Abstract: A system and method for determining how food products might be portioned includes a scanner for scanning the food product and then using a computer to analyze the scanning data to develop a volume distribution of the food product. The computer operating scanning software carries out modeling to determine potential sets of end products achievable from the initial work product, taking into consideration the possibility of adjusting the thickness of the food product, either before or after cutting of the food product occurs. The computer evaluates the potential yield provided by the potential sets of end products and then one of the potential sets of end products is selected. Thereafter, the present system or a further portioning system is used to cut and optionally adjust the thickness of the food product, either before or after the cutting occurs, thereby to achieve the selected end product set.

Abstract: A portioning system (10) includes a scanner (16) for scanning a passing poultry breast (14). A cutting device (18), a slicing device (20) and/or other equipment may be used to portion, trim, or otherwise process the poultry breast under the control of a computer (22). The computer also utilizes the information from the scanner to determine position and the angular orientation of the poultry breast relative to a reference line by determining directional lines corresponding to physical attributes of the poultry breast. One directional line is related to the principal axis of the poultry breast, determined from the axis of least inertia of the poultry breast. Other directional lines may correspond to the locations of notches, projections, linear depressions, or other physical anatomical features of the poultry breast.