Air Products and the Grimsby Institute have announced a collaborative international research program to support the creation of best practice guidelines for food freezing and chilling.
The research program will provide a strategic review of the principles and practices of chilling and freezing food to establish best practice guidelines.
Led by the Grimsby Institute’s Food Refrigeration Process Engineering Research Center (FRPERC), the research will be carried out by research fellows Stephen James, Christian James and Graham Purnell. Their activity will be supported by a group of research students from Universities in Southern China, who will be completing MSc degrees in productivity and innovation.
The Grimsby Institute’s Professor Dillon, who is responsible for helping to bring FRPERC to Grimsby, commented, “It is great to see the applied research unit get this agreement so soon after setting up base in Grimsby. I know this project will be the first of many to help build our reputation nationally and internationally as a center of excellence in the freezing and chilling of seafood.”
Air Products, a leading global supplier of food freezing and chilling systems, will also be collaborating on the research project, providing access to the latest hi-tech cryogenic freezing systems as well as advising on how to optimize systems during the research activity.
As well as considering the potential of cryogenic freezing technologies, the research project aims to explore the role of electromagnets in advanced freezing applications. In particular, the Cells Alive System, an award-winning electromagnetic freezing system from Japan will be investigated as part of the research activity.
The research program gets underway in October and while it is planned to continue for one year initially, it may continue after that time, backed by further links with Universities in Southern China.
[Source: gasworld]
Air Products’ New Freshline® QS Tunnel Freezer Provides Food Processors With a Quick Start to Cryogenic Freezing
Air Products is introducing to the North American food market its Freshline® QS tunnel freezer, which can be used to cryogenically freeze or cool a wide variety of foods such as meat and poultry, seafood, fruits and vegetables, pasta, dairy products, baked goods and prepared meals. Designed with simplicity in mind, the new tunnel freezer is ideal for smaller volume food processors and start-ups that want to quickly begin freezing a high quality product with minimal upfront cost.
The QS tunnel freezer can be integrated into new or existing production lines in minimal time and is also well-suited for food processors wanting to convert to continuous freezing, alleviate a bottleneck in their operation, or grow and diversify their existing product line.
“The Freshline QS tunnel freezer is an economical and easy-to-operate freezer that was developed with smaller volume food processors and start-ups in mind,” says Marna Schmidt, North America Food industry manager at Air Products. “The design of the new freezer enables a faster start-up with minimal upfront cost, making cryogenic freezing a more practical option for smaller volume food processors.”
Schmidt also explains that with the QS tunnel freezer, in-process or continuous freezing can be quickly integrated into a food production line, enabling manufacturers to free up walk-in freezer storage space by converting their process to a freeze-to-order operation.
Air Products’ cryogenic freezers―which use the extremely cold temperature of liquid nitrogen (LIN) (-196°C) to achieve temperature reduction―are capable of freezing food within minutes instead of the hours required by traditional ammonia- or freon-based systems. This quick freeze not only can contribute to a higher yield, but also can enhance product quality. When food products are frozen more rapidly, it results in the formation of smaller ice crystals, which causes less damage to a product’s cellular structure. This enables food products to maintain moisture, which not only improves texture, color and flavor, but also translates into smaller weight losses from dehydration and higher yields.
The Freshline QS tunnel freezer has an easy-to-use automated control system where product-specific operating set points can be stored, which can reduce the time and manpower needed to freeze products. The innovative design, with open and easy access to the internal parts of the freezer, allows for simple cleaning to meet the latest hygiene and safety standards of the food industry. In addition, the simple design of the QS tunnel freezer, with fewer moving parts than traditional cryogenic freezers, leads to less maintenance.
