Weight giveaway reduction system

A food processing system for outputting groups of slices of a food product with each group having a weight greater than a predetermined group weight threshold while minimising give-away for each group, including:

• a food slicing machine having a control arrangement for regulating a thickness of slices cut by the slicing machine so that the slicing machine cuts the slices according to a current value of a slice size parameter to form groups of slices;
• a check-weight weighing arrangement that receives the groups of slices from the food slicing machine and is responsive to generation of any under-weight group of slices cut by the slicing machine having a weight less than the predetermined group weight threshold by generating an under-weight signal corresponding to each of the under-weight groups of slices,
• wherein the system identifies the under-weight groups of slices via the under-weight signal so that the weight of the under-weight groups of slices can be increased by addition of a further slice to create a topped-up group of slices before being outputted by the system along with on-weight groups of slices, the on-weight groups of slices being groups of slices cut by the slicing machine having a weight equal to or greater than the predetermined group weight threshold;
• and
• an end-of-line weighing arrangement at an end-of-line position which
• (a) receives the topped-up groups of slices and the on-weight groups of slices,
• (b) monitors the weight of each of the topped-up groups of slices and the weight of each of the on-weight groups of slices, and
• (c) generates an end-of-line weight signal corresponding to each of the topped-up groups of slices and to each of the on-weight groups of slices;
• wherein the control arrangement:
• (a) receives
• (i) each end-of-line weight signal, each end-of-line weight signal corresponding to the weight of each of the topped-up groups of slices as well as to the weight of each of the on-weight groups of slices, and
• (ii) each under-weight signal;
• and
• (b) adjusts the slicing machine to change the thickness of the slices cut by the slicing machine so that the slicing machine cuts the slices according to a new value of the slice size parameter which is determined by the control arrangement based on both the end-of-line weight signals and the under-weight signals, such that the slice size parameter tends towards an optimal value of the slice size parameter to minimise give-away at the end-of-line position.