Chilling [ Return towards Food & Beverage ]

In the food industry rapid cooling of products is carried out for two principal reasons: increased productivity and maintenance of hygiene and quality standards. We distinguish between chilling n the course of a production process - and chilling of dishes for later use.

Chilling in the course of a production process Some foodstuffs (eg. bread products, sauces, cooked dishes...) must be cooled quickly during their manufacture, generally following cooking or pasteurization.
In this instance the food manufacturer will wish to:
• Reduce natural chilling time to facilitate continuous production,
• Guarantee the bacteriological quality of products by minimising the time the food spends in the danger or prohibited zones (where development of micro-organisms is at a maximum), ensuring conformance with prevailing food regulations and improved storage times for products.

Chilling of dishes for later use
Where meals are produced away from their point of consumption, the challenge for the customer is to find the most economical means to deliver well preserved products.
Two choices are available:
A. The hot connection: Products must remain above +65°C (above the microbiological danger zone) and be consumed within the hour (to preserve product quality).
B. The cold connection: It is necessary to cool products quickly to at least below +10°C (the lower limit of the danger zone) and maintain them at a favorable temperature. The quality of this cooling process makes it possible to defer consumption for up to 5 days, and requires only one reheating.

Fast chilling of the cold chain allows:
• Improved preservation and adherence to legal standards
• Rationalization of production as fast chilling facilitates large manufacturing batches (economy of scale, rationalization of production...)

Features of the Air Liquide cryogenic cold cabinets SILVERSAS™, tunnels ZIP FREEZE™ and HIMALAYA™ as well as CARBOSPRAY L™ equipments ,allow quick cooling of foodstuffs in discontinuous or continuous operations.

Air Liquide cryogenic cold (LCO₂ or LIN) allows : • limited processing time
• rapid lowering of core temperature
• easy cleaning
• moderate capital cost
• maintenance of organoleptic and visual qualities of products
• compact unit (not of compressor)
• flexibility of operation

Advantages for customers:• Chilling in the course of the production process
• Increases in productivity further facilitating fast cooling
• Usefulness of cryogenic cold in discontinuous or continuous operations
• A range of equipment to customer requirements
• Later use
• Having a complete cold chain
• Quality of cryogenic cold compared to mechanical cold
• Range of equipments adapted to customer requirements