Patent ID: 7883399

Claim:
Method for producing a shined food casing covered by a net, wherein air or an inert gas is blown into the carrier casing, said method comprising: inflating a carrier casing to have a circular diameter; pulling the inflated carrier casing in the direction of a tubular net towards a pleating head having a conical constrictor, wherein the tubular net comprises meshes and an open end of the tubular net is attached to a clamp that is both (a) coaxial with a shirring mandrel and (b) located between the pleating head and the shirring mandrel, the inflated carrier casing being thus fed into the tubular net while pulling the net inside out over itself to form a net/carrier casing combination; pulling the net/carrier combination through the pleating head toward a shirring machine that comprises the shirring mandrel, wherein air or an inert gas is blown from inside the shirring mandrel at a pressure that bulges at least some areas of the carrier casing between the meshes of the net to form protrusions; and shirring the net/carrier casing combination with the shirring machine.