Automatic slicing machine for food stuffs

In combination with a food slicing machine having a rotating slicing blade for cutting food stock such as meats and cheese and an advancable and transversely reciprocable carriage for support and movement of the food stock toward as well as transversely across the cutting edge of the slicing blade to cut and supply in sequence severed slices of such stock, a slice removing means disposed in the slice release region of said blade comprising a linearly moveable planar deposit surface comprising a plurality of parallel side-by-side spaced individual transport belts providing individual longitudinal surfaces each moveable linearly in a direction away from said slicing blade, a plurality of rotatable longitudinal rolls having axes of rotation aligned parallel with the deposit surface of said transport belts, each adjacent pair of said belts having one of said rolls disposed in the vertical space region therebetween, said rolls being moveable to a position below said slice deposit surface to permit free movement of grouped food slices away from the slicing blade by said transport belts, said rolls also being selectably moveable upwardly in unison to lift sliced foodstuffs from said slice deposit surface of the belts whereby upon rotation of said rolls the food slices are moved as a group in a direction transverse to the direction of movement on said belts.