Method and apparatus for severing a coextrusion for making an enrobed food piece

A method for the continuous production of individual food pieces of coextruded foods at a food station where the food pieces are transported away by a conveyor comprising the steps of:

• coextruding from a die said inner food with and inside said outer food in a downwardly direction so as to form a coextrusion below the die;
• horizontally severing the coextrusion while it is unsupported from below at a place which is a predetermined distance below the die with a pair of bluntly-shaped elements that move in a horizontal plane and overlap each other at the severing place so as to simultaneously draw the outer food both above and below the severing place over the inner food to form food pieces having the inner food enrobed by the outer food and dropping the severed food pieces from said place onto the conveyor;
• periodically varying the rate of flows of the inner and outer foods relative to each other so as to produce in said coextrusion at said predetermined distance below the die a relatively greater amount of outer food;
• and
• severing the coextrusion near said greater amount of food to enhance the enrobing of the inner food.