EP0944328A1

EP0944328A1 - Installation and method for treating carcasses

Info

Publication number: EP0944328A1
Application number: EP97943033A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Christian Bouyer
Original assignee: MBH Technologies
Current assignee: MBH Technologies
Priority date: 1996-10-03
Filing date: 1997-10-01
Publication date: 1999-09-29
Also published as: PL332606A1; HUP9904028A2; HUP9904028A3; FR2754147B1; WO1998014066A1; FR2754147A1

Abstract

The invention concerns an installation for treating carcasses so as to reduce the bacterial flora. This installation is characterised in that it comprises at least one chamber (4) inside which said carcasses (3) to be treated pass, at least one gas stream (8) generator (5) for generating inside said chamber (4) at least a stream of hot fluid gas, preferably hot air, preferably directed at the carcasses to be treated so as to generate a quick heating on the surface of said carcasses and means (6) for evacuating at least part of the generated stream of hot fluid gas. The invention is useful for the cutaneous treatment of chicken carcasses.

Description

Plant and method for processing carcasses

The present invention relates to an installation and a method for the treatment of carcasses, in particular the cutaneous treatment of poultry carcasses, with a view to reducing the bacterial flora.

The presence of a significant bacterial flora, possibly pathogenic, on the surface of the skin of poultry, such as chickens, turkeys or ducks, is one of the causes of food poisoning during the consumption of these poultry. Indeed, the skin, due to its exposure to the environment, is generally very contaminated. To reduce the bacterial flora of these poultry, it has therefore already been envisaged to sterilize the skin of said poultry. One such example of a method for treating the skin of poultry carcasses is described in particular in patent FR-A-2,534. 54. This treatment, which is directly inspired by the treatments used to eliminate poultry bristles after plucking, comprises in combination an operation for injecting dry ice at approximately -80 ° C. inside the carcass and a flaming operation. . These two operations are used in combination due to the fact that the inventors of this process believe that the flaming operation risks causing the carcass to heat up, therefore stimulating the growth of interior germs if it has not previously been injected with dry ice inside of said carcass.

However, the inventors of the present invention have found that the operation of flaming or burning the skin of poultry carcasses has various drawbacks. The buckling operation generally carried out using burner ramps consists in licking the external surface of the carcasses by means of a flame. These treatments are generally carried out continuously, said carcasses being brought to pass inside the burning chamber. This is why, in the case of stopping the rest of the chain for treating said carcasses, the carcasses are then immobilized inside said buckling enclosure, thus risking, in the case of a stay too long in the inside said enclosure, to cause a fire. In addition, the burning operation is often difficult to control with regard to its implementation and therefore often generates occasional burns at the skin of said carcasses. It then becomes difficult to commercially develop these carcasses because of their appearance. Finally, burning or buckling generates on the surface of the skin of said carcasses the formation of substances toxic to the consumer, in particular benzo-pyrene.

The object of the present invention is therefore to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks by proposing a process for treating poultry carcasses that is less traumatic than those known to date, which does not induce the formation of toxic products on the treated surfaces, and very simple Implementation. Another object of the present invention is to provide an installation for treating poultry carcasses without risk for operators having to intervene with said installation, with a high yield compared to existing installations due to its possibility of reusing energy. implemented during treatment and can be installed in any location due to its possibility of being used with any energy source.

To this end, the subject of the invention is an installation for the treatment of carcasses, in particular the skin treatment of poultry carcasses, with a view to reducing the bacterial flora, characterized in that it comprises at least one enclosure inside which transit said carcasses to be treated, at least one flow generator for producing inside said enclosure at least one flow of hot gaseous fluid, preferably hot air, preferably directed towards the carcasses to be treated so as to generate rapid and superficial heating of said carcasses and means for evacuating at least part of the flow of hot gaseous fluid generated.

The subject of the invention is also a method of treatment, preferably continuously, of carcasses, in particular poultry carcasses, with a view to a cutaneous treatment of said carcasses to reduce their bacterial flora, in particular by means of an installation above, characterized in that it comprises at least one step of exposing the carcasses to at least one stream of a hot gaseous fluid for a time sufficient to obtain rapid and superficial heating of said carcasses.

The invention will be clearly understood on reading the following description of an exemplary embodiment, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows an overall perspective view of an embodiment of an installation according to the invention;

FIG. 2 represents a partial schematic sectional view of the interior of an installation in accordance with FIG. 1 and

FIG. 3 represents a partial schematic view in section of a variant of the installation shown in FIG. 2.

