New meals freezing idea improves high quality, will increase security, cuts vitality use

Shifting to a brand new meals freezing methodology might make for safer and higher high quality frozen meals whereas saving vitality and lowering carbon emissions, in response to a brand new examine by U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and University of California-Berkeley scientists.

“A complete change over to this new method of food freezing worldwide could cut energy use by as much as 6.5 billion kilowatt-hours each year while reducing the carbon emissions that go along with generating that power by 4.6 billion kg, the equivalent of removing roughly one million cars from roads,” stated ARS analysis meals technologist Cristina Bilbao-Sainz. She is with the Healthy Processed Foods Research Unit, a part of ARS’s Western Regional Research Center (WRRC) in Albany.

“These savings could be achieved without requiring any significant changes in current frozen food manufacturing equipment and infrastructure, if food manufacturers adopt this concept,” Bilbao-Sainz added.

The new freezing methodology, referred to as isochoric freezing, works by storing meals in a sealed, inflexible container—sometimes manufactured from exhausting plastic or steel—fully full of a liquid reminiscent of water. Unlike standard freezing during which the meals is uncovered to the air and freezes stable at temperatures beneath 32 levels F, isochoric freezing preserves meals with out turning it to stable ice.

As lengthy because the meals stays immersed within the liquid portion, it is protected against ice crystallization, which is the primary menace to meals high quality.

“Energy savings come from not having to freeze foods completely solid, which uses a huge amount of energy, plus there is no need to resort to energy-intensive cold storage protocols such as quick freezing to avoid ice crystal formation,” Bilbao-Sainz stated.

Isochoric freezing additionally permits for greater high quality storage of contemporary meals reminiscent of tomatoes, candy cherries and potatoes which are in any other case tough to protect with standard freezing.

Another advantage of isochoric freezing is that it additionally kills microbial contaminants throughout processing.

“The entire food production chain could use isochoric freezing—everyone from growers to food processors, product producers to wholesalers, to retailers. The process will even work in a person’s freezer at home after they purchase a product—all without requiring any major investments in new equipment,” stated WRRC heart director Tara McHugh, co-leader of this examine. “With all of the many potential benefits, if this innovative concept catches on, it could be the next revolution in freezing foods.”

UC-Berkeley biomedical engineer Boris Rubinsky, co-leader of this challenge, first developed the isochoric freezing methodology to cryopreserve tissues and organs for transplants.

Since then, ARS and UC-Berkeley have utilized for a joint patent for making use of isochoric freezing to preserving meals. The analysis crew is now creating the most effective functions for this know-how within the frozen meals business, particularly scaling up the know-how to an industrial stage. They are also looking for industrial companions to assist switch the know-how to the industrial sector.

UC-Berkeley mechanical engineer Matthew Powell-Palm, one of many lead authors of the examine paper, famous that “isochoric freezing is a cross-cutting technology with promising applications in not only the food industry, but in medicine, biology, even space travel.”

This analysis was revealed in Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews.