Shock freezing of products: technology, equipment. Deep freezing of berries and fruits

Berries, fruits - a method of preserving products, which ensures the safety of their nutritional value and taste. This is an old method that is well known to the peoples of the North. Industrial freezing of food products has been used since 1910, and became widespread after the end of the Second World War.

Deep freeze, due to the high speed of the process, provides the formation of ice crystals of a minimum size, and therefore, a slight dehydration, i.e. moisture loss. At the same time, the frozen product retains its structure, taste and aroma as much as possible. No other method of preservation gives such a significant result. Freezing vegetables and fruit and berry products has its own characteristics. These are delicate foods, often moist, sticky, and lumpy. To keep them as close to natural as possible, a special cold treatment technology is required.

What is fluidization?

Fluidization is a technology for freezing small-piece products, including slices of vegetables, fruits, berries, peas and beans, mushrooms. The process looks like this. The prepared material is laid out on a horizontal sieve. A stream of cold air is directed to it, the speed of which is such that the products are in suspension. The phenomenon essentially resembles the boiling of water, so the air flow is often called a "pseudo-boiling" layer. The use of this technology makes it possible to obtain frozen fruits, berries, vegetables cut into equal pieces, legumes of very high quality. With this method of cold processing, lumps are not formed, the products are frozen in bulk, without damage, while maintaining their natural shape.

How does the deep freezing process work?

In modern quick-freezing plants, fruit and berry products, as a rule, go through three stages of freezing - cooling, freezing, freezing. Raw materials are subjected to cold treatment in two zones - preliminary and final deep freezing. In the surface freezing zone, the product moves through the tunnel in the air flow directed upwards through the conveyor grate. As a result of this process, an ice crust is formed on the surface of each particle, which prevents the evaporation of moisture. In the next zone - freezing of the product. As a result, bulk-frozen products are formed that fully retain their consumer qualities and appearance, and are easily packaged. allows you to save without the slightest damage even fruits and berries of delicate texture, which were previously considered unsuitable for freezing - tomatoes, eggplants, asparagus, cauliflower, apricots, peaches, plums, strawberries, raspberries, etc.

The benefits of deep freezing

In the summer-autumn period, we are happy to eat fresh vegetables, fruits, berries. They are found in abundance in markets and stores. But, unfortunately, the human body cannot store many vitamins for the future. Pickles, jams, compotes prepared for the winter are very tasty, but as a result of heat treatment, many of the most useful substances are destroyed. Vitamin C, which is so necessary for the body, is especially sensitive.

The technology of shock freezing made it possible to obtain a useful product in which the structure, natural taste and aroma are preserved. The whole process of freezing in a quick freezer is very fast. Therefore, in the tissues of a vegetable or fruit, ice crystals of a minimum size are formed that do not violate cell membranes. The result - when the product is defrosted, there is practically no loss of moisture, and the fruit, berry, vegetable are very similar to those that have just been plucked from the garden or from the tree. Thanks to shock freezing, we have the opportunity to enjoy the gifts of summer all year round.

Deep freeze mode (-18ºС)

The optimal temperature regime for storing frozen fruit and berries is -18ºС. Let's see why. At room temperature, the development of bacteria that decompose the structure of food products occurs at an increasing pace. A decrease in temperature leads to a slowdown in the vital activity of microorganisms. Bacterial processes almost completely stop when reaching -8ºС. However, in the tissues of plant origin there are enzymatic processes that do not stop even at temperatures below -10ºС. The -18ºС mode is optimal, since the activity of most enzymes is not preserved when this freezing point is reached.

Shelf life of frozen foods at -18ºС

Of course, each product has its own shelf life. Frozen vegetables, fruits, berries also do not keep forever. As a rule, this is not necessary. After all, a new summer season will come and give a new harvest. The shelf life of frozen fruits and vegetables is as follows: Tomato, eggplant, okra, melon - from 3 to 6 months; Cucumber, bell pepper - from 4 to 6 months; Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, green onions - 6 to 8 months; Parsley, dill, celery, spinach, sorrel, amaranth, rhubarb, green beans, green peas, strawberries, strawberries, red and black currants, gooseberries, raspberries, chokeberries, cranberries, plums, cherries, apricots, quince - from 8 to 12 months.

