AU2005209635B2 - A method of producing a sliced food product and a product produced by the method - Google Patents

Description

1 A METHOD OF PRODUCING A SLICED FOOD PRODUCT AND A PRODUCT PRODUCED BY THE METHOD Field of the Invention 5 This invention relates to a method of producing a sliced food product and a product produced by the method. This invention also extends to a method of taking the sliced food product produced by the method described above and then cooking it to produce a cooked food product. The invention also extends 10 to an apparatus for producing a sliced food product. This invention relates particularly but not exclusively to a method of producing a sliced meat product such as slices of bacon. This bacon is supplied to catering institutions such as hotels which need to cook bacon in large quantities for 15 buffet breakfasts and the like. It will therefore be convenient to hereinafter describe the invention with reference to this example application. However at the same time it should be clearly understood that the invention could also be applied to other sliced food products and in particular sliced meat 20 products. A key feature is that the product is sliced. It is not essential however that the product is cooked. The invention could be applied particularly to other uncooked smallgoods such as ham, beef, tongue, polony or salami. It could also be applied to other meats such as for example beef fillet and salmon. 25 Definitions In the specification the term "comprising" shall be understood to have a broad meaning similar to the term "including" and will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the 30 exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps. This definition also applies to variations on the term "comprising" such as "comprise" and "comprises".

2 In this specification the terms slice of bacon and rasher of bacon shall be used interchangeably and shall mean the same thing. In this specification 'the term width of a slice of bacon shall be interpreted to 5 refer to the mean or average width of a slice of bacon along the length. It is recognised that a slice of bacon will rarely if ever have a perfectly rectangular shape. However it does have a clear length and a width transverse to this length and the average width across the length of a slice can be determined. 10 In this specification the term baking tray shall be interpreted broadly and shall include all oven trays, oven containers and the like. Further it may comprise a substantially flat planar surface and need not have a perimeter wall. Background to the Invention 15 In the catering industry including hotels and restaurants there can be many steps involved in the preparation of a food product before it is finally presented to the consumer. Some of the steps require extensive manual handling. Each time a food product is handled before it is served it attracts an additional cost. 20 This is particularly so if the handling of the food product is carried out by skilled chefs. For example bacon is cooked on a large scale for breakfasts in the hotel industry. Typically the bacon is cooked in a kitchen and then presented in a 25 buffet style setting on a serving dish to customers who serve themselves from the serving dish. Generally the bacon is supplied to the kitchen in bulk in large packets in which the bacon is arranged in the form of shingles. Each shingle is a large clump of 30 slices of bacon that are layered one on top of the other. The shingle form of layering of the bacon is shown in Fig 4.

3 In use slices of bacon can be taken from the packets and laid out in strips or slices in an oven tray and cooked. Each slice of bacon is individually laid out in the oven tray by the person cooking the bacon. To do this each individual slice of bacon is picked up off the shingle and transferred to the baking tray. 5 Thereafter the bacon is cooked in the usual way and then it is transferred to the serving dish. Further sometimes the slices of bacon are arranged side by side in a serving dish to enhance the aesthetics and appeal of the food. 10 It will readily be appreciated that this process of individually placing the slices of bacon on the oven tray requires multiple handling of the individual slices of bacon and as such is very inefficient. The time of skilled chefs is wasted on the arrangement of individual slices of bacon in the baking tray. Clearly therefore it would be advantageous if a more efficient way of achieving this task could be 15 devised. Further on a more general level it would clearly be advantageous if a method or apparatus could be devised that would produce a sliced food product in a manner suitable for its subsequent cooking without the necessity for excessive 20 manual handling of the food product during each of the food preparation steps.

