FOOD PROCESSING DEVICE

摘要

An enclosed food processing device is provided having one or more conveyor belts (48, 50) and vertical agitators (36) positioned above the belt. The agitators have forward and backward prongs (44, 46) that stir the food being processed without causing physical damage to it. The food enters the device through an inlet and is evenly distributed across a draining screen (86) by an inlet deflector plate (82), which is adjustable to account for the different rates at which the food may flow into the device. A salting apparatus (114) is provided for conveying salt to the food to be processed. The salting apparatus has a pump that moves a fluid, such as filtered air, through a Venturi pickup tee (130), where it creates a partial vacuum that pulls salt into the airstream from the chamber. The salt then is pushed through stationary salt distribution tubes (20, 22) and applied to the food to be salted.