I bring to the attention of the respected members of the forum the following business idea: picking berries and fruits with their further deep freezing, packaging and subsequent sale.

The idea is quite simple: buy and deep freeze berries / fruits in the summer season, package and sell them in autumn, winter and spring.

Many of us have dachas where we grow garden strawberries, cherries, currants, etc. After harvesting, some are rolled into compotes, some are cooked in the form of jams and preserves, and some we wash, put in a plastic bag and ... right - freeze for the winter and store in the freezer.

Many, but not all. The larger the city, the less the townspeople are inclined to “plow” in their dachas and are more inclined to buy the necessary products in supermarkets. I think that the need for frozen berries and fruits in the off-season is quite large. Personally, when I went through the supermarkets of my city, I did not find frozen berries and fruits.

For your information - berries and fruits, once frozen to a temperature of -25 degrees Celsius, when defrosted, retain most of the beneficial properties and the vitamins they contain.

But first about the commercial benefit. Cherries and currants this year were sold at a price of 60 rubles/kg, garden strawberries - 70 rubles/kg. These are wholesale prices with the necessary quality certificates for products. You can buy cheaper from private sellers.

Looking at the first available price list of a wholesale Moscow company selling frozen berries and fruits, I found the following prices:
Strawberries (300 gr.) - 40.21 or 134 rubles / kg.
Cherry (300 gr.) - 31.93 or 106.43 rubles / kg.
Currant (300 gr.) - 31.91 or 106.36 rubles / kg.

The following equipment allows you to process and store 36 tons of finished products per year. It turns out that if we invest 36,000 x 75 rubles in the summer. = 2.700.000 rubles, then during the year we receive from this contribution 1.620.000 rubles of “dirty” profit.

Let's go directly to the equipment and its cost.
(I immediately draw your attention to the fact that I considered its cost and characteristics according to the sites. Therefore, naturally, I treated its characteristics and cost somewhat amateurishly - I took the first equipment that came across. But I think that if there are those who want to bring the idea to life, they will react to the choice of equipment more seriously. In some places they will save.)

So, you need the following equipment:

Deep freezer (freezer) - allows you to freeze the necessary products in 3 stages (stage 1 - up to 0 degrees, stage 2 - up to -10 degrees, stage 3 - up to -30 degrees).
The device with a capacity of 50 kg per hour costs 5478 USD x 30 = 164340 rubles.

Refrigeration chamber for 240 m3 dimensions - 10 m x 8 m x 2.5 m - 12739 USD x 30 = 382170 rubles.

Split systems: Rivacold FAL024Z002 4 pcs x 133230 = 532920 rubles.

Dispenser DVDP-3.0 (8 bags per minute) - 46,000 rubles.

Packing machine MUSP-01 - 22000 rubles.

Electricity consumption energy of the refrigerating chamber - 4.2 kW / day x 4 \u003d 16.8 kW / day x 2.4 rubles x 300 days \u003d 12096 rubles / year. (Will run all year with a planned 65 business day shutdown closer to summer. Sell early, early and stop.)

Electricity consumption freezer energy - 4 kW x 8 hours x 90 days = 2880 rubles / year (The season will work - summer.)

In total, investments in equipment - 1.147.430 rubles. Expensive? Expensive, but the profit is expected to be good. In fact, the entire complex of equipment pays off in just one season. In the future, it will bring an annual good profit. In addition, the more you invest in organizing a business, the less you fear competition in the future.

How many workers do you need? I think there are at most two: one is engaged in washing and drying berries and fruits, the other is freezing, packaging and storing in a refrigerator. Women and students are preferred.

I think the idea is clear. You can talk a lot about the complexities of this type of business - I think there are a lot of them. But the fact that the idea has a place to be is, in my opinion, undoubtedly.

