Abstract: A food material transfer apparatus of the invention transfers flexible stacked food materials one by one to a predetermined position. The transfer apparatus is formed of a plurality of vacuum sucking pads for picking up one food material from the stacked food materials, a pad-lowering device connected to the vacuum sucking pads for lowering the same, a suction detection device communicating with the vacuum holding pads for detecting if at least one of the pads sucks the one food material, and a control section connected to the pad-lowering device and the suction detection device. When the suction detection device detects that the pads suck the one food material, the control section operates the pad-lowering device to further lower the pads for a predetermined amount to thereby securely hold the one food material by the plurality of the vacuum sucking pads.