Apparatus for conditioning of commodities for vacuum packing

Apparatus for the conditioning of a commodity suitable for vacuum packing (12) in which there is provided a conditioning tunnel (2) including a floor (4), a ceiling (6) and first and second side walls (8) through which tunnel (2) runs a conveyor system (10) adjacent the ceiling (6) of the tunnel (2) for transporting the commodity therethrough suspended therefrom, air inlets (14) for directing streams of air into the tunnel (2), air outlet means (22) through which air may be extracted from the tunnel (2), means for conveying air from the outlet means (22) to apparatus for dehumidifying the air and means (16) for conveying the dehumidified air to the air inlets (14), characterised by at least one means (16) on the side walls (8) of the tunnel (2) influencing the flow path of the air passing from the air inlets (14) to the air outlet means (22) to provide a turbulent airstream which subjects the suspended commodity (12) to multidirectional buffeting and causes the dehumidified air to penetrate the commodity (12) so that the commodity may be more evenly and completely conditioned.