Process for producing a foodstuff product having a decoration

A system for producing foodstuff products provided with a respective decoration, comprising:

• a unit for making a plurality of foodstuff products each having a surface and a cavity made on said surface and having a profile in plan view that is predetermined to reproduce the respective decoration;
• a conveying line for feeding a plurality of foodstuff products in a direction of advance;
• at least one camera for detecting the foodstuff products that advance on the conveying line along the direction of advance;
• at least one unit for dispensing the foodstuff material in the cavities made on the foodstuff products advancing on the conveying line, wherein the dispensing unit comprises a plurality of rows of nozzles arranged in a direction transverse to the direction of advance;
• and
• a control unit configured to control the dispensing unit as a function of data indicating the respective volumes of the single cavities, obtained from detection of the foodstuff products made by the at least one camera, comprising a memory unit containing a sequence of instructions that can be executed by the control unit for implementing the process according to a process for producing foodstuff products provided with a respective decoration, the process comprising the steps of:
• making a plurality of foodstuff products, each having a surface and at least a cavity made on said surface and having a profile in plan view that is predetermined to reproduce the respective decoration;
• making said plurality of foodstuff products advance on a conveying line, in a direction of advance;
• via the at least one camera, detecting, for each foodstuff product, the respective cavity;
• on the basis of data obtained from detection by the at least one camera, determining one or more data indicating a volume of the cavity of the foodstuff product;
• providing along said conveying line at least one unit for dispensing a fluid foodstuff material, comprising a plurality of rows of nozzles arranged in a direction transverse to said direction of advance;
• selecting a set of nozzles of the plurality of rows of nozzles through which to dispense the fluid foodstuff material, as a function of the one or more data indicating a volume of the cavity determined previously;
• through the set of nozzles selected, dispensing in the cavity of each foodstuff product an amount of fluid foodstuff material substantially equal to the volume of the cavity of the foodstuff product,
• wherein the fluid foodstuff material is dispensed, through the selected nozzles, at respective pre-set times and while the product on the conveying line advances underneath the plurality of rows of nozzles,
• wherein determining one or more data indicating a volume of the cavity includes determining an area in plan view and a depth of the cavity;
• and wherein selecting a set of nozzles includes:
• identifying a first set of nozzles for covering at least the bottom of the cavity, as a function of the area determined;
• and
• identifying a number of further sets of nozzles for completing filling of the entire volume of the cavity, as a function of the depth determined and of the rate of advance of the products in the direction of advance.