The subject of the invention is an installation and a method for treating carcasses, and more particularly the skin treatment of poultry carcasses 3, such as chickens, hens, turkeys, ducks, so as to reduce the bacterial flora present on the skin of these carcasses. This treatment therefore generally takes place after a plucking operation of the poultry and evisceration of this same poultry. These operations will not be described below because they are well known to those versed in this art.

Thus, the plucked and eviscerated poultry carcass can then be exposed to at least one stream of a hot gaseous fluid for a time sufficient to obtain rapid and superficial heating of said carcass. This flow of hot gaseous fluid generally consists of a flow of hot air. The flow of hot gaseous fluid produced preferably reaches a temperature above 500 ° C. Likewise, the time of exposure of the carcasses to the flow of hot gaseous fluid, as a function of the speed of movement of the carcasses, is preferably of the order of a few seconds. It is therefore a particularly rapid treatment.

Exposure of the carcass surface, particularly the skin, to this flow of hot gaseous fluid results in a reduction in the number of bacteria present on the surface of this skin. However, to maintain this effect of the exposure of the carcass to a flow of hot gaseous fluid, it is preferable thereafter to cool said carcass, this cooling being able to be carried out by soaking and / or bleeding said carcass.

The advantage of cooling the carcass after exposure of the carcass to a flow of hot gaseous fluid is to reduce the bacterial activity. We also note, thanks to the characteristics of the decontamination treatment, namely the use of a flow of hot gaseous fluid, in particular hot air to decontaminate the skin of said carcass, a reduction in the time required for bleeding.

In fact, the hot air brought to the surface of the skin of said poultry carcasses 3 causes the skin to dry out or, in other words, to reduce the activity of the water (aω) so that the bleeding time, which also consists in trapping particles of water on the surface of said carcass, can be reduced. We also know that a high aω contributes greatly to the development of a bacterial flora.

As a consequence of the above, a carcass treatment method, of the type described above, will comprise, upstream of the step of exposing said carcasses to a flow of hot gaseous fluid, at least one plucking step and an evisceration step. Obviously, once the cooling step has been carried out, the poultry carcass will be treated according to conventional operations which may consist of possible operations of cutting, grinding and packaging of said poultry carcasses 3. Consequently, downstream of said step for cooling poultry carcasses 3, this process may include at least one packaging step of said whole or cut poultry carcasses 3.

A large number of installations can be developed to allow the implementation of such a method for treating poultry carcasses 3. An example of an installation is described below.

This installation comprises at least one enclosure 4 inside which transit said carcasses to be treated, at least one flow generator 5 for producing inside said enclosure 4 at least one flow of hot gaseous fluid, preferably of the hot air, generally oriented or directed towards the carcasses 3 to be treated so as to generate rapid and superficial heating of said carcasses 3 and means for evacuating at least part of the flow of hot gaseous fluid generated.

The enclosure 4 can have a large number of shapes. In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, it consists of two generally parallelepipedal casings, of trapezoidal section arranged 1 'next to one another so as to generate between them a through passage. The size of the enclosure delimited by means of these casings will depend on the type of poultry to be treated and, in the case of continuous treatment of these poultry carcasses 3, on the speed of travel of said carcases 3 inside. of enclosure 4. These dimensions may also be a function of the temperature of the flow of hot gaseous fluid generated and of the flow rate of this flow of fluid inside enclosure 4. All these parameters will mainly influence the length of said enclosure 4 determining the residence time of said poultry carcasses 3 inside the enclosure 4.

This enclosure 4 further comprises at least one opening 12 for introducing poultry carcasses 3 inside the enclosure 4 and is equipped with a device for transporting the carcasses 3 inside the enclosure 4 along a trajectory of general shape, preferably rectilinear to allow continuous treatment of said carcasses 3 generally transported in the suspended state. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the through passage formed between said casings also makes it possible to delimit both an opening 12 for introducing poultry carcasses 3 inside the enclosure 4 and an outlet opening 13 carcasses of the enclosure 4, these openings 12, 13 being formed substantially opposite. It is therefore possible to obtain a trajectory and an axis XX ′ for the movement of poultry 3 inside the enclosure 4 which is substantially rectilinear.

In one embodiment of the invention, it would also be possible to choose a scrolling path for the carcasses 3 inside the enclosure 4 curved so that the opening for introducing poultry carcasses 3 to 1 'interior of said enclosure 4 would also serve as an outlet opening for said poultry. The advantage of an enclosure configuration 4, such as that shown in FIG. 1, makes it possible to treat in a single pass the entire surface of the poultry carcass 3, as will be described below.