3a SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of this invention there is provided a method of preparing a sliced food product from a slab of food, including: 5 repetitively slicing the slab of food in a slicing zone to sequentially produce a plurality of successive slices of food; displacing a conveyor having a flexible support sheet thereon past the slicing zone and beneath the slicing zone, so that the slices of food fall from the slicing zone directly onto the support sheet, the speed of the conveyor being 10 selected to cause the slices of food to be generally positioned adjacent to each other or overlapping each other to some extent; and conveying the support sheet and slices of food arranged thereon on the conveyor away from the slicing zone to yield a sliced food product. 15 Arranging the slices of food may include depositing the slices on the support sheet such that successive slices are generally positioned adjacent to each other or overlap each other to some extent. The slices may be deposited so that successive slices overlap each other, e.g. with a degree of overlap that is 10% to 70% of the width of the slices. 20 According to another aspect of this invention there is provided an apparatus for preparing a sliced food product from a slab of food, the apparatus including: a slicer for repeatedly slicing a slab of food in a line transverse to the direction in which it is fed into the slicer; and 25 a single belt conveyor positioned below the slicer that travels past the slicer in such a way that slices of food product fall directly onto the 3b conveyor after they are sliced, the belt conveyor running at a substantially constant speed continuously during operation thereof, wherein the conveyor speed positions successive slices of food product adjacent to each other or overlapping each other to some extent on the conveyor; and 5 a sheet feeding arrangement for feeding a flexible support sheet onto the belt conveyor so that the support sheet travels past and below the slicer on the belt conveyor. The conveyor may be a belt conveyor having an upstream end that is adjacent the 10 slicer and a downstream end that is spaced away from the slicer, and an endless belt that runs continuously in a loop around the upstream and downstream ends during operation thereof. The means for feeding a support sheet may comprise a roller on which a roll of support sheet is mounted, the roller being positioned below the level of the belt conveyor whereby a supply of support sheet can be wound off 15 the roller and fed up onto the upstream end of the belt conveyor for travel along the conveyor. According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a sliced food product including: 20 an elongate flexible support sheet; a single row of slices having edges of successive slices of food arranged either adjacent each other or overlapping each other to some extent are arranged in a pre-determined arrangement on the support sheet, wherein said support sheet and its slices of food being shaped and sized to permit gripping of the 25 support sheet and transferring of the support sheet without disturbing the pre determined arrangement of the slices of food.

3c The support sheet may have a single row of food slices thereon, and the support sheet may have a width that is substantially the same as the longitudinal length of the food slices arranged thereon. 5 The support sheet may have an end portion at each end thereof that is free of slices of food forming handles that enable the support sheet to be manually gripped to facilitate handling of the support sheet and the slices of food thereon in use. 10 According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of preparing a sliced food product, comprising: feeding a slab of food product into a slicer; slicing the slab of food product in said slicer to produce a plurality of slices in sequence; and 15 feeding a support sheet in a substantially horizontally orientation beneath the slicer to allow the slices to fall on to said support sheet whereby the slices are deposited in turn on the sheet along the length of the sheet.

4 The method may include the further step of conveying the support sheet and associated slices of food product away from the slicer while supporting the support sheet in said horizontally extending orientation. 5 Thus the slab of food product is fed into the slicer which cuts off slices and deposits them on the support sheet which moves in a line at constant speed underneath the slicer. The sheet and associated sliced food product are then conveyed away from the slicer to a point where they can be removed from the conveyor for packing and/or downstream use. 10 The step of slicing the food product may comprise cutting the slab of food product along a line transverse to the direction in which it is fed into the slicer and the direction in which it is conveyed away from the slicer. 15 The slicer may be an orbital slicer and the orbital slicer may be a sickle shaped high speed slicer. The slicer may be of the type sold under the trade mark FORMAX or WEBER. The step of feeding the support sheet beneath the slicer may comprise placing 20 the sheet on a conveyor that is a belt conveyor having an upstream end and a downstream end and causing the sheet to move with the conveyor. The step of feeding may include adjusting or setting the speed at which the belt conveying the support sheet moves away from the slicing zone whereby to 25 control the relative positioning of each slice relative to its adjacent slice. The speed of said conveyor may be adjusted or set (for each product) so that the adjacent slices overlap each other as they are laid down. That is the sides or longitudinal edges of the slices extending transverse to the direction of travel 30 overlap each other to some degree. The conveyor may be set at a substantially constant speed while the method is carried out. Thus while a given slab of meat is being sliced the speed of the 5 conveyor is not changed even.though the speed can be set differently for different products as set out above. The slicer may also be set at a constant slicing speed. This enables the slices of food product to be laid out in a repeatable and consistent pattern on the support sheet. 5 The speed of the conveyor may be set so that adjacent slices of the food product are either adjacent each other or overlapping each other to some extent on the support sheet. Preferably the speed of the conveyor is set so that adjacent slices of the food product overlap each other to some extent. 10 The degree of overlap of adjacent slices as a percentage of the width of the slices may be 5% to 70%. Preferably the degree of overlap of adjacent slices as a percentage of the width of the slices is 10 to 50%, more preferably 20 40%, eg 25 - 35%. The degree of overlap will depend on the food product or 15 meat product that is supported on the support sheet. Generally the degree of overlap will be chosen such that when shrinkage associated with cooking of the food product has occurred the adjacent slices on the support sheet will be lying adjacent each other and close to or abutting each other. Thus the extent of overlap will depend on the meat that is being used and the amount of fat and 20 moisture it contains and also the amount of moisture that is lost in the cooking process. The step of feeding may also include feeding a continuous support sheet from a supply of continuous support sheet onto the upstream end of the conveyor. The 25 supply of continuous support sheet may be a roll- of support sheet that is mounted on a rotatable roller or spool positioned below the level of the conveyor. The sheet may be fed from the roller up around the upstream end of the belt conveyor and onto the belt conveyor. 30 The support sheet may be capable of withstanding baking or cooking temperatures without being damaged or losing its integrity. Specifically the support sheet may be made out of baking paper or parchment paper.

