a mechanism that is suitable for incorporation in an apparatus for handling articles in a closely - spaced array to remove malformed pieces from those properly formed . the invention is especially useful in systems for treating dough pieces , particularly those used in preparing fried chip foods , to remove malformed pieces such as masa lumps . the mechanism can include a rotatable wheel having a plurality of radial blades extending from a central axis for selectively ejecting the malformed articles from a surface on which both the malformed and normally - shaped articles are interpositioned in the array and are conveyed past and below the outermost extremity of the blades . the ejected articles can be collected for recycling or disposal while the remaining acceptably - formed articles are retained for other treatment or use .