effect on the degree of chilling through
evaporation of atomized water in the stream of chilling air, and
that it is possible to achieve lower chilling temperatures than
those achieved by conventional chilling methods such as described,
for example, in Veerkamp. Lower chilling temperatures in turn
result in shorter chilling times, and therefore smaller chilling
rooms, which leads to a considerable cost saving and time gain in
the processing process.
[0017] In addition, hardly any water will drip off the poultry
during its conveyance. This means that the poultry or the parts
thereof can very advantageously be conveyed at different levels
(viewed in the vertical direction) in the actual chilling room
without water dripping onto birds below, with the result that
optimum use can be made of the volume of the chilling room.
Furthermore, this considerably reduces the risk of the birds
contaminating one another.
[0018] In a very advantageous embodiment of the method, during the
moistening of the poultry a water film is applied to the skin,
substantially covering the entire skin of the poultry, and is
maintained during the exposure to the chilling air. This means,
inter alia, that the surface of the skin of the poultry does not
become dry during the time it remains in the chilling room, and
that no undesirable discoloration occurs. Furthermore, it is
ensured that thick parts of the poultry, which have a greater heat
content than thin parts of the poultry, cannot dry sooner than the
thin parts. The removal of heat from thick parts of a carcass of a
slaughtered bird will be a slower process than the removal of heat
from a thinner part of the bird, on account of the slower transfer
of heat through the thicker part. The thick parts of the poultry
will consequently still have a higher temperature than the thin
parts, so that, as a result of a greater difference in vapour
tension between the moisture in a thick part and the moisture in
the environment, more moisture will evaporate from a thick part
than from a thin part. This effect can now be counteracted by
keeping the surface of the skin moistened. An uneven distribution
of moisture in the poultry can therefore be prevented in this
way.
[0019] It is also ensured in this way that each part of the poultry
to be chilled is subjected to the chilling in the same way, and the
risk of, for example, frozen thin parts (at temperatures below
freezing point) is prevented.
[0020] Maintaining the water film also has the advantageous effect
that no moisture can be drawn from the poultry by direct
evaporation from it. The moisture of the water film will evaporate
instead of the moisture present in the meat.
[0021] According to another preferred embodiment of the method,
poultry is conveyed hanging by both legs at least during its
moistening. This ensures that for each slaughtered bird a specific
and substantially identical positioning is achieved relative to the
spray elements provided in the spray-station.
[0022] According to a further feature of the method that can be
used advantageously, in the case of poultry with an abdominal
cavity the surface of the abdominal cavity of the poultry is also
moistened by applying a water film to it. This achieves very
focused and rapid cooling down of the poultry, and the poultry also
reaches a predetermined temperature more quickly, while a more
uniform temperature distribution is achieved in the poultry during
its chilling. In addition, owing to the more uniform temperature
distribution in the poultry during the chilling process, the
chilling process can be regulated on the basis of a preset
"average" temperature of the bird. Apart from that, the more
uniform temperature distribution can prevent too rapid and/or too
deep a cooling down of the outside of the slaughtered bird from
occurring, which would have the risk of frozen wings and the like.
The rapid and uniform cooling down of the poultry means that rapid
control is gained over the growth of microorganisms in the
meat.
[0023] According to a further feature of the method that can be
used advantageously, the poultry or parts thereof is/are moistened
periodically during the chilling. As a result of this, there can be
a saving on the quantity of chilled water needed. Furthermore,
owing to the periodic application of the water film to the skin,
the water film can be kept as thin as possible, and as little water
as possible is used.
[0024] A further feature of the method that can be used
advantageously is based on the insight of periodic moistening being
carried out with a time interval of approximately 3 to 15 minutes.
This produces rapid renewal of the water film and consequently a
rapid change in the conditions for the microorganisms in the water
film. Such rapid changes in the conditions ensure that the
microorganisms cannot adapt sufficiently quickly to the new and
constantly changing conditions in the water film. A normal period
in which a microorganism adapts to a new environment, the so-called
lag phase, is approximately 20 minutes. A time interval of
approximately 3 to 15 minutes in this respect is sufficiently short
to prevent adaptation. It has also been found that in the case of
small poultry such a time interval is suitable for maintaining the
water film. This therefore has an advantageous inhibiting action on
the growth of the microorganisms, and the meat acquires a longer
shelf life. In addition, the temperature of the water film will
increase slightly as it becomes thinner, with the result that the
environment of microorganisms present in the water film will
constantly change, and said organisms will have no--or at any rate
less--chance of adapting to the changing environmental conditions
and will multiply less, or at any rate less quickly.
[0025] According to a further feature of the method, the time
interval increases during the conveyance of the poultry. Since the
temperature of the poultry decreases as its chilling advances, the
water film on the surface of the skin will evaporate increasingly
less fast, and the time interval can be increased without the risk
of disappearance, or local disappearance, of the water film
here.
