Method and device for evisceration of carcasses

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for the evisceration of carcasses conveyed on a slaughter line suspended in gambrels or hooks, where the abdomen and breast have been cut open, the hams divided and the fat end loosened, and wherein the carcass intestines are loosened, removed and placed on a gut pan or conveyor, the diaphragm is loosened and the plucks are removed and placed on a plucks conveyor. In loosening of the intestines, the connections of the intestines with the spinal column are broken, so that the intestines are made to hang out of the abdominal cavity. The diaphragm and leaf fat are loosened mechanically while the intestines are hanging out of the carcass and are connected to the plucks. The latter loosening is effected by a pressing device ( ) and a hoop device ( ) which can be moved independent of each other in the lengthways direction of the carcass. By means of the method, the intestines and plucks can be removed as a set of organs from the carcass and are subsequently separated, providing hygienic advantages. Alternatively separation may be carried out after the connection between the intestines and the plucks has been pulled out of the carcass and before the connection of the plucks with, for instance, the head, has been broken. The diaphragm and leaf fat are removed from the carcass along with the organs.