A GRIPPING TOOL, A MEAT HANDLING SYSTEM, AND A METHOD FOR AUTOMATIC SUSPENSION OF MEAT ITEMS

This invention relates to systems and methods for automatic suspension of meat items, delivered on a conveyor belt, on a meat storage/transport rack, for use at abattoirs, and in particular at pig abattoirs. More specifically, the invention provides a gripping tool for mounting on an industrial robot, configured for gripping, moving and suspending a bone-containing meat item, and a meat handling system, configured for gripping, moving and suspending a bone-containing meat item on a meat storage/transport rack, and a method of automatically moving and suspending a bone-containing meat item on a meat storage/transport rack.