Freezing Out the Competition
New products and services for freezing and refrigeration fueling supplier competition
by Bryan Salvage, editor
Intensifying competition between suppliers throughout the freezing and refrigeration industry is rewarding packers and processors with more effective, continuous freezing capabilities.
Competition is being fueled by packers and processors who demand faster processes in their quest to offer superior products.
"After many years, the meat, poultry and seafood industries have realized the importance of rapid freezing," says the president of one company dedicated to solving temperature-sensitive process needs. "When you freeze materials rapidly, you maintain very small crystal growth in the ice molecules.
"Slow freezing technology leads to larger ice crystals, which ruptures the cell membranes," he adds. "When you further process, you get a lot of free protein coming out of the meat. That's not good."
Emerging trends
MM&T contacted a number of suppliers in the freezing/refrigeration industry to uncover some emerging trends, systems and equipment. Here's what they had to say:
-- Shell-freeze systems: New, in-line, shell-freeze systems are becoming more popular in the pork industry, says one source.
"You take freshly slaughtered hogs and move them through a chain-driven, in-line, blast-type freezer; you shell-freeze the outside of the hog," he says. "The hog is then moved to an equilibration zone for 10 to 12 hours. During that time, the temperature difference from the center and surface of the meat equilibrates so the average temperature is what's desired when processing the hog. This process [which is European technology] cuts the chilling time roughly in half."
-- Faster-freeze spiral system: One mechanical freezer manufacturer planned to announce this month a new spiral freezer that decreases the amount of freezing time.
"In the past, it would take a hamburger patty coming out of the patty forming machine at 32 to 34 degrees F from 18 to 20 minutes to freeze to zero-core," according to a company spokesman. "Our new system accomplishes this in 9.5 minutes."
-- Process controllers: Process control is becoming more of an everyday reality in the food processing industry, one source notes. And process controllers are becoming more interactive with freezing, tempering and thawing applications.
"You place probes in and around the meat material," he explains. "You program into the process controller the parameters you want the meat to reach. You start the system and walk away. The process controller makes all the decisions in regard to air speed, the air temperature, and it will modify speed and temperature based on inputs it is getting from the material."
-- Blast cells: The source adds that a growing number of meat packers and processors are building smaller, individual blast cells instead of very large blast freezers. Each cell can handle 20 to 30 pallets.
-- Cryogenic combo system: Last year, a cryogenic freezing systems manufacturer developed a system that is designed to chill down meat being packed for transportation in 2,000-pound combo bins.
"In the past, meat processors packed these bins with dry ice pellets," explains a company spokesman. "As you go to further processing, however, you would end up with unequal dispersion of the pellets. Some meat would be frozen and some meat would have hot spots. They had a 12-degree gradient within the bin.
"Our new system takes the meat as it is being conveyed in and drops onto a turntable," he adds. "The turntable sweeps it through a product opening hole that evenly distributes product in the bin. As it's sweeping into the bin, a bank of snow horns deposits a layer of snow on the product as it's being layered in the bin. You end up with a well-controlled dispersion of the CO2 snow on the product. You end up with a much more consistent temperature profile in the bin."
-- Injection system: Another cryogenic system, which has been on the scene for 10 years, has been enjoying increased interest in recent years, according to its manufacturer. This system injects liquid carbon dioxide through nozzles to the bottom of a blender while it's blending meat. It rapidly chills down the meat to ideal patty-forming temperatures, the supplier reports.
"As the horsepower required to drive those blades and screws to mix product increases, we're able to monitor the load on the motors through our control panel system," he adds. "When you get to that desired temperature of meat, it shuts the injection system down. Regardless of the temperature of meat you put in there, you want to get 30.5 degrees [F] out every time," he adds. "And you're going to get 30-degree [F] meat out-plus or minus a half degree."
-- Screw compressors: During the past five to 10 years in mechanical refrigeration, the meat industry has gone almost completely from reciprocating machines to screw compressors-primarily for efficiency and cost reasons, says one supplier's general manager. But not everyone can work on screw compressors.
"The machining and tolerances are quite tight," he adds. "Although simple in concept, it is quite elaborate to machine a screw compressor. Screw compressors are more efficient-if they are selected for the exact operating conditions. Once you vary from that, they are no longer efficient. In fact, they can be less efficient."
-- Spray systems: This supplier has also witnessed more packers and processors implementing spray systems.
-- Defrost-on-demand: Enhancing the defrosting process continues to draw increasing packer and processor interest.
