What are the freezing processes used in the food industry? In the food industry, freezing technology is the core link to ensure product quality and extend shelf life.
This article will deeply analyze the commonly used freezing processes in the food industry and explore how to choose suitable industrial-grade solutions based on product characteristics and production needs.
Four Major Freezing Processes in the Food Industry
- By forced circulation of low-temperature air (-30°C to -40°C), the food temperature is quickly reduced, which is suitable for batch processing of large-volume products such as meat, seafood and prepared foods.
- Its advantages are low equipment cost and easy integration into continuous production lines, but attention should be paid to energy consumption control to reduce long-term operating costs.
- Applicable scenarios: high-capacity factories, standardized product lines.
Contact Freezing (Flat Quick Freezer)
- This technology uses metal plates to directly contact the surface of food to transfer cold, which is commonly used in the quick freezing of flat products such as hamburger patties and fish fillets.
- Its freezing speed is better than the airflow method, which can reduce ice crystal formation, but the equipment flexibility is low and needs to match products of specific shapes.
- Applicable scenarios: High value-added products, processing lines with strict requirements on morphological integrity.
Liquid Nitrogen Freezing (Liquid Nitrogen Spray Quick Freezer)
- Liquid nitrogen (-196°C) can achieve ultra-fast freezing by direct spraying or immersion, which can maximize the preservation of food texture and flavor, especially suitable for fragile products such as berries and high-end seafood.
- Applicable scenarios: Small batches of high-value products, flexible production lines that need to be put into production quickly.
Spiral Freezing (Spiral Quick Freezer)
- Spiral freezers achieve continuous operation through multi-layer conveyor belts, occupy a small area and are suitable for irregular-shaped products (such as baked goods, pre-prepared meals with sauces).
- Applicable scenarios: Multi-category mixed production lines, factories with limited space.
How to Choose Suitable Industrial Refrigeration Equipment?
Enterprises need to make a comprehensive assessment from the following dimensions:
- Capacity requirements: The output of a single shift determines the scale of the equipment (such as 1 ton or 10 tons per hour).
- Product characteristics: Water content, shape, and sensitivity affect the choice of technology (e.g., liquid nitrogen is suitable for products with fragile cell structures).
- Energy efficiency: In long-term operation, variable frequency compressors and residual cold recovery systems can reduce energy consumption by more than 30%.
- Compliance and safety: Equipment that complies with HACCP and ISO certifications can reduce quality control risks.
Why Choose Our Industrial Quick Freezing Solutions?
As a professional quick freezing equipment manufacturer, we provide the following core advantages to food companies:
- Customized design: Optimize equipment structure according to product type and factory layout (such as double helix layout to increase production capacity).
- Intelligent temperature control system: Precisely adjust the freezing rate to reduce product dry loss (<2%).
- Global service network: 24-hour technical support and spare parts supply to ensure zero downtime of the production line.
Choosing the right freezing process can not only improve product quality, but also significantly optimize production costs by reducing losses and energy consumption.
For companies that require large-scale and high-stability production, investing in industrial-grade quick freezing equipment is a key step to achieve long-term competitiveness.
Contact us now to get a refrigeration solution design and equipment selection report based on your product characteristics!
