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Chapter 20 - Chilling and Freezing

Author(s) : JAMES S. J., JAMES C.

Type of excerpt: Book chapter

Summary

The principal factor controlling the safety of a refrigerated (chilled or frozen) food is its temperature. In many cases the time taken to reach the desired temperature is also important. To provide safe refrigerated food products of high organoleptic quality, attention must be paid to every aspect of the cold chain from initial chilling or freezing of the raw ingredients, through storage and transport, to retail display. The cold chain consists of two distinct types of operation. In processes such as primary and secondary chilling or freezing the aim is to change the average temperature of the food. In others, such as chilled or frozen storage, transport and retail display, the prime aim is to maintain the temperature of the food. Removing the required amount of heat from a food is a difficult, time- and energy-consuming operation, but critical to the operation of the cold chain. As a food moves along the cold chain it becomes increasingly difficult to control and maintain its temperature. This is because the temperatures of bulk packs of refrigerated product in large storerooms are far less sensitive to small heat inputs than single consumer packs in open display cases or in a domestic refrigerator/freezer. This chapter describes and explains the technologies used to produce and ensure the safety of chilled and frozen foods and maintain the cold chain.

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