"Defrosting consumes a tremendous amount of power," says one insider. "We're seeing a lot more defrosting-on-demand types of situations. I've yet to figure out why industry hasn't gone to a more efficient liquid drainer type of system vs. your standard defrost release regulator. It could save tremendous power.
"Conventional hot gas defroster release regulators don't care if it's hot gas or liquid they are bypassing," he adds. "For the most efficient defrost, you only want to bypass liquid. So a liquid drainer is a devise that only allows liquid to leave the unit being defrosted. When you let hot gas blow through your system, you pay for that in compressor horsepower because that gas has to be recompressed by the system."
-- Dedicated chill cabinets: In looking to the future, a mechanical freezing and refrigeration systems general manager says expect to see more dedicated chill cabinets for specific products.
"These are more along the lines of computerized, automated, conveyorized systems," he adds. "Product can be tracked on an hourly or daily basis. Product will move automatically vs. having people with pallet jacks hauling product in and out of coolers on racks or trees."
-- Protecting the environment: One manufacturer of chilling elements for cookers and other equipment used in continuous operations says that protecting the environment will become even more important. His firm makes brine treatment equipment that cleans up brine prior to being discharged into sewers.
"We're finding a bit more interest [from packers and processors] in using air chilling vs. brine chilling," says that company's spokesman. "We're going to be looking at faster ways to chill fresh meat."
The source points out that the method used to chill product is basically determined by its cost effectiveness-and this varies almost from product to product. For example, about 90 percent of all hot dogs sold in the United States are chilled with brine after cooking. He adds, however, that processors typically prefer to air-chill bacon.
"You could air-chill hot dogs, but it would take longer and it will dry the surface of the product. This will make it harder to peel off the cellulose casing," he adds.
-- Temperature control: Another supplier says he is noticing an increased interest in enhancing temperature control because of growing interest in the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point concept.
"They're starting to get more into statistical analysis of temperatures in chilling and freezing," he adds. "HACCP will change the way they're taking production data. And systems operators will be trained to really scrutinize operations. We'll hopefully see fallout from this where they'll need more chilling or precise temperature control systems."
-- Freezer spacers: One supplier now offers a line of USDA-approved freezer spacers from Europe made of high-density polyethylene. This product features a trapezoidal profile which opens up a 2-inch gap in the spacer to allow free air flow in a 360-degree direction.
"I saw these spacers in Europe a year ago, and they're a tremendous improvement over what we have here," says the company president. "If you're using a mechanical blast freezer, they should reduce freezing time anywhere from 20 to 30 percent."
Refrigerated transportation
-- Cryogenic advancement: During the past several years, a relatively new technology developed by one company has been growing in interest. This company's refrigerated shipping container uses a process that maintains accurate temperature control within plus or minus 2 degrees of set point in a carbon dioxide atmosphere. The container is self-contained and self-sustaining.
"Our technology addresses three issues: less-than-truckload shipments, just-in-time delivery, and accurate temperature control," says the company chairman. "It keeps within 2 degrees of the microprocessor's set point. We expect to burn a new chip which will keep it within one degree."
He points out that because of a mechanical system's defrost cycles and the way they are constructed, his company's temperature control is superior. Serious temperature abuses occur in mechanical refrigeration, he adds, particularly during the summer months if a company is doing less-than truckload loads on a milk-run route.
"Our system is cryogenic," the chairman explains. "It uses liquid CO2. We meter the CO2 into the unit and envelope product in a cold CO2 gas."
Each self-contained unit has 72-cubic feet of cargo area. They are built for less-than-truckload dry freight carriers, which provide much faster and more consistent service for deliveries and pick-ups, according to the chairman.
"Refrigerated, less-than-truckload carriers don't have the traffic density of business to make everyday schedules-particularly to cover the more rural communities," he adds. "Our speed of service will save product shelf life."
The company has even bigger plans for the future.
"We have 14 CO2 charging stations set up throughout the country; I'm working toward building 20," says the chairman. "Within five years, I hope to have the first company with an infrastructure of CO2 charging stations to run the first cryogenic fleet in the United States. This is effectively being done in England right now."
-- Other new technology applications: The application of new technologies including microprocessor-based controls for the refrigeration units and the use of synthetic oils for the units have grown during the past five to 10 years.
"We've also gone to high-tech composite materials for the trailer unit, which makes them stronger and lighter," says the public relations manager of one trucking firm.
One truck bodies company president adds that in sausage-style truck bodies there is a move away from oak or pine flat floor racks and shelf surfaces to polyethylene. There is also a move away from steel framework for shelves to aluminum. And in some cases, there is a move to use more fiberglass reinforced plastic for walls and ceilings (which can be seamless), which offer better insulation and sanitation.