Why not? How much production space do we need? 50 m2 for the reception of berries, their washing, processing, freezing and packaging, plus 80 m2 for the installation of a refrigerator. Agree, any owner of a private house can provide such an area for business. Thus, we get rid of expensive rent.

I deliberately do not consider equipment for washing berries and fruits - you see, this is a small problem.

I do not consider the issues of certification of this type of business - I am sure that it is not difficult to solve.

I do not consider the problem of initial and working capital - for someone even 100 rubles is money, but for someone even a million is nothing. After all, what is 4 million? Good apartment or good credit.

I do not consider the problem of purchasing raw materials and marketing finished products - there are excellent books on economics, marketing, trade.

Features of organizing a warehouse with deep-frozen products

Deep frozen products

Reception of deep-frozen products

Immediately after the goods are unloaded into the expedition area, they are identified, accepted (entered into the WMS database) and sent to the main storage area, where the temperature regime is maintained at -18 °C and below.

Difficulties in accepting deep-frozen products may arise for the following reasons:

1. Accompanying documentation,Almost all deep-frozen products during transportation are classified as perishable goods. According to the document "General rules for the carriage of goods by road" (as amended on May 21, 2007), in addition to the usual accompanying documents (TTN, invoice, CMR - if the goods are imported, etc.), such goods must be accompanied by: a veterinary certificate ( issued by the veterinary and sanitary supervision authorities), a quality certificate and a quality certificate, which indicates the actual temperature of the cargo before loading, its quality condition, and the state of packaging. In addition, when transporting perishable goods, the consignment note must indicate:
product temperature before loading;
temperature in the body of the refrigerator, filed for loading;
temperature in the back of the refrigerator that brought the products to the warehouse.

2. Non-compliance with the temperature regime of transportation.If the employee involved in the acceptance of products has suspicions that during transportation the temperature regime could be violated, he has every right to carry out an appropriate check. As a rule, during spot checks, products are taken from the beginning, middle and end of the car body and 3-4 measurements are taken. The measurement results must be recorded in the TTN. If the temperature of the product is above -18 °C, you must immediately contact its owner, inform about the possible defrosting of the goods and jointly resolve the issue of the future fate of the cargo.

3. Difficulties in cargo identification.Sometimes it is not immediately possible to accurately identify deep-frozen products. Therefore, it is very desirable that the WMS of the warehouse provides for the ability to accept goods as unknown - upon such acceptance, it is assigned the codes X0001, X0002, etc. After the goods are recognized and fully identified, they are registered in the system as known, they are produced and labeled with the corresponding barcode.

If, for any reason, deep-frozen products cannot be immediately identified and accepted, then in any case it must be transported to the main storage area and only after that begin to understand the situation. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account the requirement of SP No. refrigerators” (clause 7.9), according to which products “in a contaminated state with obvious signs of spoilage, affected by mold or having foreign odors unusual for them” must be placed in a separate room specially designed for the storage of defective goods.

Placement of goods in the warehouse

The basic principles that must be followed when storing food products are formulated in SP No. 2.3.6.1066-01 "Sanitary and epidemiological requirements for trade organizations and the circulation of food raw materials and food products in them." According to this document, during the storage of food products, “the rules of the commodity neighborhood, warehousing standards must be observed. Products that have a specific odor should be stored separately from products that perceive odors. There are no clearer indications regarding the commodity neighborhood of products in Russian regulatory documents today. However, it is considered (for example) that meat and meat products cannot be stored in the same freezer as fish or fish products. Today, a number of restrictions on the product neighborhood are outdated - modern packaging for meat, fish, frozen vegetables, etc. almost completely prevents any odors from entering the premises.

In this regard, the National Meat Association turned to Rospotrebnadzor with a request to clarify the rules for storing various products in one room. The response letter said that the current legislation allows "joint storage of frozen raw meat and raw fish and deep-frozen semi-finished products in industrial packaging." At the same time, "the joint storage of raw products and semi-finished products together with finished food products is not allowed."

