Any poultry processor anywhere in the world whose business is growing will one day face the decision to move from manual to automatic evisceration
Marel offers the option to do so without a major investment, and with a future expansion in mind.
Hand tools
Once a poultry processor has started processing industrially, he will have installed a scalder, plucker and overhead conveyor systems for the killing, defeathering and evisceration processes. Growth in hourly capacities will involve installing additional equipment. Evisceration operations done until then using hand tools will be extended with hand-held vent and lung guns to drill out the vent and to vacuum any residual lungs from the inside of the hand-eviscerated carcass. At a given moment, however, certain manual evisceration operations become problematical in terms of labour cost and logistics. At one point, hiring more workers for evisceration isn’t the solution to growing capacity anymore.
Extract the pack
Marel’s Nuova CoreTech eviscerator has been designed for processors making the switch from manual to automatic evisceration. It can be the first step in industrial evisceration for startup processing with a limited budget to spend on automation, and with a later expansion in mind. This allowed processors to profit, right from the start, from Marel’s underlying premium technologies without having to invest heavily. The upgradable CoreTech eviscerator offers a unique opportunity as it’s a basic machine without separate viscera line but comprising all the features and benefits of Marel’s well-known, globally established Nuova eviscerator. The perfectly developed technique of extracting the viscera pack from the abdomen cavity is identical in all Nuova machines. Where CoreTech differs from Nuova is that it does not transfer the drawn viscera pack to a separate pack shackle but deposits it over the back of the carcass. The pack is then suitably presented for efficient veterinary inspection, after which edible giblets can be conveniently harvested by hand.
Grow with needs
By installing this solution, start-up processors leave the door open to growing along with the market at a later stage. After a certain period of growth, the company can upgrade to a fully-fledged Nuova. This includes transfer of the drawn viscera pack to a separate shackle, just like a standard Nuova eviscerator. Giblets can then be harvested manually or a start can be made with automatic giblet harvesting equipment. Automated harvesting of livers, hearts and gizzards is a technique in which Marel has led the market for more than 25 years now.
CoreTech will handle up to 6,000 broilers per hour. Once a processor approaches this throughput, he has the option of upgrading the CoreTech machine. Having started the initial automation using 10 units, they can easily double this to 20 units, with a capacity that can exceed 12,000 bph. In conclusion, CoreTech is an eviscerator, which can grow in line with its user’s needs.
Perfect positioning
In the pack processing line, perfect positioning of the giblets is crucial for quick and accurate harvesting. It allows processors to sell these giblets with considerable added value. This is particularly true when the harvesting operations are automated as well. With viscera packs held in a predictable position in the pack shackle, automated harvesting of hearts, livers and gizzards becomes easy. The first stage in the process is to remove intestines and gall bladders. This is followed by automatic liver harvesting. Gizzards are then cut off to fall into the automatic gizzard harvester. Finally, hearts and lungs are released into the heart lung separator.
Automated giblet harvesting means a giant upgrade to valuable products, accompanied by higher giblet yields. It saves a lot of labour, and also improves shelf life.
Polyvalent
Also unique in the market is Nuova’s high versatility concerning broiler weights and varieties. This polyvalent aptitude allows for processing of a wide range of products, such as broilers of all commercial breeds, specialist and slow-growing chicken or free range birds, spring chicken and yellow birds. The large variety in chicken sizes and weights, to be found all around the globe, poses no problem at all. In all cases, Nuova continues to deliver the highest possible yield in automated giblet harvesting.
Consistently high standard
The move to an automated evisceration process will always be dictated by local conditions and requirements. As explained above, it does not have to be done all at once but can be done gradually. A fully automatic evisceration system will, however, more than pay back its investment. Not only will it save space and labour, it will help ensure a hygienic end product processed to a consistently high standard. This in turn will help the further expansion of its user’s business.
Two-stage path
Making a two-stage investment in evisceration automation proves to be the ideal path for start-up processors. The initial purchase of a CoreTech means a modest investment. The second step, to convert it quickly and easily to the full Nuova specification, is also a relatively small investment This new approach in evisceration will open up great opportunities for attracting new business and markets.
Replacing other operations
Once hourly capacities have increased and evisceration has been automated, thought can be given to replacing hand-held vent and lung guns. Marel offers its combined venting and opening machine VOC, which drills out the vent and applies an opening cut. This machine deposits each drilled vent neatly over the back of the carcass and opens carcasses without damaging the underlying viscera pack. The risk of any cross-contamination by faecal material has therefore been reduced to an absolute minimum.
Lung guns can be replaced by an automatic vacuum-assisted carrousel final inspection machine, whose units descend into the carcass cavity to suck out any loose debris. Kidneys are left in the carcass. Once the final inspection machine has done its job, all carcasses can be thoroughly washed both inside and out by an Inside/Outside Washer.
