Freezing

Introduction
Freezing is one of the most beneficial method
of preservation. It involves, conversion of
liquid content of food into ice crystals,
which lowers down water activity and
microbial growth is arrested due to cold
shock. Pure water is frozen at 0℃ but since
fruits and vegetables contain number of
dissolved solids like sugars, acids, they
freeze at below 0℃.
Process of freezing
During freezing the commodity cools down below
their freezing point but don’t freeze this
phenomenon is called as super cooling. At super
cooled temperature nuclei formation (nucleation)
occurs, which is the first and most important
step in ice-crystal formation in freezing process.
Here the temperature of water will be lower than
0℃ but it will remain in liquid form. At this stage,
further lowering of temperature result in the
formation of ice crystals. Further formation of ice
crystals is the second step which is called crystal
growth stage.
Categories of freezing
Freezing process is divided into two broad categories viz.
slow freezing and quick freezing.
 Slow freezing: when thermal arrest time is more than 30
min.
 Quick freezing: Thermal arrest time is less than 30 min.

In slow freezing, less number of nuclei is formed and as a

result of slow freezing crystals formed are larger in size
and pierce the cell membrane, puncture it and damage
the cells, which gives negative effect on quality of food.
Whereas in quick freezing large numbers of nuclei are
formed, hence having large numbers of crystals of smaller
size evenly distributed within the cell, which gives positive
effect on quality of food.
Advantages of freezing
o No nutrient loss
o Retain freshness of commodity.
o Retain colour and flavor constituents.
o No microbial contamination.
o No respiration, hence longer shelf-life.
Requirements of refrigerated
storage
Controlled low temperature
Air circulation
Humidity control
Modification of gas atmosphere
Each food commodity has its optimum refrigeration
conditions for maximum storage life and retention of
quality and nutritional value.
The storage life of meats, fish and dairy products are
maximized by temperatures that approach 0°C. During
refrigerated storage of foods, maintenance
of controlled temperatures are very important to
ensure maximum storage life of the foods and to
prevent chill injury to certain foods, especially some
fruits and vegetables. For example,
Bananas will undergo a colour change in the peel from
yellow to black, while sweet potatoes may show decay,
pitting and internal discolorations, when stored at
temperatures below 13°C.
Apples may become soggy or show internal browning if
stored below 1-2°C.
Potatoes and avocados may also become brown if stored
below 5 and 7°C, respectively.
Other factors to be controlled for products in
refrigerated storage are humidity and gas
atmosphere composition. A very fine humidity
balance must be maintained to prevent
dehydration of the food while avoiding creation
of conditions that are so humid that mould
growth and food spoilage are favored. Many food
products are stored
under controlled and modified
atmospheres in conjunction with refrigerated
storage for the extension of storage life.
A controlled atmosphere refers to a condition in
which the atmosphere surrounding a food
product is different from that of the normal
atmosphere, and the composition of the
atmosphere around the product is constantly
monitored and maintained at preset levels.
“Controlled atmosphere storage"- facilities where the
atmosphere (CO2, O2 and N2) and humidity are carefully
controlled and temperature kept low to slow the rate of
respiration and ripening of the apples, thus extending the
storage life of the fresh fruit.
Modified atmosphere refers to the creation of
atmospheric conditions around the product that are
different from the normal atmosphere. In this type of
system, food items are placed into a package. The air in
the package is then removed either by drawing a
vacuum, then back flushing the package with the desired
gas mixture before sealing the package, or simply by
flushing the package with the desired gas mixture until
the air in the package is replaced by the desired gas
mixture (usually a combination of carbon dioxide and
nitrogen) before sealing the package. Examples of
products with MA-packaging (MAP)
Changes in food during
refrigerated storage
The effect of freezing on the food components is diverse,
and some components are affected more than others.
For example, protein can be irreversibly denatured by
freezing, whereas carbohydrates are generally more
stable. Other common chemical changes that can
proceed during freezing and frozen storage are lipid
oxidation, enzymatic browning, flavour deterioration, and
the degradation of pigments and vitamins. The main goal
of the freezing process is to extend the shelf life of a raw
material or product beyond that achievable at
temperatures above the initial freezing point of the
material. Therefore, it is important to understand the
modifications that can occur during freezing in food
components and that can further lead to quality
degradation.
Physical changes
In freezing foods, the objective is to promote the formation of
tiny ice crystals rather than the formation of fewer but larger
ice crystals that cause cellular damage. Ice crystal damage can
lead to loss of water from the food product once it is thawed.
The drip that is found in thawed strawberries or beef is due in
part to ice crystal damage to the cells, leading to leakage of
cellular fluids into extracellular spaces, and to the loss of water-
holding capacity of food components as a result of
concentration effects.
Other undesirable changes include formation of package ice and
freeze dehydration which is popularly called freezer burn and
can produce unsightly food surfaces and loss of nutrients.
"Freezer burn" is a misnomer since the food does not "burn" in
the freezer but rather takes on an appearance of having been
burned because of the moisture loss that occurs during this
freeze dehydration (by exposing frozen food to dry air).
Freezer burn is a condition that occurs
when frozen food has been damaged by
dehydration and oxidation due to air
reaching the food. It is generally caused by
food not being securely wrapped in air-tight
packaging.
Freezer burn appears as grayish-brown
leathery spots on frozen food and occurs
when air reaches the food's surface and
dries the product. Color changes result
from chemical changes in the food's
pigment. Freezer burn does not make the
food unsafe; it merely causes dry spots in
foods. The food remains usable and edible,
but removing the freezer burns will improve
Chemical changes
 Flavour and odor deterioration - Air exposure can cause
frozen products to develop rancid oxidative flavors. Keep
frozen food in airtight containers or use wrapping material
that does not permit air to pass into the product. Also,
remove as much air as possible from the freezer bag or
container to reduce the amount of air in contact with the
product
 Pigment degradation
 Enzymatic degradation - Fresh produce contains chemical
compounds called enzymes, which cause the loss of color,
loss of nutrients, flavor changes, and color changes during
freezing. These enzymes must be inactivated to prevent
such reactions from taking place
 Lipid oxidation
 Protein denaturation
Freezing methods
1. Direct freezing
2. Indirect freezing