With a significant cargo turnover, it is advisable to trust WMS to determine the location of a particular commodity item in a warehouse. If we are talking about the storage of deep-frozen products, it is necessary to take into account the turnover of the product and its expiration date. Goods with a higher turnover and a shorter shelf life, the system tries to place as close as possible to the forwarding zone. WMS determines the turnover of goods independently, the expiration date is indicated on the label of the goods and is determined by the system automatically when reading the barcode or entered manually by warehouse employees.

Collecting orders and shipping

Deep-frozen products have a significant shelf life, but the time they are in the warehouse is recommended to be minimized - this allows you to increase the residual shelf life. This circumstance must be taken into account when placing orders. First of all, WMS should put on shipment those products that arrived at the warehouse earlier. For the delivery of orders to stores, it is advisable to use the following shipment technology. Orders accepted by managers during the day begin to be collected in the evening. Collected orders are placed in the expedition area (air temperature from 0 to +5 °C), where they are checked and immediately after the check they are shipped to the refrigerator - the temperature in the body must correspond to the temperature in the main storage area.Before the start of the morning shopping, the products are stored in the back of a refrigerated truck connected to the warehouse's power supply system.

According to SP No. 4695-88 "Sanitary Rules for Refrigerators", the quality of deep-frozen products shipped from a warehouse must comply with the requirements set forth in industry regulatory and technical documents (GOSTs and technical specifications) developed for each type of product. Immediately before loading the goods in the refrigerator it is necessary to measure the temperature of the products. The measurement data are entered in the TTN and the "List of control checks of the temperature of goods and air in the back of a refrigerated truck" (the document is drawn up in two copies, both copies are given to the driver). The temperature of deep-frozen products should not exceed -18 °C. Therefore, the time spent by collected orders in the expedition area and the time of loading products into the car body is recommended to be reduced to a technological minimum.

Refrigeration equipment

Due to the high requirements for environmental cleanliness in food warehouses, forklifts equipped with electric motors are mainly used. At air temperatures below +20 ° C, the capacity of electric batteries begins to decrease (approximately 1% per 1 ° C). Practice shows that forklifts, which at normal air temperature can work without recharging for up to 8 hours, work in refrigerated chambers for no more than 5-6 hours. This can create significant inconvenience during intensive loading and unloading operations. In addition, frequent recharging of batteries reduces their service life - batteries are designed for a certain number of charges. The operating time of the forklift can be increased by using high capacity batteries.

The operation of loading and unloading equipment in rooms with low air temperatures can be difficult due to the following factors:

moisture condensation on the surfaces of the loader (often followed by freezing);
malfunctions of electronic components;
increase in oil viscosity (increased power consumption);
increasing the fragility of metal parts (especially in the places of welding).

In addition, when working in cold rooms, forklift operators have to work in warm clothes, hats, thick shoes. This makes it difficult to control the machine, makes drivers less sensitive to the behavior of equipment, and increases their fatigue. Therefore, in rooms where deep-frozen products are stored, it is recommended to use equipment specially adapted for operation at low temperatures. Today, in the assortment of all major manufacturers there are models adapted for operation at air temperatures from -18 to -35 ° C (the so-called "winter" or "cold" version). The difference in cost between ordinary loaders and loaders adapted to work in cold stores can reach 80 thousand rubles or more. Therefore, some entrepreneurs refuse to purchase such equipment. Loaders in the standard version can operate at low temperatures, but this significantly reduces their service life. Plus, some manufacturers of loading and unloading equipment refuse to provide a guarantee for non-adapted machines that were used in cold stores, therefore, for my part, I can recommend using only equipment specially adapted for this to work in freezers.

Warehouse ABC

Dock shelters (opening seals) - mechanical devices that are used in warehouses when unloading or loading vehicles to reduce heat loss and protect against dust.

To reduce the formation of condensate on the structural elements of the loader, the following recommendations should be followed:
Loader residence timeinside the refrigerator compartment and outside it should be the same.
Continuous machine timein the refrigerator should not exceed 30 minutes.
Parking time or the parking of the loader (when not in operation) in the freezer should not exceed 10 minutes.
Temperature regime.Do not operate loaders at temperatures below -35 °C.
Manufacturer's recommendations.When operating the loading equipment, follow the recommendations formulated by its direct manufacturer.

