Submersion conveyor system and methods thereof

A submersion conveyor system for treating a food product comprising:

• a processing tank having opposing sidewalls, opposing endwalls and a material transport bed that in combination define an interior tank volume, the material transport bed having a contoured bed design extending between a product entrance end located proximate one of the opposing endwalls and a product discharge end located proximate the other opposing endwall, the contoured bed design having a first substantially horizontal portion operably connected to a decline slope proximate the product entrance end, a second substantially horizontal portion operably connected to an incline slope proximate the product discharge end, and a submersion tank portion having a third substantially horizontal portion located below a processing liquid line operably connected to and proximately located between the decline slope of the product entrance end and the incline slope of the product discharge end;
• a processing liquid comprising a chemical intervention solution comprising at least one peroxycarboxylic acid having 2-8 carbon atoms for treating a food product during normal processing operation, the processing liquid contained within the interior tank volume proximate the submersion tank portion located below the first and second substantially horizontal portions and intermediate between the decline slope of the product entrance end and the incline slope of the product discharge end in the interior tank volume;
• a conveyor assembly located on an operational arm, the operational arm capable of raising the conveyor assembly away from the interior tank volume and lowering the conveyor at least partially within said interior tank volume during normal processing operation, the conveyor assembly comprising a conveyor belt having an axial length with an enclosed loop configuration, a width defined between opposing side-ends, and a continuous material extending the width between the opposing side-ends, each opposing side-end proximately located a respective opposing sidewall of the processing tank during normal processing operation, and a plurality of flights positioned along the axial length of the conveyor belt, each of the plurality of flights extending at least a portion of the width of the conveyor belt between the opposing side-ends, and the plurality of flights forming a plurality of sets of adjacent flights, such that each set of adjacent flights has a front flight and a back flight and the back flight of the first set of adjacent flights forms the front flight for the second set of adjacent flights, and the conveyor assembly configured to rotate the conveyor belt in a processing motion defined by the plurality of flights rotating the axial length of the enclosed loop configuration of the conveyor belt in a direction from the product entrance end through the submersion tank portion and to the product discharge end and then back to the product entrance end during normal processing operation;
• and
• a plurality of submersion-enclosure volumes each containing one or more food products proximately located the submersion tank portion, each submersion-enclosure volume defined by at least one set of adjacent flights such that the front flight forming a front side and the back flight forming an opposing back side, a corresponding portion of the material transport bed proximately located the submersion tank portion forming a bottom, a corresponding portion of the opposing sidewalls forming opposing sides, and a corresponding portion of the conveyor belt forming a top, such that the submersion conveyor system is configured to completely submerse the submersion-enclosure volumes and the one or more food products contained in each of the plurality of submersion-enclosure volumes below the processing line within the chemical intervention solution as each submersion-enclosure volume moves through the submersion tank portion in a direction from the decline slope of the product entrance end to the incline slope of the product discharge end during normal processing operation
• wherein the submersion conveyor system is configured to introduce the one or more food products between each set of adjacent flights at the product entrance end, convey the one or more food products from the first substantially horizontal portion and down the decline slope to the submersion tank portion to treat the one or more food products by complete submersion within the respective submersion-enclosure volume below the processing liquid line within the chemical intervention solution proximate the submersion tank portion of the interior tank volume, and then convey the one or more food products from the submersion tank portion up the incline slope to the second substantially horizontal portion to then discharge the one or more food products from the each set of adjacent flights at the product discharge end, as the conveyor belt rotates from the product entrance end to the product discharge during normal processing operation;
• and
• wherein the top of each submersion-enclosure volume formed by the conveyor belt is completely submersed below the processing line within the chemical intervention solution proximate the submersion tank portion of the interior tank volume, and the top of each submersion-enclosure volume formed by the conveyor belt is configured to keep the one or more food products contained within the submersion-enclosure volume completely submersed below the processing line within the chemical intervention solution proximate the submersion tank portion of the interior tank volume during normal processing operation.