Patent ID: 8920222

Claim:
A processing line for harvesting organs from an organ package removed from slaughtered poultry, the organ package including a duodenum, gizzard, and one or more of the group comprising a heart, liver, and prestomach, the processing line comprising: an organ harvester positioned for the receipt of the organ package, said organ harvester defining a conveying direction for the organ package, said organ harvester comprising: a first endless belt that is configured for rotation with a direction of movement that is perpendicular to the conveying direction; a transport unit positioned adjacent to said endless belt, said transport unit selected from the group comprising a second endless belt that is configured for rotation or a roller, wherein said first endless belt and said transport unit rotate in opposite rotational directions; wherein said first endless belt and said transporter are configured for moving and orienting the organ package such that the duodenum of the organ package hangs below the remainder of the organ package; first separator configured for receipt of the organ package with the duodenum hanging below the remainder of the organ package, said first separator configured for separating at least a duodenum from the organ package; a second separator configured for separating one or more organs other than a gizzard from the organ package, said second separator positioned after said first separator with regard to the movement of the organ packages through the processing line; and a gizzard processing device positioned for the receipt of the remainder of the organ package from said second separator, the gizzard processing device configured for separating the gizzard from any other portion of the organ package remaining after said second separator.