[0026] According to a further feature of the method, the water is
electrostatically charged during its atomization, so that the water
film can be applied to and maintained on the surface of the skin
with even greater accuracy and with further reduced water
consumption. The electrostatically charged water is attracted by
the uncharged or oppositely charged carcass and therefore results
in better moistening of the poultry.
[0027] According to a preferred embodiment of the method according
to the invention, during the chilling the colour and/or colour
change of the skin of the poultry or the parts thereof is assessed,
and on the basis of that assessment the poultry is moistened or
not. The assessment in this case can be performed by a person or,
for example, by an image processing system.
[0028] During the chilling, the poultry absorbs some of the water
film in the skin, so that the skin colour changes. By additional
spraying, for example, additional water can be absorbed and the
colour of the product thereby positively affected.
[0029] It may happen during the processing of the poultry in the
slaughterhouse that before the abovementioned method is carried out
the surface of the skin of the poultry has become completely or
partially dry. In order to be able to carry out the abovementioned
method successfully, it is advantageous for the surface of the skin
to be fully moistened and for a water film that is applied to it
not to disappear. In order to achieve this, in an advantageous
variant of the method according to the invention, prior to the
chilling of the poultry, said poultry is immersed in a bath of
chilled water and/or sprayed liberally with chilled water. This
restores the water film destroyed in a previous process.
[0030] The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the
present invention will be explained in greater detail by the
description that follows of the method according to the present
invention on the basis of a preferred embodiment of a device for
carrying out the method, with reference to the drawing, in which
the same reference numerals indicate the same parts, and in
which:
[0031] FIG. 1 shows a top view of a part of a device for carrying
out the method according to the invention;
[0032] FIG. 2 shows an elevational view in perspective of a spray
station for use in the device of FIG. 1;
[0033] FIG. 3 shows an elevational view in perspective of the spray
station of FIG. 2 with nozzles for moistening the abdominal cavity,
and
[0034] FIG. 4 shows an elevational view in perspective of a spray
station according to FIG. 2 or 3 with a cover plate.
[0035] FIG. 1 shows a device for chilling slaughtered poultry,
indicated in its entirety by the reference numeral 1. At a transfer
station 10 the slaughtered poultry is transferred from a processing
device (not shown in any further detail) upstream and hung in
product carriers, which product carriers are interconnected and
fitted in a movable manner in the conveyor 20. From the transfer
station 10 the poultry is moved in a direction indicated by
direction arrows along the course of the conveyor 20 to a first
spray station S1. In the spray station S1 the poultry is sprayed
with chilled water and conveyed further to an intermediate area 30
by way of an entrance 31. In the figure, in addition to the
intermediate area 30, a first chilling room 32 and a second
chilling room 33 are provided, in which chilling rooms the conveyor
20 follows its course in a serpentine manner. In this way the
slaughtered poultry completes a zigzag path through the chilling
rooms 32, 33, and the best possible use is made of the available
space. The slaughtered poultry first passes through the first
chilling room 32 and subsequently passes through the second
chilling room 33.
[0036] Evaporators (not shown) of a chilling plant are situated in
the chilling rooms 32, 33, which evaporators together with fans
(not shown) blow a stream of chilled air over the slaughtered
poultry.
[0037] Various spray stations S2-S15 (Sn) are situated in the
intermediate area 30 at several places along the course of the
conveyor 20. In the various spray stations the poultry is moistened
by applying a water film to it by atomization of water with
suitable spraying elements. The application of the water film to
the poultry will be described in greater detail with reference to
FIGS. 2-5. As can be seen clearly in the figure, the intermediate
area 30 is screened off from the first chilling room 32 and the
second chilling room 33 by two walls 34 and 35 respectively.
Passage apertures are provided in the walls 34, 35, so that at a
number of points along the conveyor 20 said apertures can extend
into the intermediate area 30, so that the spray stations Sn can be
reached. The walls 34, 35 ensure that the air stream in the
chilling rooms 32, 33 will not, or at any rate will barely, be
perceptible in the intermediate area 30. This achieves the great
advantage compared with known devices that the application of the
water film is carried out in a part of the chilling room 32, 33
separated from the stream of chilling air, so that no additional
water in atomized form is introduced into the chilling room 32, 33
and would be spread through the chilling room 32, 33 by the air
stream, so that it could precipitate on the evaporators.
[0038] In the event of chilling air at a temperature below freezing
point being used, this can certainly have adverse effects, such as
excessive frosting on the evaporators of the chilling plant(s). By
avoiding extra moisture in the chilling rooms 32, 33, it is ensured
that less defrosting capacity is needed (for defrosting the
evaporators), which produces a cheaper and simpler device.
