Patent ID: 6962128

Claim:
A seasoning apparatus for applying seasoning onto snack product pieces and recovering seasoning, said apparatus comprising: a seasoning pervious conveyor for transporting a plurality of snack product pieces through a seasoning application; a seasoning feeder positioned directly above the seasoning pervious conveyor for depositing a blended seasoning onto the product pieces being transported on the seasoning pervious conveyor, wherein said seasoning feeder has a feeding end, and further wherein the blended seasoning comprises a mixture of fresh seasoning and recovered seasoning; a seasoning recovery conveyor positioned below the seasoning pervious conveyor and aligned directly beneath the seasoning feeder; a sifter for receiving and purifying recovered seasoning from the seasoning recovery conveyor, said sifter comprising a first sifter inlet, a first sifter outlet, and a second sifter outlet, and further wherein said sifter inlet is proximate to a discharge end of the seasoning recovery conveyor; and an enclosed mechanical particle-transporting conveyor for transferring the blended seasoning from the sifter to the seasoning feeder, said particle-transporting conveyor running from the first sifter outlet to the seasoning feeder.