When asked what we can expect to see in the future regarding new products and services in freezing and refrigeration, the president of a company dedicated to temperature process needs answers candidly, "That's hard to say. If I knew the answer, I'd be a rich man."
CFC phaseout
Many freezing/refrigeration suppliers are involved in dealing with one major issue in particular.
"Many suppliers throughout the frozen food industry are working hard to meet the challenges of the phaseout of CFCs [chlorofluorocarbons]," says Steven Anderson, president and CEO of the American Frozen Food Institute.
Changing over to a more environmentally friendly refrigerant is far more difficult than many may think. For example, the communications manager from a mechanical refrigeration transportation company says that this move has forced his company to research on compression technology.
"Whenever you change the refrigerant, that affects the lubrication system," he says. "It affects power consumption, the unit's capacity, and the end-user's purchase price and cost to operate in terms of power the unit requires."
"There's a lot of debate right now about what is the refrigerant of the future," he adds. "The answer is-no one knows. This will be a key issue over the next few years."
Mechanical or Cryogenic?
Which process is best? The debate rages on
Each packer and processor has specific freezing needs. Which freezing process-cryogenic or mechanical-is best?
Smaller production needs can be better met by cryogenic freezing, claim cryogenic proponents.
"If a cryogenic freezer is doing 10,000 pounds of product an hour, that's a large cryogenic freezer," says a spokesmen for one cryogenic systems company. "But this a small-to-medium load on the mechanical side. Smaller production rates-1,000 pounds to 2,000 pounds an hour-are too small for mechanical to get involved with."
Another source adds, "All meat processing plants seem to be demanding quicker chill and freeze times for their products. Cryogenic does a good job in quickly freezing product down to a colder temperature."
But when you start talking about cost comparisons between both processes, the debate heats up. From an economic standpoint, [cryogenic] processes are more expensive in the long run, claims one mechanical freezing/refrigeration supplier.
Another mechanical freezing systems spokesman adds, "We're working on a project that involves a 2,000 pound-an-hour hamburger patty freezer. To build and install that equipment-along with the refrigeration compressor package needed to supply the ammonia to develop the minus 30 degree F atmosphere-will cost up front around $450,000.
"The gas guy can go in there with a 30-foot tunnel or 400-foot belt spiral and set it in place for a $15,000 installation charge and hook up the gas line," he adds. "But every week, he's going to be at that plant with an $8,000 load of gas. And gas is a commodity. When the price of gas increases, it's passed on to [the packer or processor]. The only cost increase for a mechanical system would be if the cost per kilowatt goes up. In most cases, that's a very minimal increase."
"The gas guy is a faster freeze," he adds. "In many cases, he takes up less room in the production area. Today's mechanical freezers usually require almost twice as much belt as the gas freezers. But most mechanical freezers have a payback factor of about 24 months. And 24 months from the date of purchasing your gas freezer, your cost is still fixed-if not increased."
This source claims one packing company that forecasts cost factors over a 10-year period indicates it will save $1.4 million over a 10-year period by going mechanical versus staying with gas freezers.
A cryogenic systems marketing manager counters, "It's true that power cost [for mechanical freezing] is less than cryogenic cost. But keep in mind the dehydration loss that is associated with mechanical freezing. Go into a mechanical freezer and you'll see frost on a coil. That frost is coming from your product. At $1 or $2 a pound, if you're losing one-eighth percent or 1 percent of your product in the freezer, what does that cost?"
He adds that cryogenic freezers are easily adaptable to allow freezer space to grow as business grows.
"For someone starting out who doesn't know how much production will grow, he can put in a modular [cryogenic] freezer in 10-foot sections. In mechanical, you have to guess what size freezer to build. Once you build a mechanical freezer in a plant, it's not that easy to upgrade it. Lack of dehydration, plus better product quality and flexibility, are our strengths, as well as the low initial capital costs," he points out.
Bottom line is that each process will remain important to industry. In fact, some sources say they're seeing an increase in the merging of cryogenic and mechanical processes. One cryogenic systems spokesman says one of his customers had a mechanical spiral freezer that was experiencing problems with product sticking to the belt.
"We put a nitrogen emersion freezer in front of its mechanical system to get a quick crust freeze on the product," he notes. "They're getting the surface benefits of cryogenic and they send it to the mechanical freezer to finish the core freeze, which gives them the economics of mechanical freezing.
"You get the best of both worlds," he adds. "You're locking in the moisture when product hits the nitrogen emersion, and then you let the mechanical do the bulk of the freezing work."