Manufacture of meat products and foods comprises: (A) freeing meat joints, mince or portions of connective tissues and sorting into portions and particles of fat and lean fractions; (B) agglomerating meat destined for the product using suitable equipment and, if appropriate, adding additives; (C) processing mixtures and if appropriate introducing further materials, especially prepared connective tissues and proteins. The proteins swell and/or enter solution; (D) further mixing and processing to give the end product; (E) separating fatty tissue recovered in stage A, as appropriate, as far as possible into protein and fat phases using suitable procedures and equipment and then separating fat phases themselves. If appropriate the protein- and/or the fat phases are returned to process stages B, C and/or D. Also claimed is the equipment to carry out the process comprising flotation and sedimentation tanks (2), flotation decanter (14), separator (17), a lower extractor (4, 5) followed by second decanter (16), further separator (18), introduction section (12), feed and/or settlement tank (9), separation unit (10) and recirculator (11).