Direct freezing
In direct contact system there is a direct contact between
the food product and medium used for reduction of
product temperature is used.
Indirect freezing
There are numerous systems used to freeze food products
without direct contact between the product and the
medium used for the product temperature. Most frozen
food are the result of using indirect contact types of
freezing systems, where food is separated from the
refrigerant by some barrier.
Direct contact freezing
1. Still sir sharp freezing
Air freezing is the oldest of the freezing methods. The
equipment is the simplest. The food is simply
placed in an insulated cold room at a temperature
maintained in the range of –23°C to 30°C. This
method is different from the air-blast freezing,
which employs air velocities. Although there is
some air movement by natural convection, in some
cases gentle air movement is promoted by placing
circulating fans in the room. This method is also
referred as still air freezing or sharp freezing. It is
similar to the freezing conditions that exist in home
freezers except that temperatures are low i.e. –18
to –30°C.
2. Air blast freezing
These freezers operate at temperatures of –
30 to –45°C, with forced air velocities of
10-15 m/sec. Food is frozen as batch to
tunnels through which carts or belts may
be moved continuously. Particulate
unpackaged foods, such as loose
vegetables are fed onto the moving belt
when speed is adjustable according to the
required freezing time. In other designs,
food moves on trays, in a vertical
direction. Trays of particulate products
such as peas or beans automatically
move upward through a cold air blast.
3. Fluidized bed freezing
In various air-type freezers, cold air is blown
up through a wire mesh belt that supports
and conveys the product. This imparts a
slight vibratory motion to food particles,
which accelerates freezing rate. When the
air velocity is increased to the point where
it exceeds the velocity of free-fall of the
particle, fluidization occurs; this is called
fluidized-bed freezing. This motion not
only subdivides the product and provides
intimate contacts of each particle with
cold air, but keeps clusters from freezing
together.
Continuous Type Fluidized-Bed Freezer
Particulate foods are fed by a shaker onto a
porous trough. The food is pre chilled and
high velocity refrigerated air fluidizes the
product, freezes it and moves it in
continuous flow for collection and
packaging. An interesting feature of this
unit is continuous and automatic
defrosting. Air is blown via fan through
cooling coils and up through the porous
food trough. Cold air tends to condense its
moisture onto cooling coils. A spray of
propylene glycol antifreeze is maintained
over cooling coils to melt ice as it would be
formed. In this way, cooling coils are
Indirect contact freezing
1. Plate freezing
In plate freezing layers of the packaged
product are sandwiched between metal
plates. The refrigerant is allowed to
expand within the plates to provide
temperature of -33 ℃ or below
The plates are brought closer together
mechanically, so that full contact is made
with the packaged product. This method
can be used for meat, fish, and dairy and
other products where agglomeration of
the food particles is not a concern