The carcass transport device 3 inside the enclosure 4 consists of an overhead conveyor 1 fitted with suspension members 2 for the poultry carcasses 3, such as hooks, the assembly allowing the carcasses to pass through. 3 hooked by the legs through said enclosure 4. To perfect the treatment and in particular ensure optimal exposure of said carcasses 3 to the flow of hot gaseous fluid generated, the enclosure 4 comprises means 9 or 10 for guiding the suspension members 2 of said carcasses 3 during their movement inside the enclosure 4. Depending on the type of hook 2 used, the guide means can, in accordance with FIG. 2, consist of at least two sections 9 delimiting between them a guide path inside which move said suspension members 2 of the carcasses 3, this guide path undulating on either side of an axis XX 'which would correspond to a rectilinear movement of said carcasses 3 to the interior of the enclosure 4 so as to impart a rotational movement to said poultry carcasses 3. This is only possible thanks to the fact that the suspension members 2 have, over part of their length, an articulation.

In another embodiment of the guide means shown in FIG. 3, the guide means consist of at least two guide portions 10 which are elongated, preferably parallel, along the outer edges of which the suspension members 2 move. of said carcases 3, two successive suspension members 2 being positioned, one along the first, the other along the second, of said guide portions 10, by means of a distributor member 11, such as a crenellated wheel, the operating cycle of which is adapted to the pitch and the running speed of said carcases 3, this distributor member 11 being positioned upstream of said guide means 10. This embodiment will be more particularly retained when the hooks 2 are only capable of oscillating on either side of a vertical plane passing through the axis of the conveyor 1 or passing through the axis of travel of said carcasses 3.

The flow of hot gaseous fluid used for treating the skin of said poultry carcasses 3 is produced from at least one generator 5. This generator 5 can be placed inside or outside the enclosure 4. In the example shown in the figures, two generators 5 are provided arranged outside the enclosure 4 and connected to the latter by means of appropriate pipes. These generators 5 of hot gaseous fluid flow, in particular hot air, consist of means for producing a flow of gaseous fluid and means for heating this flow. The heating means can operate by means of electrical energy or any other energy such as gas. These heating means can for example be constituted by gas burners, electric heaters, etc. Such an installation therefore has greater independence from known buckling installations where the only source of energy that can be used was gas. .

To give maximum efficiency to this installation, there are also provided, inside the enclosure 4, means 7 for distributing the flow of hot gaseous fluid generated in the form of flow 8 so as to ensure that the the entire surface of the poultry carcass can be treated by said flow 8.

These means for distributing the flow 7 of hot gaseous fluid inside the enclosure 4 can have a large number of shapes. In the example shown in the figures, these means for distributing the flow of hot gaseous fluid inside the enclosure 4 affect the shape of at least one box disposed inside the enclosure 4, this box comprising at least one wall provided with openings for projecting the flow 8 towards said carcases 3 to be treated. In the example shown in FIG. 2, two boxes have been provided arranged inside the enclosure 4 and substantially parallel to the vertical longitudinal walls of said enclosure 4. These boxes are placed on either side of the 'axis XX' of scrolling of the carcasses. One of the walls of this box consists, for example, of a perforated sheet allowing the projection of the flow brought inside said box thanks to a connection of this box with the generator 5 of flow of hot gaseous fluid in the form of a series of flows 8 inside the enclosure 4. These openings can be simple openings or alternatively openings shaped so as to orient the flow 8 in a predetermined direction. Likewise, these openings can optionally be fitted with injectors.

To perfect the installation and make it adaptable to the treatment of any type of poultry, and this, independently of the operating rhythm of the chain, it is preferable that the generator 5 of hot gaseous fluid flow includes regulation means. flow rate and / or flow temperature. By acting on these parameters, it is also possible to reduce the time of exposure of the carcasses to the flow of hot gaseous fluid by acting in particular on the speed of movement of the carcasses inside said enclosure 4.

Due to the absence of a gas in combustion in contact with the surface of the skin to be treated and even if the temperature of the gaseous fluid flow is relatively high, this temperature preferably being slightly higher than 500 °, risks of see traces of burns on the surface of the skin are excluded.

Finally, to increase the efficiency of such an installation, the generator 5 of the flow of hot gaseous fluid and means of evacuation 6 of the flow outside the enclosure 4 are interconnected, generally by at least one tubing 14, so as to allow at least partial recycling of said hot gaseous fluid generated, thereby generating energy savings. Generally, the means 6 for evacuating the flow of hot gaseous fluid outside the enclosure 4 are constituted by a chimney, such as an extraction chimney.