Working in the freezer.If the truck has to move in and out of the freezer frequently, the operator should try to keep the machine in a warm room as much as possible and in the freezer as little as possible (it is desirable that the temperature of the external structural elements of the machine does not fall below 0 ° C).

If this mode cannot be provided, the work can be organized so that the machine stays in the freezer for as long as possible and as little as possible in a warm room (it is desirable that the temperature of the external structural elements of the machine does not rise above 0 ° C).

Types of dock shelters

Dock shelters are curtain, pillow, inflatable and combined. Curtain dock shelters are relatively inexpensive and easy to install. With the help of inflatable dock shelters, the loading area can be closed almost hermetically (regardless of the size of the truck), therefore they are recommended for use in the transfer areas of cold stores and freezers. Cushion dock shelters come in two types: with fixed section sizes and with an inflatable top section. Devices of the first type are recommended to be used in warehouses that work with vehicles of the same type. If it is planned to unload trucks of different heights at the warehouse, it is advisable to equip them with dock shelters with an inflatable top section.

Based on materials: logistpro.ru

Many housewives prepare vegetables and fruits for the winter in summer and autumn, but jam, pickles and squash caviar are not the only way to take care of the harvest. Freezing foods is a great way to preserve the vitamins in fruits and vegetables, and because they don't have to be fried, boiled, or baked or fiddled with jars and lids, a lot of time is saved. But most importantly, in winter you can enjoy fresh fruits and berries, cook delicious dishes from them and remember the summer.

Food freezing technology

To freeze, you only need a freezer, plastic containers or heavy plastic bags. The products that you are going to freeze must be clean and dry, so they are first sorted out, washed thoroughly with a brush, leaves and seeds removed, and then laid out on a cloth that absorbs moisture well and allowed to dry. You can dry vegetables, fruits and mushrooms with a hair dryer - naturally, with cold air.

Fruits can be frozen whole or in pieces, they are laid out in small portions in containers or bags, tightly closed or tied, and then placed in the freezer. It is very convenient to use special bags for freezing with a zipper, from which air is first squeezed out, and it is better to freeze mashed potatoes and juices in small plastic containers that must be signed. The fact is that products after freezing look different, and you can confuse them.

Deep freezing of products is very effective, the essence of which is that vegetables, fruits or meat are frozen very quickly to a temperature of -18 ° C and below, so the products do not lose nutrients and vitamins, retain their pleasant taste and aroma.

The best way to freeze berries for the winter

If earlier frozen products could only be seen in supermarkets, today every housewife freezes everything on her own and leaves everything “until better times”. But the trouble is that not everyone knows the rules for freezing food, how long and under what conditions they can be stored. Some do not even think about how the structure of products changes during freezing, whether they lose their properties, whether they can deteriorate. You will learn about this and more in this article.

How does freezing work?

Complete freezing in refrigerators with low temperatures takes 2-3 hours. With normal freezing Food is frozen in three stages:

1. From +20 to zero. This stage is called preparatory. Due to the gradual cooling, the product is prepared for freezing.
2. From zero to -5 degrees. This is an intermediate stage. Here the temperature fluctuation is insignificant. The main thing at this stage is the process of liquid crystallization in the tissues of the product.
3. From 5 to 18 degrees with a minus sign. Final stage. At this stage, everything that did not have time before is frozen.

Food freezing rules

In order not to spoil the product and keep it for a long time, you must follow the simple rules of freezing:

1. Freezing Products must be fresh. If something has already gone bad, don't expect the freezer to do a miracle. It is better to decide immediately after the purchase what you will cook and what you will leave "until better times."
2. Then the product must wash and dry well cut into pieces or boiled.
3. Choose suitable dishes or special bags (most importantly, keep food away from air and moisture) and lay out the prepared product in small portions. Why small? If you need to cook ten cutlets, you will not defrost two kilograms of minced meat. Therefore, it is better to divide the products in small portions.
4. So that they lose less vitamins and do not get chapped, try prevent too much air from entering the package. But do not fill the containers to the top: when frozen, the products increase in volume and can lift the lid.