6 The method may further include the step of cutting the continuous support sheet into discrete support sheet sections at spaced intervals along its length to yield discrete support sheet sections with slices thereon. 5 The method may also include the yet further step of manually lifting each discrete support sheet section and associated slices of food product off the belt conveyor. Finally the method may also include the yet further step of packing the lifted discrete support sheet sections into a box with the support sheet sections being stacked on top of each other. 10 The slab of food product may be a meat product. In one form of the invention the meat product is bacon and the bacon is full middle bacon, belly bacon or streaky bacon. Other sliced food products and other meats may also be used. 15 According to another aspect of this invention there is provided a method of producing a sliced and cooked food product, the method comprising: providing a sliced food product on a support sheet according to the method described in the first aspect of the invention above; placing at least one said support sheet and associated sliced food 20 product in a cooking apparatus and then cooking the sliced food product until it is cooked; and removing the support sheet and associated sliced food product from the cooking apparatus. 25 The sliced food product may include any one or more of the preferred or optional features of the food product described according to the first aspect of the invention above. The method may further include the step of producing a sliced food product on 30 a support sheet according to the method described in the first aspect of the invention above. Thus the method may include both producing a sliced food product at the front end of the process and then subsequently cooking the sliced food product in an oven.

7 The cooking apparatus may be an oven having at least one baking tray and each support sheet or discrete support sheet section and associated food product may be placed on a said baking tray. 5 The method may include placing a plurality of said support sheets side by side on each baking tray, eg three said support sheets with their longitudinal edges arranged side by side. 10 The support sheet and associated sliced food product may be removed from the oven on the baking tray together as a single entity with the slices of food product still sitting on the support sheet. The method may include the further step of lifting the sliced food product off the support sheet after the baking tray has been removed from the oven. 15 The method may further include the step of taking the support sheet and associated food product out of the baking tray as a single entity and placing it directly on a food serving element with the slices still supported on the support sheet for serving. The food serving element may be a tray. Alternatively it may 20 be a serving dish or the like. The sliced food product may comprise slices of bacon, eg as described above for the first aspect of the invention. 25 According to another aspect of this invention there is provided an apparatus for preparing a sliced food product, the apparatus comprising: feed means for feeding a slab of food product to be sliced into a slicing zone; a slicer for slicing the slab of food product in a line transverse to the 30 direction in which it is fed into the slicing zone; means for passing a support sheet beneath the slicer such that the sliced food product falls onto the support sheet and is conveyed on the support sheet away from the slicer.

8 Thus the means for passing a support sheet underneath the slicer interacts with the slicer such that the slices are laid out one after the other on the support sheet as they drop from the slicer. Thus they do not need to be handled 5 individually during subsequent handling and processing of the slices. The feed means may comprise a support for supporting the slab of meat, a resilient biasing means for displacing the slab of meat into engagement with the slicer and a guide means for laterally guiding the slab as it is displaced towards 10 the slicer. The feed means may further include means for adjusting the width of the guide means to accommodate slabs of food of differing width. 15 The slicer may be an orbital slicer having a rotating plate rotating in the plane in which it cuts the slab of food product, and a rotating blade rotatably mounted on the rotating plate also rotating in the plane in which it cuts the slab of food product. The rotating plate and the rotating drive means may be driven by an electrical drive means in the usual way, eg by an electric motor. The slicer may 20 include a cover in the shape of a flat cylinder with closely spaced end surfaces. The means for passing a support sheet beneath the slicer may comprise a belt conveyor having an upstream end adjacent to the slicer and a downstream end spaced away from the slicer. The belt conveyor may comprise an endless belt 25 extending around two rollers, one at the upstream end and the other at the downstream end, and drive means for driving at least one of the rollers to rotate, thereby to drive the belt conveyor. The means for passing a support sheet beneath the slicer may further include a 30 roll of continuous support sheet located underneath the conveyor which supplies a continuous support sheet to the upstream end of the conveyor.

