01Scope
Further processing, not slaughter or deboning
Poultry processing is usually split in two. Primary processing turns live birds into chilled carcasses and cuts: stunning, scalding, defeathering, evisceration, carcass chilling, cut-up and deboning. Further processing starts with that meat and adds value to it, through marinating, shaping, portioning, inspection and packing.
Our catalogue covers further processing only. We do not supply stunning, scalding, plucking, evisceration, carcass chilling or deboning equipment, so if that is the job you are planning, you will need a specialist in primary poultry processing equipment. If you already receive breast fillets, thigh meat, bone-in pieces or mince, the stages below are where we can help.
- Covered here: marinade and brine injection, tumbling, tenderising and flattening, forming chicken mince, chicken sausages, X-ray and weight checks, and sealing packs.
- Not covered: anything from live receiving to deboned meat, and coating, frying or freezing equipment, which is not in our catalogue.
02Stages
Chicken processing equipment by stage
Each stage below links the machine type page for the full range and lists the catalogue machines whose own listings fit poultry work. Not every product needs every stage, and the order changes with the product.
Stage 1Brine injectors
Injecting marinade or brine
A needle injector puts a measured dose of marinade or brine inside each fillet or piece, so the flavour and moisture are not left on the surface. Fomaco makes injector machines for curing and marinating meat, poultry and fish. Its M2 models open each needle valve only while the needles are in the product, which cuts the amount of marinade that runs back to the tank, and the FGM 48 is listed for bone-in as well as boneless meat.
- FGM 26 M2Brine Injector
- FGM 44 M2Brine Injector
- FGM 48Brine Injector
- M5 CompactBrine Injector
Stage 2Tumblers & massagers
Tumbling after injection
Tumbling turns the injected pieces in a drum so the marinade spreads through the meat and the needle holes close up. The CT 250 and CT 375 are continuous tumblers that sit straight after a Fomaco injector, the CT 375 with an incline conveyor for the larger M3 injectors. A batch vacuum tumbler such as the Menozzi Tumbler 700 works the product in a closed drum under vacuum, after injection or on its own.
- CT 250Continuous Tumbler
- CT 375Continuous Tumbler
- Menozzi Tumbler 700Vacuum Tumbler
Stage 3Tenderisers & flatteners
Tenderising and flattening
Breast fillets vary in thickness from one end to the other, which is a problem when every piece has to cook through in the same time. The Ross RCF-400 is listed for flattening fresh or soft frozen meat and poultry products, and the Ross TC710 Tenderizer for tenderising and stretching bone-in and boneless cuts, poultry among them, before frying or grilling. The FRT 550 roller tenderiser is for boneless meat and is placed after injection or before vacuum tumbling.
- RCF-400Meat Flattener
- TC710 TenderizerTenderiser
- FRT 550Roller Tenderiser
Stage 4Portioning & forming machines
Forming nuggets, burgers and patties
Chicken mince or a seasoned poultry mass can be shaped rather than cut. The BF255 burger former names poultry among the masses it is described for, the FM250 lists nuggets among its products, and the DJM-VF06 listing mentions chicken nuggets and schnitzels. Our portioning and forming page compares the formers for chicken products in more detail.
Stage 5Sausage linking, hanging & cutting
Chicken sausages
Chicken sausages are filled like any other sausage, from a vacuum filler. The CC225 alginate co-extrusion line forms its own casing around the meat, and its listing says halal, poultry, vegetarian and kosher products are possible. The sausage filler guide covers the fillers themselves.
- CC225Coextrusion Sausage Line
Stage 6Inspection & weight control
Bone checks and weight control
A boneless product is expected to be free of bone. The Aicon XR-500 Poultry is an X-ray inspection system built to check raw meat, and its listing puts the smallest calcified bone it can find at 1 mm. On an injection line, the Fomaco IWC weighing units are listed as compatible with the FGM 48, FGM 64, FGM 88 and FGM 112 injectors and weigh product before and after injection, so the marinade uptake can be checked as the line runs.
- Aicon XR-500 PoultryX-Ray System
- IWC 48Weight Control Unit
Stage 7Thermoformers & packaging
Sealing and packing
Finished portions are sealed in trays, in packs formed from film on a thermoformer, or in vacuum bags. The meat packaging equipment page and the tray sealers page list those machines; tell us the pack you need and we will say which of them fits.