Useful properties and freezing

If we talk about frozen cucumber and bought in the winter in a supermarket, then in the first, of course, there are much more useful properties. After all, greenhouse products that are sold out of season are processed and lose most of their properties. But if we compare the product just plucked from the garden and defrosted, then the first, of course, is more useful.

Vitamin C is lost the most during freezing. But any other treatment also kills it. Thiamine (vitamin B1) is lost during freezing about 25%, riboflavin (B2) - 4-18%. Freezing does not affect vitamin A in any way, but long-term storage kills it. Therefore, do not keep frozen carrots for too long, cook them.

Shelf life of frozen foods

Nothing lasts forever, including frozen foods. Even with the most proper storage, products will still deteriorate sooner or later. Here is a sample list of frozen food expiration dates:

• minced meat - up to 2 months;
• sausages - up to 2 months;
• homemade meat and fish dishes - up to 3-4 months;
• small fish - a maximum of 3 months, large - twice as much;
• rabbit, duck, goose and hare meat - six months;
• turkey and chicken meat - 9 months;
• liver - 3 months;
• milk and dairy products - from six months to a year;
• vegetables - 10-12 months, in soup sets - 6-7 months;
• mushrooms - 5-6 months;
• fruits and berries - up to a year;
• greens - 3-4 months;
• flour products - up to 3 months.

In order for the product to stay fresh longer, it must be stored properly. There are such rules:

1. Before freezing, the product is prepared in such a way that it does not need to be washed after defrosting.
2. Freshly prepared dishes should be cooled to room temperature, and only then sent to the freezer.
3. Freeze only fresh foods, those that have begun to deteriorate are best cooked immediately.
4. For better preservation, food should be frozen quickly.
5. The packaging in which this or that product will be stored must be airtight.
6. Label each bag with the freeze date so you know when the expiration date is.
7. If food is defrosted (due to a power outage), it cannot be refrozen. It is better to cook their dishes right away.

Deep frozen products

This term is more common on an industrial scale. Deep frozen products include vegetable products and semi-finished products.

You can also find frozen berries, fruits, vegetables, mushrooms and a variety of mixtures in stores. A separate place today is occupied by semi-finished products: cutlets, dumplings, pizza crusts and much more.

Shock freezing: technology

Shock freezing is very different from the one that everyone is used to. There are no separate stages here, the product is cooled very rapidly by lowering the temperature to -30-35 degrees and increasing the air flow. With this technology the product is exposed to frosty air from all sides and freezes much faster.

Advantages and disadvantages

Freezers have many advantages:

• products lose 2-3 times less useful properties than with conventional freezing;
• the freezing time of products is reduced from 3 to 10 times;
• the production area is reduced by one and a half to two times;
• need less staff by 25-30%;
• pays off more by 15-20%.

Among the disadvantages of this technology is only that special equipment is required. And for the household, shock freezing is hardly suitable, it is more designed for industrial scale.

"Shock" equipment

For shock freezing, the following freezers are used:

1. Fluidizing - most often used for freezing chopped vegetable and fruit raw materials.
2. Conveyor - used for freezing ready meals.
3. Cradle - used for freezing packaged semi-finished products from fish, meat and poultry.
4. Spiral - designed for freezing portioned dishes.

Mistresses about freezing

Yana:

“When I bought a refrigerator with a freezer, I tried to freeze everything that came to hand. I folded everything in small portions, and thawed it every other day to try it. I liked the most frozen melons and watermelons. Even now, when I defrost them in winter, there is such a smell in the house ... "

Nika:

“I am sure that freezing retains more of the health benefits than any other canning method. Therefore, I put everything in my freezer in a row: greens, mushrooms, herbs, fruits, berries. It's incredibly convenient."