Meat Salting Equipment: Multi-Needle Brine Injectors and Massagers for Curing

Multineedle injectors are the machines high-capacity plants use to inject brine into boneless meat and bone-in cuts. On these plants, multineedle injectors of the ФШУ type or other designs (Fig. 1) carry out the work. The injector consists of a frame, a slat conveyor, an injection head fitted with 39 needles, an electromechanical drive, a starting-and-control system, and a brine-feed system.

How does a multineedle meat injector work?

A multineedle injector salts meat raw material at a rate of up to 2000 kg per hour, making it suited to high-throughput production. Both boneless meat and bone-in cuts are processed on these machines. The product to be treated is placed on a horizontal belt conveyor that carries it into the injection zone, where a holder positioned beneath the conveyor keeps the needles upright. The needles sit 10–20 mm apart from one another.

Between the needle holder and the conveyor belt is a horizontal plate pierced with many holes arranged to match the layout of the needles. Injection brine is delivered to the needles from a storage tank, pumped through a delivery valve.

As the needle holder descends, the horizontal plate begins to move; only when the plate touches the surface of the meat do the needles enter it. The valve then opens and brine is injected under a pressure of about 1 MPa. The injected meat raw material is carried by the conveyor into a collecting trolley. Figure 1 — ФШУ multineedle injector for salting meat raw material: 1 – frame; 2 – receiving tray; 3 – conveyor; 4 – injection head.

What are meat massagers used for?

Massagers are designed for the hydromechanical treatment of meat raw material combined with the use of vacuum during salting, in the production of sausages, smoked products, and ham, including those made from beef. They speed up salting and improve the finished product.

Combining hydromechanical treatment with a low vacuum increases the rate at which curing agents are evenly distributed through the meat and shortens the salting process, improves the quality indicators of the meat products, and raises their yield. This treatment also reduces bacterial contamination of the products, extends their shelf life, and improves the sanitary and hygienic conditions of production.

A massager is a rotating vessel hinged to a frame and connected to a vacuum system (Fig. 2). Figure 2 — К7–ФМВ–100 massager: 1 – vessel; 2 – lid; 3 – valve; 4 – framework; 5 – plain bearing; 6 – trunnion; 7 – driven gear wheel; 8 – tube; 9 – bearing unit; 10 – geared motor; 11 – gears; 12 – swivel mechanism; 13 – gear pump; 14 – oil block; 15 – non-return valve; 16 – trap; 17 – frame; 18 – control mechanism; 19 – monitoring-and-regulating equipment; 20 – plain bearings.

What are the main parts of a meat massager?

The vessel (1) is the core of the massager and is made of corrosion-resistant steel as a welded structure with two conical end heads and a cylindrical body. The front head carries a loading-and-unloading neck closed by a sealed lid (2) secured with screws. The lid (2) has handles for easy fitting and removal, plus a tap (3) for releasing the vacuum in the vessel during unloading.

For better massaging, four blades are fitted inside the vessel along the entire length of the cylindrical body. The massager vessel is mounted on the framework (4) in a plain bearing (5) by a trunnion (6). A driven gear wheel (7) is fixed to the trunnion. A tube (8) runs through the trunnion and connects the massager vessel to the vacuum system via a flexible hose.

A bearing unit (9) is bolted to the framework (4), and a geared motor (10) is mounted on it. The output shaft of the geared motor can take one of two interchangeable gears (11), which allow the massager vessel to rotate at 6 rpm (1st mode) or 12 rpm (2nd mode). A swivel mechanism (12) is mounted on the framework (4); it carries a worm pair with a handwheel fixed to the tail end of the worm shaft.

The vacuum system comprises an oil gear pump (13), an oil block (14), a non-return valve (15), a trap (16), and monitoring-and-regulating equipment (19). The frame (17) is a welded frame structure on which, besides the plain bearings (20), the swivel mechanism (12), the vacuum system, and the control mechanism (18) are mounted.

An electrical cabinet houses the power circuits, starting gear, and protective equipment. It is installed separately from the massager on a wall or column in accordance with the requirements of the installation drawing and the equipment passport.

What is the operating principle of a meat massager?

Massaging is a form of mechanical treatment based on the friction of pieces of meat against one another and against the inner walls of the machine, which generates frictional energy. The distinctive feature of treating meat in massaging units is the hydrodynamic action and the appearance of elastic-plastic tissue deformations in the raw material, which ultimately accelerates the even distribution of the curing substances within it.

Vacuum is used in the massager because reduced air pressure has a positive effect on the meat raw material and removes its most active component — oxygen. This improves the curing result and helps preserve the product.