Claims
- 1. A method for producing a goods stream, comprising:
transferring a first stream of goods having at least one variable to a first device capable of measuring at least one variable; transferring a second stream of goods having at least one variable to a second device capable of measuring at least one variable; and combining the first and second streams into a goods stream, wherein combining takes place in the presence of a gas that has an oxygen content different from the oxygen content of air.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the streams are maintained in a substantially enclosed environment.
- 3. The method of claim 1, wherein transferring the first and second streams occurs simultaneously.
- 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising diverting the combined single stream to one of a plurality of vessels.
- 5. The method of claim 1, wherein a variable in the combined stream is determined by varying the flow rate of at least one of the first and the second streams.
- 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the variable of the combined stream is controlled by decreasing the flow rate of at least one of the first and the second streams.
- 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the variable is selected from the group consisting of fat, lean tissue, and water content of the goods.
- 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising grinding the goods of the first and the second streams before combining.
- 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising applying a bacteria-reducing agent to the goods prior to grinding.
- 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the agent comprises an acid.
- 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the acid is selected from the group consisting of citric acid, acetic acid, lactic acid, and carbonic acid.
- 12. The method of claim 9, wherein the agent comprises ozone in water.
- 13. The method of claim 1, further comprising treating the first and second streams with radiation.
- 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the radiation is selected from the group consisting of E beam, x-ray, gamma, and ultraviolet C.
- 15. The method of claim 8, further comprising exposing the first and the second streams to a gas, that has an oxygen content different from the oxygen content of air, during grinding.
- 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the gas comprises carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen, oxygen, or any combination thereof.
- 17. The method of claim 1, further comprising exposing the first and second streams to a gas that has an oxygen content different from the oxygen content of air.
- 18. The method of claim 8, further comprising exposing the first and second streams to a gas, that has an oxygen content different from the oxygen content of air, prior to grinding.
- 19. The method of claim 8, further comprising mixing the goods of the first and second streams after grinding and before measuring.
- 20. The method of claim 19, further comprising exposing the first and second streams to a gas that has an oxygen content different from the oxygen content of air during mixing.
- 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the gas is carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen, oxygen, or any combination thereof.
- 22. The method of claim 1, further comprising enclosing the first and the second streams in a vessel upstream of the measuring device.
- 23. The method of claim 22, further comprising controlling a gas that has an oxygen content different from the oxygen content of air in the vessel.
- 24. The method of claim 23, wherein the gas comprises carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen, oxygen, or any combination thereof.
- 25. The method of claim 1, further comprising exposing the goods to a gas that has an oxygen content different from the oxygen content of air, during blending.
- 26. The method of claim 25, further comprising adding water to the goods, in an amount not exceeding an amount of water that has evaporated from the goods, during treatment of the goods.
- 27. The method of claim 25, wherein the gas comprises carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen, oxygen, or any combination thereof.
- 28. The method of claim 1, further comprising grinding the combined goods stream.
- 29. The method of claim 28, further comprising exposing the combined goods stream to a gas, that has an oxygen content different from the oxygen content of air, during grinding.
- 30. The method of claim 29, wherein the gas comprises carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen, oxygen, or any combination thereof.
- 31. The method of claim 1, wherein the first stream comprises a plurality of two or more goods streams.
- 32. The method of claim 31, further comprising treating the plurality of streams to reduce bacteria that may be present.
- 33. The method of claim 1, wherein the second stream comprises a plurality of two or more goods streams.
- 34. The method of claim 33, further comprising treating the plurality of streams to reduce bacteria that may be present.
- 35. The method of claim 1, wherein the first stream has a lower proportion of at least one variable in comparison with a higher proportion of the same variable in the second stream.
- 36. The method of claim 35, further comprising combining the first and second streams to produce a combined stream, having a combined variable proportion that is between the low proportion of the first stream and the high proportion of the second stream.
- 37. The method of claim 1, further comprising producing a plurality of combined streams from the first and the second goods streams.
- 38. The method of claim 37, further comprising determining a variable of each of the plurality of combined streams, by controlling the flow rates of the first and second streams.
- 39. The method of claim 1, wherein the combined stream is transferred to a controlled-atmosphere packaging system.
- 40. The method of claim 1, wherein the transferring of the first and the second streams is carried out by pumps that compensate for surge.
- 41. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying a bacteria-reducing agent to the goods before combining.
- 42. The method of claim 41, wherein the agent comprises an acid.
- 43. The method of claim 42, wherein the acid is selected from the group consisting of citric acid, acetic acid, lactic acid, and carbonic acid.
- 44. The method of claim 41, wherein the agent comprises ozone in water.
- 45. The method of claim 1, further comprising packaging the combined goods stream in a chub package.
- 46. The method of claim 1, further comprising portioning the combined stream.
- 47. The method of claim 46, further comprising portioning the combined stream into patties.
- 48. The method of claim 1, wherein combining the streams is at a pressure greater than ambient pressure.
- 49. A method for producing a goods stream, comprising:
transferring a first stream of goods having at least one variable to a first device capable of measuring at least one variable; transferring a second stream of goods having at least one variable to a second device capable of measuring at least one variable; and combining the first and second streams into a goods stream, wherein the first and second streams have been in contact with a gas that has an oxygen content different from the oxygen content of air.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/724,287, filed Nov. 28, 2002, which in turn is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/550,399, filed Apr. 14, 2000, which in turn is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/392,074, filed Sep. 8, 1999, which in turn is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/039,150, filed Mar. 13, 1998, now abandoned, which in turn claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/040,556, filed Mar. 13, 1997. In addition, this Application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Serial Nos. 60/129,595, filed Apr. 15, 1999; 60/141,569, filed Jun. 29, 1999; 60/144,400, filed Jul. 16, 1999; 60/148,227 filed Jul. 27, 1999; 60/149,938, filed Aug. 19, 1999; 60/152,677, filed Sep. 7, 1999; 60/154,068, filed Sep. 14, 1999; 60/160,445, filed Oct. 19, 1999; and 60/175,372, filed Jan. 10, 2000.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60040556 |
Mar 1997 |
US |
Continuations (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09724287 |
Nov 2000 |
US |
Child |
10413073 |
Apr 2003 |
US |
Parent |
09039150 |
Mar 1998 |
US |
Child |
09392074 |
Sep 1999 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09550399 |
Apr 2000 |
US |
Child |
09724287 |
Nov 2000 |
US |
Parent |
09392074 |
Sep 1999 |
US |
Child |
09550399 |
Apr 2000 |
US |