Meat & Poultry

After slaughtering, the cold chain begins to maintain quality and freshness of the meat. Effective cooling and freezing of meat and poultry is essential for marketing to consumers. Furthermore Koldkraft Refrigeration ensures that the cooling system is energy efficient so they are cost effective while delivering outstanding performance. Our experienced engineers work out the suitable refrigeration technology for every kind of meat and poultry.

The actual cold chain begins right after slaughtering. The type of cooling depends on further processing: e.g., fresh meat is effectively cooled from about 42 °C / 107.6 °F to 4 °C / 39.2 °F in a cold air stream, within 60 to 70 minutes. Koldkraft Refrigeration manufactures blast chiller which are ideal for pulling down the temperature meat.

If the product is later to be marketed as a frozen food, cooling with cold water at 0.5 °C / 32.9 °F to 1 °C / 33.8 °F is required. The vaporized water additionally withdraws heat from the surface. A special advantage of this method is that weight loss from the cooling process is comparatively small. Only then are the animals sorted by weight category and further processed, either frozen as entire birds or divided into parts. After chilling the Meat is packed in carton boxes and then frozen in blast freezers. Koldkraft Refrigeration manufactures blast freezers which can be designed according to required product load.

Temperature control at the beginning of the process requires special attention. For example, if the meat is cooled down too rapidly to below 10 °C/50 °F, it leads to muscle shrinkage, which makes the meat tough and leads to water loss. This “cold shortening” can be prevented if the meat is stored about 16 to 24 hours at about 16 °C/60.8 °F.

The later freezing process also has considerable influence on meat quality: the faster that freezing plants reach the low temperatures, the less impairment of the meat’s water-binding capacity. Using Koldkraft Refrigeration cooling and freezing plants, you can be certain that the meat retains its highest quality. Our systems satisfy all hygienic standards and facilitate the construction of a functional cold chain.

Whether the subject is cooling and storage of fresh meat or cooling and freezing methods for further food processing, our know how in this profession will help you achieve all your cold chain requirements.