Method and apparatus for packaging meat products in elastic netting

摘要

A method for the encapsulation of a meat product with elasticated netting comprising displacing a predetermined length of a sleeve of said netting along the exterior of a tube 16 by net gripping means 24 which are reciprocable relative to the tube 16 and relatively moving a meat product out of an end of the tube 16 so that the meat product is surrounded by said netting, whereby the product is encapsulated by said predetermined length of the sleeve without applying substantial tension to the sleeve. The net gripping means 24 may comprise an annular array of fingers each spring loaded to an operative position in which they make contact with the exterior of the tube 16 and an inoperative position where no contact with the tube 16 is made. The means for displacing the meat product out of one end of the tube 16 maybe a piston.