9 The apparatus may further include a spool on which said roll of support sheet is mounted, the spool being rotatably mounted on a spool mounting which in turn is mounted on a support surface such that the spool can rotate to feed the support sheet onto the conveyor. 5 The conveyor provides the motive force to draw the support sheet off the roll. The sheet extends across to the conveyor and is held down on the conveyor. The apparatus may further include means in proximity to the conveyor for 10 cutting the continuous support sheet at appropriate intervals as it is being conveyed along the conveyor to yield discrete sections of support sheet and associated sliced food. The cutting means may comprise a pair of scissors that are manually worked by an operator. The cutting means could also be a guillotine, or a wheel blade that runs along a cut line to cut the sheet into 15 discrete sections. In another form the continuous support sheet may have transverse lines of weakness or tear lines at spaced intervals along its length so that the support sheet can be manually torn or parted by an operator into discrete sections of 20 support sheet. The apparatus may further include means for slicing a predetermined number of slices and then interrupting the slicing of the food product for a predetermined time such that each support sheet section has end portions at each end that are 25 free of food product, the free end portions providing handles that assist a user to hold the end portions with their left and right hands to lift and carry the sheet section. According to another aspect of this invention there is provided a sliced meat 30 product comprising: an elongate support sheet having two opposed ends; a row of slices of meat arranged in sequence on the support sheet from one end to the other end, each said slice of meat having longitudinal edges 10 extending across the width of the sheet and the width of the slice extending in the direction of length of the sheet, wherein the longitudinal edges of adjacent slices of meat are either adjacent each other or overlap each other to some extent. 5 Preferably the longitudinal edges of adjacent slices of meat overlap each other to some extent. The longitudinal edges of adjacent slices of meat may overlap each other by an amount of 10-60% of the average width. The longitudinal edges of adjacent slices of meat may overlap each other by an amount of 20 10 50% of the average width. The average width may be the mean of the average width of the two overlapping slices. Alternatively the average width may be the mean of the average width of all the slices on the support sheet. 15 The support sheet may be made of bake resistant material and the slices of meat on the sheet may be slices of uncooked bacon. The bacon may be middle bacon, belly bacon, or streaky bacon. 20 The support sheet may have end portions adjacent each end that are free of slices of meat forming handle formations. 25 Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments An apparatus for producing a sliced food product that is slices of bacon arranged on a sheet in accordance with this invention may manifest itself in a variety of forms. It will be convenient to hereinafter provide a detailed 30 description of at least one embodiment of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. The purpose of providing this detailed description is to instruct persons having an interest in the subject matter of the invention how to put the invention into practice. It is to be clearly understood however that the 11 specific nature of this detailed description does not supersede the generality of the preceding statements. In the drawings: Fig 1 is a three dimensional view of an apparatus for slicing meat such 5 as bacon that is known in the prior art; Fig 2 is a side view of the apparatus of Fig 1; Fig 3 is an exploded thee dimensional view with some components 10 omitted for clarity of the apparatus of Fig 1 in use, showing an orbital slicer slicing off slices of bacon from a block or slab of bacon; Fig 4 is a schematic three dimensional view of a chef manually lifting slices of bacon from a clump or shingle of slices of bacon and placing individual 15 slices on a baking tray; Fig 5 is a three dimensional view of an apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; 20 Fig 6 is a top plan view of a continuous sheet carrying slices of bacon travelling on the conveyor belt of the apparatus of Fig 5; Fig 7 is a top plan view showing an operator cutting off discrete sheet sections from the continuous sheet, each sheet section having a row of bacon 25 slices arranged on it; Fig 8 is a three dimensional view of an operator lifting a sheet section carrying slices of bacon off the conveyor belt prior to packing it into a container; 30 Fig 9 is a three dimensional view of a box being packed with sheet sections carrying slices of bacon for storage and distribution; 12 Fig 10 is a three dimensional view of an example baking tray with three sheet sections of sliced bacon arranged being placed in an oven; Fig 11 is a sectional side view of a sheet section with several slices of 5 bacon thereon prior to cooking of the bacon and showing a typical overlap of adjacent slices of bacon; Fig 12 is a sectional side view of the sheet section of Fig 11 after the bacon has been partially cooked; 10 Fig 13 is a sectional side view of the sheet section of Fig 11 after the bacon has been fully cooked; Fig 14 is a top plan view of three sheet sections that have been placed 15 on a serving tray, each sheet section carrying a row of cooked bacon slices; Fig 15 is a three dimensional view of a sheet section with bacon slices mounted thereon in accordance with another embodiment of the invention; 20 Fig 16 is a sectional side view of the sheet section of Fig 15 after the bacon slices have been cooked; Fig 17 is a three dimensional view of a sheet section with bacon slices mounted thereon in accordance with yet another embodiment of the invention; 25 Fig 18 is a sectional side view of the sheet section of Fig 17 after the bacon slices have been cooked; and Fig 19 is a three dimensional view of a roll of a continuous length of 30 sheet having tear lines or lines of weakness between adjacent sheet sections for separating the continuous sheet into separate sheet sections.

