A22C PROCESSING MEAT, POULTRY, OR FISH (preserving A23B; obtaining protein compositions for foodstuffs A23J1/00; fish, meat or poultry preparations A23L; disintegrating, e.g. chopping meat, B02C18/00; preparation of proteins C07K1/00)
Description
A22C encompasses machinery and methods for processing meat, poultry, and fish after slaughter, including operations such as cleaning, cutting, deboning, portioning, and preservation treatments. This subclass covers equipment like saws, slicers, grinders, and filleting machines used in meat processing facilities, as well as processes for curing, smoking, and other value-added treatments. It excludes the slaughter operation itself (covered by A22B) and general food preservation techniques not specific to meat or fish processing (covered elsewhere in Class A23).
Filing statistics
CPC subclass A22C recorded 18,441 patent applications worldwide between 2013 and 2023. Annual filings grew from 1,222 in 2013 to 1,410 in 2023 (+15%), peaking at 2,310 applications in 2020. The most active applicants in class A22 are NORDISCHER MASCHINENBAU RUD. BAADER & COMPANY (515 applications), MEYN FOOD PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY (384 applications) and MAYEKAWA MANUFACTURING COMPANY (297 applications).
Source: EPO PATSTAT, worldwide filings
11 direct subcodes
Child Classifications
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- A22C 11/00 Sausage making
- A22C 13/00 Sausage casings
- A22C 15/00 Apparatus for hanging-up meat or sausages
- A22C 17/00 Other devices for processing meat or bones
- A22C 18/00 Plants, factories, or the like for processing meat (for processing poultry only A22C21/00; for processing fish only A22C25/00)
- A22C 21/00 Processing poultry
- A22C 25/00 Processing fish
- A22C 29/00 Processing shellfish , e.g. oysters, lobsters;
- A22C 5/00 Apparatus for mixing meat, sausage-meat, or meat products (mixing in general B01F)
- A22C 7/00 Apparatus for pounding, forming, or pressing meat, sausage-meat, or meat products
- A22C 9/00 Apparatus for tenderising meat, e.g. ham
Top Applicants
Top 10 applicants by patent filingsfor class A22, 2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT
- NORDISCHER MASCHINENBAU RUD. BAADER & COMPANY DE 515
- MEYN FOOD PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY NL 384
- MAYEKAWA MANUFACTURING COMPANY JP 297
- POLY-CLIP SYSTEM & COMPANY DE 198
- MAREL STORK POULTRY PROCESSING NL 155
- ALBERT HANDTMANN MASCHINENFABRIK & COMPANY DE 148
- GEA FOOD SOLUTIONS BAKEL NL 146
- LINCO FOOD SYSTEMS DK 145
- VEMAG MASCHINENBAU DE 133
- FOODMATE NL 130