A process and apparatus for the continuous manufacture of food products
such as sausages is provided which eliminates the need for intermediate
stuffing of the food product into casings which are discarded prior to
final packaging. The preferred apparatus of the invention includes first
and second heated rollers (16, 17) each presenting a plurality of
elongated, axially aligned channels or recesses (18,20) which are
circumferentially and axially spaced on the corresponding rollers (16,
17); in addition, the second roller (17) includes a series of elongated,
continuous, tube-receiving openings (22) extending between each series of
aligned openings (20). Mechanisms (28, 29) are associated with the
rollers (16, 17) in order to continuously feed elongated synthetic resin
sheets (34, 35) into the nip between the rollers (16, 17). Rollers (24,
27) are provided for forcing portions of the sheets (34,35) into the
recesses (18,20) and openings (22) prior to passage of the sheets (34,35)
between the rollers (16, 17) where they are longitudinally heat sealed
together to continuously form elongated, aligned food-receiving cavities
(48). A plurality of feeding tubes (11) extend through the rollers (16,
17) and are located within the corresponding openings (22) and recesses
(20) during rotation of the rollers (16, 17). The tubes (11) continuously
direct the flowing food material into the cavities (48), the latter being
transversely heat sealed via transverse sealing bars (60, 60') to form
complete, enclosed food packages.