Showcased at the IPPE trade show in Atlanta, Georgia last week, the Foodmate OPTiX Thigh Deboner is a piece of equipment that produces cartilage-free meat at the “highest possible yields and meat quality”, according to the business.
The X-ray technology can debone up to 14,400 thighs per hour and will be available for meat processors across all the major international markets.
Speaking to GlobalMeatNews, Foodmate US marketing manager Silvana Paterno said the thigh meat deboning system accommodated a wide range of bird sizes and was part of the company’s mission to bring cost-effective solutions to the industry.
“The Optix offers the flexibility to manually hang saddles in combination with a leg processor, as a stand-alone; or it has the ability to be integrated with a Foodmate OPTI flow Cut-Up System,” said Paterno.
“The machine can operate at speeds of up to 14,400 thighs per hour depending on the line configuration and bird size. The machine produces a very high amount of cartilage-free meat with minimal bone content. This results in minimal trimming and maximum pounds per man/hour.”
Also commenting on the new cutting solution, Foodmate US president Scott Hazenbroek said the company’s new deboning solution demonstrated its commitment to the poultry industry and was a natural progression from its ULTIMATE Whole Leg Deboner, which was introduced to the sector earlier last year.
Foodmate was founded in the Netherlands in 2006, but later expanded into the US and Brazilian markets with its own headquarters.
Overall, the business employs around 220 staff, 140 being in the Netherlands, 60 in the US and the others being located in Brazil, Poland and the UK.