13 Figs 1 to 3 show an apparatus for slicing meat, eg a slab of bacon such as a middle bacon, in accordance with the prior art. The apparatus is indicated generally by reference numeral 1. 5 The apparatus 1 includes an orbital slicer 2 and a conveyor belt 3 for conveying slices of bacon away from the slicer. The apparatus also includes a meat feeder 4 for feeding a block or slab of bacon into the slicer. Fig 3 shows selectively how the block of bacon is fed into the slicer 2 and then 10 sliced by the slicer 2 into slices 5. It also shows how the slices 5 are carried away from the slicer 2 on the conveyor belt 3. The slices 5 fall directly onto the belt 3 and the slices are then recovered from the belt, eg manually, as a clump of slices and are then packed. An example clump of slices can be seen on the left side of the table shown in Fig 4. 15 With bacon a stack of slices are clumped one on top of each other to form a shingle. The shingle is then packed into a packet and delivered to the customers, eg a hotel kitchen. 20 Fig 4 shows how a chef, eg at a hotel, places slices of bacon 5 onto a baking tray before cooking the bacon. Basically each slice has to be individually picked up from a clump or shingle of cut slices of bacon and then individually placed on the baking tray. This process is typically carried out by a chef as distinct from an unqualified worker. The amount of time spent by a chef doing this task is not 25 insignificant and thus it attracts a cost. It also takes quite a bit of time which means that a chef has to arrive at work early enough to do this and have the bacon ready to serve at breakfast time. Fig 5 is a three dimensional view of an apparatus 10 for slicing bacon in 30 accordance with the invention. The apparatus 10 comprises basically a feed means in the form of a spring loaded feeder 11 for feeding a slab of bacon 12 into a slicing zone. It also 14 includes a slicer 13 for slicing slices of bacon off the slab 12 in the slicing zone. It also includes means for passing a sheet beneath the slicer 13 that receives the slices of bacon when they fall off the slab of bacon and conveys the slices away from the slicer 13. Conveniently the means passing the sheet beneath 5 the slicer 13 may be formed by a belt conveyor 15. The conveyor 15 extends from an upstream end 16 adjacent the slicer 13 to a downstream end 17 spaced away from the slicer 13. The means passing the sheet beneath the slicer may also includes a roller or spool 18 carrying a roll of continuous sheet material 20 positioned beneath the conveyor 15. Thus the roller or spool 18 feeds a 10 continuous sheet section 22 onto an upstream end 16 of the conveyor 15 and from there the conveyor 15 conveys it towards the downstream end 17. The apparatus 10 also includes control means in the form of a controller (not shown) for controlling various parameters of the operation of the apparatus. 15 Each of the components of the apparatus 10 will now be described in more detail. The feeder 11 comprises an inclined support member 24 defining a support surface having sides. A spring loaded plate 25 bears up against the slab of 20 bacon 12 placed in the feeder 11 and urges it into engagement with the slicer 13. The feeder 11 also includes side formations 27 laterally confining or constraining the slab of meat, eg bacon 12. The support member 24 is mounted on legs 28 much like a table and is about waist height. 25 The slicer 13 has a circular slicing plate having its planar axis extending transverse to the direction of travel of the conveyor. A blade in turn is rotatably mounted on the slicer plate. The blade rotates on the rotating slicer plate and cuts the slab of meat as it rotates. The blade and plate are similar to those shown in Fig. 3. A cover 29 in the form of a flattened body having two closely 30 spaced circular surfaces covers over the slicer plate and blade. The slicer 13 may be mounted on the support member 24 of the feeder 11 or indeed some other support member. As the features of the slicer per se would be well known 15 to persons skilled in the art they will not be described in further detail in the specification. The belt conveyor 15 has an endless belt and is mounted on a conveyor 5 support member 32. Like the feeder support member 24 this is mounted on legs 33 much like a table. The belt extends between one roller at the upstream end 16 and another roller 3 at the downstream end 17. One said roller is driven by an electric motor to cause the belt to displace. The other roller is a passive roller. The upper surface of the belt conveyor has a length of about 3 to 5 10 metres. The rotatable spool 18 is positioned underneath the conveyor 15. A roll of sheet material 20 is mounted on the spool 18. The sheet on the roll 20 is passed upwardly from the roll 20 to the upstream end 16 of the conveyor 15 and around 15 the roller and onto the upper surface of the belt. The continuous sheet section 22 engages or bears against the belt to move with the conveyor 15 towards the downstream end 17 thereof. This can be done in a number of ways. Water or other liquid can be used to get the sheet 22 to stick to the belt initially when it is fed up onto the belt. In addition a small weight could be put on the sheet 20 section 22 to push it down into frictional engagement with the belt. Of course once slices of bacon fall onto the sheet section 22 this weighs the sheet down onto the belt and ensures that the sheet moves with the belt. The sheet material 20 is a flexible bake resistant and heat resistant paper that is 25 able to preserve its integrity when it is subjected to the temperatures used in cooking bacon. The controller also includes a programmable logic controller (PLC) as would be well known in the art. The controller can be used to vary the speed of the slicer 30 plate and blade. The controller can also be used to control the thickness of the slices. It can also be used to control the speed of the conveyor belt and adjust the time intervals between the slicing of slices of bacon. Further these time intervals do not all need to be the same. That is it can interrupt the slicing of 16 bacon for a predetermined period after a certain or programmed number of slices have been cut. This feature is used in the application of this invention. In use a slab of meat 12, say bacon such as middle bacon, is placed in the 5 feeder 11 where it is urged up against the slicer 13. The slicer 13 then slices individual slices 40 off the slab of bacon 12 and these slices 40 drop in turn onto the continuous section of sheet 22 that is fed up from the spool 18 onto the conveyor 15 near the upstream end of the conveyor 15. The slicing action of the slicer is automated and can be controlled through the PLC. 10 The belt and sheet 22 are moving when the slices of bacon 40 drop onto the sheet 22 and thus each slice of bacon has advanced some distance before the next slice of bacon falls from the slicer. The speed of the conveyor belt 15 is set so that each slice of bacon 40 overlaps its preceding slice of bacon by 10 - 60% 15 of its width. Thus a sequence of partially overlapping slices of bacon 40 is built up on the sheet section 22. This is shown in Fig 6. After a certain length of overlapping slices of bacon 40 has been built up on the sheet 22 the slicing of slices of bacon from the slab is interrupted by the slicer 20 13. This yields a further length on the sheet material that is free of slices of bacon. This provides spacing between adjacent groups of bacon slices 40. This is shown in Fig 6. After a row of bacon slices is laid down on the sheet, a discrete sheet section 25 42 and associated row of bacon slices 40, is detached from the continuous sheet section 22. As shown in Fig 7 this may be accomplished by simply cutting the sheet with a pair of scissors 43. This is a fairly simple and rudimentary form of cutting the sheet and it has worked adequately for the Applicant. However Applicant appreciates that other ways of doing this could 30 equally be used. For example a blade such as a guillotine or a wheel blade could be mounted on the apparatus 10, eg above the conveyor 15 or on one side of the conveyor 15, to perform this cutting operation. In addition the cutting of the sheet could be automated such that it did not require an operator to do it.