Furthermore, compared with devices in which water is sprayed in the
chilling rooms, it is now possible to work at a lower air
temperature, so that there can be more rapid and deeper
chilling.
[0039] In the event of chilling air at a temperature below freezing
point being used, this will certainly be very advantageous if only
for the reason that no additional defrosting capacity will be
needed. Furthermore, compared with the known method, it is possible
to work at a lower air temperature, so that there can be more rapid
and deeper chilling. Another major advantage achieved with the
method according to the invention is that less or no atomized water
goes into the stream of chilling air, so that there is therefore no
adverse effect on the degree of chilling as a result of the
evaporation of atomized water in the stream of chilling air, and
that it is possible to achieve lower chilling temperatures than is
the case by conventional spray chilling methods. Lower chilling
temperatures in turn result in short chilling times and therefore
smaller chilling rooms, which produces a considerable cost saving
and time gain in the processing process. Examples that can be given
here are chilling air temperatures that lie below 3.degree. C., and
in particular even below 0.degree. C., for example -2.degree. C.
This produces a considerably improved chilling process compared
with the methods known in practice, for example Veerkamp, in which
a combination of air chilling and moistening of the poultry leads
to chilling air temperatures that cannot be lower than
approximately 4.degree. C. to approximately 6.degree. C. In
particular, by the Veerkamp method it is not possible to chill to
the extent that the poultry or parts thereof is/are cooled down to
the abovementioned air temperatures, which is actually possible by
the method according to the invention, and is used in a preferred
embodiment of the method.
[0040] It should be pointed out that the number of spray stations
Sn is not restricted to the number shown in the figure, but can be
adapted depending on the circumstances and requirements.
[0041] As an alternative, the spray stations Sn are provided along
the course of the conveyor 20 in such a way that on leaving the
chilling room 30 the poultry will actually have a dry skin surface.
This produces an end product with the highest possible weight. It
is also indicated in the figure that the spray stations Sn comprise
a casing or wall 50 in which the actual application of the water
film is carried out. Placing the spray elements in the casing 50
produces an even better screening-off of the chilling air, and it
is even possible to dispense with the walls 34, 35 and place the
spray stations Sn directly in the chilling rooms 32, 33.
[0042] In a preferred embodiment of the method according to the
invention, the application of a water film to at least the skin of
the slaughtered poultry is controlled on the basis of an evaluation
of the colour and/or colour change of its skin. During the time
that the poultry stays in the chilling rooms 32, 33, it can happen
that the colour of the skin changes too much from the desired
(uniform) colour. On the basis of the abovementioned evaluation, a
decision can be taken to spray the poultry in one of the spray
stations Sn and to moisten the surface of the skin. Sensors 40-42
are advantageously provided along the course of the conveyor 20,
for the purpose of making the evaluation. The sensors 40-42 are
connected to a control device (not shown in any further detail),
which is designed to control spray stations Sn situated
downstream.
[0043] It is also possible for the slaughtered poultry not to be
made to pass through the entire chilling stage, but for the poultry
to be removed from the chilling room 32, 33 at an earlier point at
a part 20a of the conveyor 20, which is shown by broken lines in
FIG. 1. In this way, it can be decided to remove moist poultry from
the chilling stage, instead of poultry that is in fact dry at the
end of chilling stage. An additional passage aperture 31a is
provided for this purpose.
[0044] A bacteriostatic and/or a bactericidal agent may
advantageously be added to the water used to spray the poultry, in
order to inhibit the growth of bacteria. Such an agent can be, for
example, a disinfectant. It is also possible to add, for example,
lactic acid to the water to be used, in order to acidify the water,
so that the water film is an acid environment for bacteria present
in it. In this connection, it is advantageous to incorporate
sensors along the course of the conveyor, which sensors measure the
concentration of the disinfectant, and on the basis of that
measurement it can be decided whether or not to apply such a
disinfectant to the poultry.
[0045] In a variant of the device 1 for carrying out the method
according to the invention that is not shown in any further detail,
the time interval and/or distance between two successive spray
stations Sn, Sm can be adapted to the specific features of and/or
ultimate requirements of the poultry.
[0046] In a further preferred embodiment of the method according to
the invention, other features of the poultry apart from the colour,
such as the weight, quality and the like, are determined and
recorded in evaluation stations designed for that purpose. In
addition, in the case of each slaughtered bird the number of the
product carrier in which the bird is situated, the belt number, the
position number, the destination in the slaughterhouse and so forth
are determined and stored in the control device. On the basis of
this information, it is possible to control the processing process,
and in the present case the chilling process of the poultry.
[0047] A further possibility for controlling the processing process
of slaughtered poultry can be offered with such a control system if
the temperature of the individual birds during the chilling stage
is also measured and stored in the control device. So it is
possible, for example, to remove certain birds prematurely from the
line or to make them change route because these birds can, for
example, be better processed at a different temperature. In this
way, it is possible to make an even further breakdown into product
properties.
