A channel, which is slanted upwardly from a loading end thereof to an unloading end thereof by an angle in the range of 10° to 45°, accommodates a motorized screw feeder； a settling tank, defined above the loading end of the channel, has at least two areas which are separated by at least one filtering surface which is permeable to whey； a first area is adapted to receive curd to be drained, and is open toward the channel so that the curd can fall into the channel by gravity and be conveyed by the screw feeder toward the unloading end； the second area is adapted to receive the whey filtered through the filtering wall.
