Potato-strip cutting deceleration system

A food processing system, comprising:

• a fluid conduit configured for directing the food carried in a fluid medium along a food path;
• a food inlet operatively associated with the fluid conduit for feeding the food into the conduit;
• a pump operatively associated with the conduit for pumping the fluid through the conduit in a fluid stream direction;
• a processor unit device associated with the conduit, disposed along the food path, and comprising a tool configured and associated with the conduit for performing a processing operation on the food;
• a deceleration element operatively associated with the conduit and configured for decelerating the fluid and carried food along the food path;
• a separating unit disposed along the food path and configured for separating the processed food from the fluid;
• and
• a transition portion extending substantially from the deceleration element to the separating unit, wherein the transition portion is configured for maintaining the fluid flow substantially free of recirculation vortices.