03Illustrations
Three poultry processing systems, as illustrations
The table sets out how the stages above might be combined for three common chicken products. These are illustrations built from machine types in our catalogue, not lines we have installed, and the machines in each column have not been matched to one another. The right combination depends on your product, your volumes and what you already run.
| Row | Marinated fillets and pieces | Formed nuggets and burgers | Chicken sausages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting material | Breast fillets, thigh meat or bone-in pieces | Chicken mince or a seasoned poultry mass | Chicken mince with fat, seasoning and binder |
| Preparation | Marinade or brine mixed in a brine mixer | Mincing and mixing on mixer grinders | Mincing, then a bowl cutter for a fine texture |
| Main stage | Injector, then a continuous or vacuum tumbler; a flattener for even thickness | A vacuum filler feeding a former, or a stand-alone plate former | A vacuum filler with a linking or co-extrusion attachment |
| Checks | X-ray for bone, weighing before and after injection | Checkweigher or X-ray after forming | Checkweigher on the finished portions |
| Packing | Tray sealer, thermoformer or vacuum bags | Paper interleaving, tray loading, then sealing | Tray sealer or thermoformer |
Coating, frying, cooking and freezing often sit between forming and packing. Those stages are outside our catalogue, so tell us what equipment sits there and how product arrives and leaves, and we can plan the hand-over to the machines we supply. Our page on planning a processing line covers that conversation in more depth.
04Buying
What to check before choosing chicken processing equipment
Poultry cuts vary a good deal in size, thickness and temperature, so the same machine type can need a different set-up for chicken than for red meat. These are the questions that change the choice most often.
- Bone-in or boneless: the FGM 48 injector and the TC710 Tenderizer are both listed for bone-in and boneless meat, while the FRT 550 roller tenderiser is for boneless meat only.
- What is in the marinade: herbs, spices and protein carried back from the needles have to be filtered out before the marinade is used again. The FGM 48 lists an FM80 protein filter, the M5 Compact a mobile coarse filter that fits under the injector, and the CT 250 a PFS 90 coarse filter that collects the run-off.
- Piece size and throughput: injector belt widths in the catalogue run from 350 mm on the FGM 26 M2 to 950 mm on the FGM 112, and the M2 models take product up to 200 mm high.
- Fresh or partly frozen: the RCF-400 is listed for fresh or soft frozen product, so check the temperature your fillets reach the flattener at.
- How often the recipe changes: the M5 Compact stores recipes and recalls them from its library, which helps when one injector runs several marinades in a shift.
- Whether yield is measured: weighing before and after injection shows how much marinade each batch has taken up, rather than relying on spot checks.
Bring these answers to your first conversation with our sales team and the shortlist gets much shorter.
05Support
Trials, service and spare parts in Australia
Vemag Australia is the official Fomaco distributor for Australia, and our own service technicians and spare parts desk look after the equipment we supply. Before you buy, you can bring your own poultry products to our Customer Centre and try them on a range of our machines.
01
Customer Centre
Bring your own chicken product and recipes and see how they run, in conditions close to a production shift, before you decide.
02
Service
Installation of new machines, maintenance, repairs and operator training from our service technicians, booked through your local office.
03
Spare parts
Genuine parts held in stock, with help identifying the right part for your machine.
06FAQ
Poultry processing equipment questions
Do you supply stunning, defeathering or evisceration equipment?
No. Our catalogue starts after primary processing, with machines for marinating, tenderising, forming, inspecting and packing poultry meat. For slaughter, scalding, plucking, evisceration, carcass chilling and deboning you will need a supplier of primary poultry processing equipment.
Can a brine injector handle bone-in chicken pieces?
Some can. The FGM 48 is listed for bone-in and boneless meat. Tell us the cuts, their size and the marinade you use, and we will say which injector and needle set-up suits them.
Should chicken be injected, tumbled or both?
Injection puts a measured amount of marinade inside each piece; tumbling works it through the meat and over the surface. Many marinated products use both, with a continuous tumbler straight after the injector, while some surface-marinated products are tumbled without injection. See the stages above for the machines involved.
Can X-ray inspection find bones in chicken fillets?
That is what the Aicon XR-500 Poultry is for: it is an X-ray system for checking raw meat, listed as finding calcified bone down to 1 mm. What is found in practice depends on the product and how it is presented, so ask us about checking your own product.
Which machines make chicken nuggets and burgers?
Formers fed with chicken mince or a mixed mass. The FM250 lists nuggets among its products, the BF255 is described for poultry burgers, and the DJM-VF06 listing mentions chicken nuggets. The portioning and forming page has the detail on each.
Can I trial my poultry products before buying?
Yes. At our Customer Centre you can run your own products and recipes on a range of our machines under production conditions. Tell us what you want to trial when you get in touch, so we can say which machines are available for it.
How much does poultry processing equipment cost?
We do not publish prices, because the cost depends on the machines, their size and options, and how they connect. Send us your products and volumes and we will prepare a quotation.