17 Each section has end portions that are free of bacon slices. The end portions form handle formations to facilitate carrying of the sheet section by the left and right hands of an operator. 5 After a discrete sheet section 42 has been cut from the remainder of the sheet 22 it is lifted off the belt 15 by an operator. This is shown in Fig 8. The operator holds the handle formations with their left and right hands. As shown in Fig 9 the sheet section 42 is then placed directly into a container 10 which is usually a cardboard box 45 for distribution to customers. In the box 45 the sheet sections 42 are superimposed on top of each other and a stack of sheet sections 42 with bacon on the upper surface of each section 42 is built up. In the illustrated embodiment only one stack of sheet sections is contained in the box. This provides a box 45 having a weight that can easily be carried around. 15 However more than one stack of sheets could be loaded into a box. The bacon can then be frozen in the usual way and shipped to customers who also store the bacon in a frozen condition until they use it. 20 When used by a customer, individual sheet sections 42 are simply taken out of the box 45 and laid out on a baking tray 50 as shown in Fig 10. Typical baking trays 50 used by catering institutions such as hotels can receive three such sheet sections 42 arranged side by side on the tray 50. Thus it is a fairly simple process to take a sheet section 42 with bacon on it out of the box 45 and place it directly 25 on the tray 50. The bacon is placed on the tray 50 with the paper section 42 underneath the slices of bacon. The chef does not need to place each slice of bacon individually on the baking tray in the manner shown in Fig 4. This leads to substantial time savings when preparing a baking tray with bacon for cooking. 30 In another mode of use that is possible, the sheet section 42 with slices of bacon 40 on it may be flipped and then placed on the baking tray 50. This 18 places the slices of bacon 40 on the tray in an organised array or fashion while permitting the sheet section 42 to be removed before the bacon is cooked. The advantages of the invention namely of achieving time productivity by obviating the need to manually arrange individual slices of bacon on the baking tray are 5 still achieved. Thereafter the baking tray 50 is placed in an oven 55 to cook the bacon 40. Typically these ovens 55 produce a radiant heat for grilling and also produce a convective heat. 10 During the cooking process each slice of bacon 40 shrinks progressively as it cooks. This is due to the loss of water from the bacon as occurs in all cooking operations like this and which is well known in the art. This is shown in the sequence of drawings that is Figs 11 to 13. Fig 11 shows the adjacent slices 40 15 prior to cooking and overlapping each other in a width-wise direction by a distance or extent of 20-40%. Fig 12 shows a reduced degree of overlap of each slice 40 when compared with Fig 11 after the slices have been partially cooked. Fig 13 shows the adjacent slices 40 sifting side by side on the cooking tray with little or no overlap of adjacent slices 40 after they have been fully 20 cooked. In the drawings the distances X, Y and Z are the width of the slices. As is clearly shown in the drawings the distance X is greater than the distance Y which in turn is greater than the distance Z. Once the bacon is cooked the baking tray 50 can be removed from the oven 55 25 and the bacon can be served. Typically each slice of bacon might be lifted off the sheet of paper and placed in a serving dish or placed on a plate of food for a diner. This leaves the sheet sections 42 on which the slices of bacon 40 were 30 supported on the baking tray 50. The sheet sections 42 can then be taken off the baking tray 50 and the tray 50 can then be sent to be cleaned. Much of the liquid including moisture and fat and oil that issues from the bacon during the cooking process is collected on the sheet sections 42. Thus this is removed 19 from the baking tray when the sheet sections are removed. This therefore reduces the effort required for the cleaning of the baking trays 50 after each batch of bacon is cooked. Substantially less effort is required to clean the trays 50 to remove oil, fat and the like than where the sheet sections 42 are not used. 5 In Fig 14 a serving dish 60 is shown that has three sheet sections 42 with bacon slices 40 placed thereon. Thus this shows how it is possible to take the sheet sections 42 out of a baking tray 50 and then simply place them in a serving dish 60. This then obviates the need to physically lift individual slices of bacon 40 off 10 the baking tray 50 and then place them on the serving dish 60. Further it provides a neat aesthetic side by side presentation of the slices of bacon 40 on a serving dish 60 without any effort. Fig 15 illustrates a three dimensional view of a sheet section with bacon thereon 15 in accordance with another embodiment of the invention. As this embodiment has similarities with the embodiment described above the same reference numerals will be used to refer to the same components unless other wise indicated. 20 The following description will focus on the differences between this embodiment and the Fig 6 embodiment. The discrete sheet section 42 comprises a planar lower sheet layer 70 and a corrugated upper sheet layer 72 mounted on the planar sheet layer 70. The 25 slices of bacon 40 sit on the corrugated sheet layer 72 and basically lie across the peaks of the corrugations. As a result when the slices of bacon 40 are cooked in an oven 55 liquid issuing from the slices 40 is received in the valleys of the corrugations where it collects. 30 This is shown in Fig 16. Thus when the sheet section 42 is removed from the baking tray 50 the liquid in the valleys is taken with it. This removes much of the liquid from the baking tray 50 and eases cleaning of the baking tray. It also 20 permits liquid including fat and oil to drain from the slices of bacon 40 while they are cooking. Fig 17 illustrates a three dimensional view of a sheet section with bacon thereon in 5 accordance with yet another embodiment of the invention. As this embodiment has similarities with the embodiment described in Fig 6 above the same reference numerals will be used to refer to the same components unless other wise indicated. 10 The following description will focus on the differences between this embodiment and the Fig 6 embodiment. The sheet section 42 comprises three separate layers 74, 76, 78 attached to each other to form a sheet section assembly. A liquid absorbing layer 76 is sandwiched 15 between a liquid pervious upper layer 74 and a liquid impervious lower layer 78. The upper layer 74 may define apertures or openings through which the liquid passes. The absorbent layer 76 may comprise any material that is capable of absorbing both water and fat. The middle layer expands when it absorbs the liquid. This is shown in Fig 18. The lower layer 78 is made of a liquid impervious 20 material and has no openings in it. Thus liquid issuing from the slices of bacon 40 during cooking thereof passes through the upper layer 74 into the liquid absorbent middle layer 76. It cannot pass through the liquid impervious lower layer 78. 25 Fig 19 illustrates a roll of sheet 80 capable of receiving slices of bacon on it much like Fig 7. The difference is that the roll of sheet 80 contains tear lines 82 at spaced intervals along the length of the sheet 80. This enables an operator to tear the continuous sheet section 22 along these lines and break the roll of sheet 80 30 up into the discrete sheet sections 42. Each sheet section 42 can accommodate a row of bacon slices 40 placed thereon when it is passed beneath the slicer.

