Pivoting blade assembly for high-speed food slicing machine

A blade assembly includes a support frame, a cutting blade, a motor to drive the cutting blade, a support shaft operatively coupled to the support frame to permit pivotal movement of the support frame, and an actuator operatively coupled to the support frame to reciprocally move the slicing assembly between an extended position and a retracted position. When the slicing assembly is in the extended position, a plane of the cutting blade is substantially co-planar with a cutting plane of the food product, and the cutting blade slices the food product. Conversely, when the slicing assembly is in the retracted position, the plane of the cutting blade is disposed at a predetermined angle away from the cutting plane of the food product, and the cutting blade does not contact the food product.