Head meat recovery

Apparatus for recovering meat from the head of a slaughtered animal, the apparatus including:

• a jaw support for supporting the head of a slaughtered animal, cheek pullers located and mounted in association with the jaw support and operable for engaging with and holding the cheeks of the animal head in the vicinity of the mouth when the head is supported by the jaw support, each cheek puller comprising a cheek clamp for positioning at a respective one of the opposite sides of the mouth, each cheek clamp comprising two clamp jaws, one of the clamp jaws being located against the inside papillae and the other clamp jaw being located against the outside muscle surface, and a drive arrangement operatively coupled to the cheek pullers for moving the cheek pullers outward relatively away from each other and also relative to the animal head held by the jaw support in the posterior direction so as to pull tissues from both the jaw and the skull.

Apparatus for recovering meat from the head of a slaughtered animal, the apparatus including:

• a jaw support for supporting the head of a slaughtered animal, the jaw support comprising a support member and a jaw support clamp operative to clamp the jaw against the support member to restrain the jaw against movement, the jaw support being arranged and operative to support the jaw so that the muzzle of the animal head is directed upwardly, cheek pullers located and mounted in association with the jaw support and operable for engaging with and holding the cheeks of the animal head in the vicinity of the mouth when the head is supported by the jaw support, and a drive arrangement operatively coupled to the cheek pullers for moving the cheek pullers outward relatively away from each other and also relative to the animal head held by the jaw support in the posterior direction so as to pull tissues from both the jaw and the skull.

Apparatus for recoving meat from the head of a slaughtered animal, the apparatus including:

• a jaw support for supporting the head of a slaughtered animal, cheek pullers located and mounted in association with the jaw support and operable for engaging with and holding the cheeks of the animal head in the vicinity of the mouth when the head is supported by the jaw support, a drive arrangement operatively coupled to the cheek pullers for moving the cheek pullers outward relatively away from each other and also relative to the animal head held by the jaw support in the posterior direction so as to pull tissues from both the jaw and the skull, and a jaw separation means operable to separate the skull from the jaw during and after the cheek meat is removed from the animal head.