21 An advantage of the invention described above with reference to the drawings is that individual slices of bacon do not need to be arranged individually on a baking tray by a chef or the like. Instead they are arranged neatly and efficiently on a sheet when they drop off the slicer and a discrete sheet section with slices 5 of bacon thereon is produced. This sheet section is then placed directly into a packaging box in which it is shipped to the customer and in which it is stored until use. The bacon will be stored in a frozen condition as is usual for foodstuffs of this nature. When it is used the sheet and row of bacon slices on the sheet are simply lifted out of the box and placed onto a baking tray. This is a quick 10 and easy step requiring little effort. A further advantage of the product is that it offers places like hotels much more flexibility. If they require more cooked bacon at short notice they simply take some more frozen sheet sections with bacon thereon and put them on the 15 baking trays. The slices are arranged in a single layer on the paper and as such do not need to be first defrosted. They can simply be placed on the baking tray and then put straight into the oven. In the oven they are first defrosted and then cooked. By contrast if the bacon is provided as a solid clump or shingle of frozen bacon it needs first of all to be defrosted before it can be separated into 20 individual slices which can be put out on a baking tray. This requires a lot more time and planning as well as the extra manual effort and labour identified above. A further advantage of the sheet section described above is that it collects some of the liquid that issues from the slices of bacon during cooking. As a result the 25 baking tray is easier to clean than if the sheet sections with bacon thereon are not used. It also permits fat and oil to drain away from the bacon. It will of course be realised that the above has been given only by way of illustrative example of the invention and that all such modifications and 30 variations thereto as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of the invention as herein set forth.

