Food portioning machine and methods of operation thereof

A food portioning machine comprising:

• a machine base;
• a feeder for feeding a food product in a feed direction;
• a cutter for cutting portions from a leading end of a food product fed towards the cutter by the feeder;
• and
• a portion thickness control assembly comprising:
• a carriage carried by the machine base and able to move relative to the machine base in order to adjust the thickness of each portion to be cut from the food product;
• a carriage drive assembly coupled to the carriage to move the carriage relative to the machine base;
• a product stop carried by the carriage and able to move relative to the carriage between advanced and retracted positions;
• and
• a product stop drive assembly coupled to the product stop to move the product stop between the advanced and retracted positions,
• such that, before the cutter starts to cut a next portion from the leading end of the food product, the carriage drive assembly is operable to move the carriage to a position relative to the machine base with reference to the thickness of the next portion to be cut, and the product stop drive assembly is operable to move the product stop from its retracted position to its advanced position for engagement by the leading end of the food product.