To ensure identical treatment of the carcasses independently of the side of the treated carcasses, the means for distributing the flow 7 of hot gaseous fluid inside the enclosure 4 are preferably located equidistant from the carcasses traveling inside the pregnant 4.

Claims

1. Installation for the treatment of carcasses, in particular the skin treatment of poultry carcasses (3), with a view to reducing the bacterial flora, characterized in that it comprises at least one enclosure (4) at the inside which transit said carcasses (3) to be treated, at least one flow generator (5) (8) to produce inside said enclosure (4) at least one flow of hot gaseous fluid, preferably hot air, preferably directed towards the carcasses (3) to be treated so as to generate rapid and superficial heating of said carcasses (6) and means (6) for evacuating at least part of the flow of hot gaseous fluid generated.

2. Installation for the treatment of carcasses according to claim 1, characterized in that the enclosure (4), comprising at least one opening (12) for introducing poultry carcasses (3) inside said enclosure ( 4), is equipped with a device for transporting the carcasses (3) inside the enclosure (4) along a trajectory of general shape, preferably rectilinear to allow continuous treatment of said carcasses (3) generally transported in the suspended state.

3. Installation for the treatment of carcasses according to claim 2, characterized in that the carcass transport device (3) inside the enclosure (4) consists of an overhead conveyor (1) equipped with suspension members (2) of the carcasses (3), such as hooks, the assembly allowing the carcasses (3) to be scrolled hung by the legs through the said enclosure (4).

4. Installation for the treatment of carcasses according to one of claims 2 or 3, characterized in that the enclosure (4) comprises means (9, 10) for guiding the suspension members (2) of said carcasses (3) during their movement inside the enclosure (4) so ensuring optimum exposure of said carcasses (3) to the stream (s) of hot gaseous fluid (s) generated.

5. Installation for the treatment of carcasses according to claim 4, characterized in that the guide means consist of at least two profiles (9) delimiting between them a guide path inside which move said suspension members (2) carcasses (3), this undulating guide path on either side of an axis (XX ¹ ) which would correspond to a rectilinear movement of said carcasses (3) inside the enclosure (4) so as to impart a rotational movement to said poultry carcasses (3).

6. Installation for the treatment of carcasses according to claim 4, characterized in that the guide means consist of at least two guide portions (10) elongated, preferably parallel, along the outer edges of which the organs move of suspension (2) of said carcasses (3), two successive suspension members (2) being positioned, one along the first, the other along the second of said guide portions (10), by means of '' a distributor member (11), such as a castellated wheel, whose operating cycle is adapted to the pitch and the running speed of said carcasses (3), this distributor member (11) being positioned upstream of said guide means (10).

7. Installation for the treatment of carcasses according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the enclosure (4) is equipped with means for distributing (7) the flow of hot gaseous fluid in the form of a flow (8) inside said enclosure (4).

8. Installation for the treatment of carcasses according to claim 7, characterized in that the distribution means (7) of the flow of hot gaseous fluid inside the enclosure (4) affect the shape of at least one box disposed inside the enclosure (4), this box comprising at least one wall provided with openings for the projection of flux (8) in the direction of said carcasses to be treated (3).

9. Installation for the treatment of carcasses according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the generator (5) of hot gaseous fluid flow and the discharge means (6) of the flow outside the 'enclosure (4), such as an extraction chimney, are connected (14) together so as to allow at least partial recycling of said hot gaseous fluid generated thereby generating energy savings.

10. Installation for the treatment of carcasses according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the generator (5) of hot gaseous fluid flow comprises means for regulating the flow rate and / or the temperature of the flow generated.

11. Method of treatment, preferably continuously, of carcasses, in particular poultry carcasses (3), with a view to skin treatment of said carcasses to reduce their bacterial flora, in particular by means of an installation in accordance with 'One of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that it comprises at least one step of exposing the carcasses (3) to at least one flow of a hot gaseous fluid for a time sufficient to obtain rapid and superficial heating of said carcasses (3).

12. Treatment method according to claim 11, characterized in that it comprises, upstream of the step of exposing said carcasses (3) to a flow of hot gaseous fluid, at least one plucking step and a step d evisceration and, downstream of said step of exposing the carcasses to a flow of gaseous fluid, at least one step of cooling by soaking or bleeding of said carcasses and optionally a step of packaging said whole or cut poultry carcasses (3) .