Claims (10)

1. A method for producing cooked slices of bacon, the method including: providing a sliced bacon product comprising, an elongate flexible 5 support sheet; and a single row of slices of bacon extending along the support sheet in one direction, wherein each slice has two longitudinal edges extending transverse to said one direction and wherein adjacent longitudinal edges of successive slices of bacon overlap each other by 10 to 60 % of the width of the slices; 10 placing at least one sliced bacon product on a surface of a baking tray; and cooking the sliced bacon product in a cooking apparatus, wherein the cooking causes the overlapping slices of bacon to shrink and progressively reduces the amount of overlap of the overlapping 15 slices.

2. A method for producing cooked slices of bacon according to claim 1, wherein adjacent edges of successive slices of bacon overlap each other by 20 to 40 % of the width of the slices. 20

3. A method for producing cooked slices of bacon according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein adjacent edges of successive slices of bacon overlap each other by 25 to 35 % of the width of the slices. 25

4. A method for producing cooked slices of bacon according to any one of claims I to 3, wherein the elongate flexible support sheet comprises a baking paper or parchment paper.

5. A method for producing cooked slices of bacon according to any one of 30 claims 1 to 4, wherein said step of placing at least one sliced bacon product 23 on the surface of the baking tray further comprises placing a plurality of sliced bacon products on the surface of the baking tray.

6. A method for producing cooked slices of bacon according to claim 5, 5 wherein said step of placing comprises placing two to four sliced bacon products on the surface of the baking tray.

7. A method for producing cooked slices of bacon according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the cooking apparatus includes an oven having a grill 10 for cooking slices of bacon arranged on the baking tray.

8. A method for producing cooked slices of bacon according to claim 1, wherein the baking tray has a length and a width, and wherein the length of the sliced bacon product broadly corresponds to the length or width of the 15 baking tray.

9. A method for producing cooked slices of bacon according to claim 8, wherein the cumulative width of the sliced bacon products arranged on the baking tray broadly corresponds to the length or width of the baking tray. 20

10. An apparatus for producing cooked slices of bacon substantially as herein described in the detailed description of the preferred embodiments with particular reference to Figs. 6 to 9.