[0048] A detailed illustration of one of the spray stations Sn from
FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 2. For the sake of clarity, the spray
station is indicated by the reference numeral 100. The spray
station 100 has a spray area 101, which is enclosed by a wall 50,
which is open at the top in order to admit pipes for supplying
water to nozzles 70. In the figure the wall 50 is partially cut
away in order to make the figure clearer. The poultry 21 is moved,
hanging by both legs in product carriers 75, along the conveyor 20
in a direction indicated by arrow A. As can be seen clearly in the
figure, the conveyor 20 passes a wall 34 that forms a division
between the chilling room 32 and the area 30 in which the spray
station 100 is situated. The wall 34 ensures that the stream of
chilling air circulated in the chilling room 32 cannot go near the
spray area 101 of the spray station 100. The wall 50 of the spray
station 100 here provides an even further improved screening-off of
the spray area 101 relative to the chilling air.
[0049] By means of the nozzles 70, a quantity of chilled water 80
is atomized and sprayed onto the surface of the poultry 21. In
order to moisten the entire external surface of the poultry 21, so
that a water film is provided on it, it is advantageous to hang the
individual birds by both legs in the product carriers 75 and to
ensure during the conveyance along the conveyor 20 that the
orientation of the poultry 21 relative to the conveyor 20 does not
change. In this way the poultry 21 passes the various nozzles 70 in
such a way that each part of the skin of the poultry 21 can be
reached by the atomized water 80. The nozzles 70 preferably produce
a conical jet and/or mist of water.
[0050] FIG. 3 shows a variant of the spray station 100, in which,
apart from the skin of the poultry 21, its abdominal cavity is also
moistened with the aid of tilting nozzles 71. The nozzles 71 are
fitted on a rotatably driven central shaft 91, so that the nozzles
71 can move along with the poultry 21 during its movement along the
conveyor 20. The tilting of the nozzles 71 from and to an inserted
position of said nozzles is indicated by means of a double arrow
72.
[0051] In order to obtain an even further improved screening-off of
the spray area 101, it is possible, as shown in FIG. 4, to shut off
the top of the spray area 101 by means of a cover plate 102. For
the sake of simplicity of the illustration, the pipes 60 and
nozzles 70, 71 are not shown. The cover plate 102 is preferably
provided just below the conveyor 20, so that the water 80 from the
nozzles 70, 71 is prevented as far as possible from going onto the
pulleys 22 of the conveyor 20. In this way it can be ensured that
moisture is prevented from being conveyed by means of the pulleys
22 to the chilling room 32 and, in addition, the running surface of
the conveyor 20 along which the pulleys 22 roll is prevented from
becoming soiled.
[0052] On its underside 103 the spray station 100 is provided with
an outlet 104 for discharging any excess water.
[0053] The moistening of the poultry 21 can be carried out by means
of nozzles 70, 71 known in practice, which nozzles apply a conical
mist of water (droplets) to the surface of the skin of the poultry
21, but other ways of moistening the surface of the skin of the
poultry 21 are also possible. It is important for the entire
surface of the skin of the poultry 21 to remain moistened during
its stay in the chilling room 32 by maintaining a water film on the
skin.
[0054] In this way the invention provides an improved chilling
process for chilling moistened poultry, by means of which process
chilling can be carried out with a stream of chilled air at a
considerably lower temperature than is possible in the case of
known chilling processes for chilling moistened poultry. This is
achieved by the invention by applying a water film to at least the
entire external surface of a bird in a part of a chilling room
where no--or at least hardly any--circulation of chilling air
occurs. This means that a water film can still be applied in a very
focused way and with a small quantity of water to the bird to be
chilled, enclosing the entire bird, without atomized water being
entrained in the strongly circulating stream of chilling air. The
result is that the method according to the invention does not
suffer the adverse effect of greater frosting on the evaporators of
the chilling plants, and there are no undesirable evaporation
phenomena of the atomized water that is entrained in the stream of
chilling air. Furthermore, owing to the lower percentage of water
in the chilling air, it is possible to work with air at a lower
temperature.
[0055] In addition, it is ensured with the method according to the
invention that the surface of the skin of slaughtered poultry
remains moistened during the chilling process, or at any rate
during the last phase of said process, while at the end of the
chilling stage the surface of the skin is precisely dry. The fact
that the skin is kept moistened has the advantage that no moisture
loss, and thus no weight loss, will occur in the poultry.
Furthermore, no brown discoloration of the skin will occur, and the
skin is prevented from becoming water-repellent. Besides, the
distribution of the moisture in the poultry is more uniform, and
the skin also has a more even colour.
[0056] The scope of the present invention is not limited to the
embodiments described above, but various changes and modifications
of the invention are possible without departing from the scope of
protection of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
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