Retain Product Quality and Homogeneity with PERUZA'S Thawing Chamber
Why is frozen fish thawing important?
While it's widely understood that correctly freezing fish is essential for preserving the quality of the product, the importance of the thawing process is sometimes overlooked. Indeed, the method and techniques employed when thawing fish are equally important to the integrity and quality of the end product. Multiple freezing and thawing cycles, for example, cause significant issues with quality such as moisture loss and decreased protein content. The use of a frozen product thawing chamber can mitigate these issues.
What is a frozen fish thawing chamber?
A frozen product thawing chamber is designed for frozen fish block defrosting. This defrosting takes place in a chamber with water drops and steam.
What preparation is needed before beginning the thawing process?
Before this process begins, the operator must assess the frozen fish block size, the initial temperature of the blocks, and the fish size. An assessment of fish freshness is also needed. Once all of this is done, the quality and production speed can be decided.
The frozen fish thawing process can now begin. Firstly, the frozen fish blocks are placed in a uniform manner on the trolley shelves. Each of these trolleys is then placed in the chamber defroster. Once the last of these trolleys is placed inside, the defroster door is closed. The defrosting process can now begin.
The thawing process
The thawing process begins with motorised fans directing a heated air flow into the chamber. The air flow circulates around and between all of the trolley shelves. This process ensures even and uniform product thawing.
There is one set of two fans for each chamber. This guarantees maximum air flow to each pair of trolleys, regardless of the direction of airflow inside the thawing chamber.
What are the main benefits of this solution?
Any fish, seafood or meat production company investing in this technology can expect a number of benefits:
High degree of homogeneity
Thanks to this technology, a very high degree of homogeneity can be enjoyed.
Reduced defrosting time
Defrosting times are cut to just 3.5-4 hours per trolley when defrosting from minus 20 degrees to just above freezing.
Minimum water consumption
Water consumption is minimised.
Reduced drip loss
The avoidance of drip loss equates to an improved yield.
Retained product quality
Use of the thawing chamber can successfully eliminate any stiffness or hardness from the end product. Little flavour is lost, and the product freshness is not impaired.
What are the technical characteristics?
Product: Frozen fish blocks
Defrosting time from -20C to – 0.5C: 3.5-4 hours per trolley
Size of processed product: dependent on the individual client's product.
Equipment dimensions: Adjustable to the needs and available workspace
Number of operators needed for the machine: 2
Which industries can benefit from such a solution and how?
This solution can be employed by both the meat and fish industries. Due to the different moisture contents between fish and livestock, the process must be modified accordingly.
Who are PERUZA?
PERUZA is a process engineering and equipment manufacturing company. Founded in 1991, PERUZA has more than 30 years of experience specialized in finding the bottlenecks and inefficiencies within the existing production process and creating the best equipment to solve these issues. The company has clients in more than 30 countries, principally in the food processing and fish processing industries.
In conclusion
With ever tougher competition in the fish and meat industry, maintaining product quality and homogeneity is more important than ever. The PERUZA frozen product thawing chamber offers retained product quality, reduced drip loss, reduced thawing times and the high degree of maintained homogeneity food and fish companies need to stay ahead of the competition in these testing times.