Loose, juicy, with an appetising appearance, delicious taste, convincing mouthfeel and pleasant bite - just like homemade. This is how consumers want their fresh meat product. The technology of VEMAG Maschinenbau GmbH, Verden/Aller, Germany, guarantees premium quality and optimises existing production processes. From the classic minced meat portion to burger patties to shaped specialities such as cevapcici or meatballs - with filling systems and filling grinders for continuous separation as well as attachments for shaping the end products and depositing the food in the packaging, VEMAG offers highly productive automation solutions for the weight-accurate production of different, dimensionally stable products.

Efficiency and precision already start with the filling of the vacuum filling machines. By means of the VEMAG DuoDrive, the product is gently transported into the double screw via a hopper. This results in a uniform filling flow for perfect further processing, because there is no back pressure during the grinding and separation processes and the product does not heat up during processing. Directly driven by the double screw of the filling machine, the separation grinder982, for example, gently grinds the raw material to the desired final grain size. This guarantees uniform granulation, excellent colouring, particle alignment and a clear structure for the desired product appearance. During the grinding process, heat generation is avoided and the large diameter of the grinder prevents pressure build-up and thus changes in the product texture. The integrated separator, e.g. the 813, continuously removes unwanted particles during processing and ejects them safely. This ensures premium products of the highest quality. At the same time, the handling and cleaning of the system is particularly easy.

Burger patties as if made by hand

In further processing, for example, the FM250 shaping machine is the reference for industrial burger production, with the bite, texture and appearance of a premium-quality handmade patty. On the one hand, the FM250 forms so compactly that the end product holds together well during preparation, while on the other hand it remains fluffy with a juicy, soft texture. The FM250 achieves this by gently conveying the raw material so that the meat fibres remain intact and maintain an even alignment. A flattening belt brings the products running on a conveyor belt to the desired final size. The patties are then automatically placed in trays, for example. The VEMAG FM250 forms up to 300 portions per minute.

At IFFA 2025, VEMAG will be exhibiting numerous other solutions for the production of fresh meat products, including the Paper Interleaver PI355 for automatic positioning of paper or film under the individual portion and the Automatic Meatball Loader AML273 for weight-accurate production and fully automatic depositing of meatballs or cevapcici in trays.