Individual quick freezing (IQF) is ideal for a variety of protein products including sliced and diced poultry and beef, glazed and marinated meat, meatballs, chicken tenders and wings. Pocino Foods is among a growing number of meat and poultry processors that have proven the value of new IQF freezing technology from Linde LLC.

The Cryoline CW (CRYOWAVE) IQF freezer from Linde keeps IQF products separate as they freeze with a patented rolling-wave action. This innovative tunnel freezer offers highly efficient heat transfer and can provide significant cost savings vs. IQF flighted freezers. Flighted freezers have been the primary method for individually quick freezing foods for more than 25 years. However, they are prone to CO₂ snow build-up, and are quickly being replaced with more efficient methods.  

“The CRYOWAVE’s high-efficiency and hygienic design provide significant cost savings by eliminating CO₂ carryover and areas that can trap food particles. This helps reduce the chance of contamination while maximizing yields,” says Mark DiMaggio, head of Food & Beverage for Linde. The CRYOWAVE is ideal for IQF products because it gently tumbles items as they quick freeze. (See video of the rolling-wave action.) It can be equipped for use with either liquid carbon dioxide (CO₂) or liquid nitrogen, depending on plant requirements.

Pocino Foods
As part of an operational upgrade, Pocino Foods (City of Industry, CA) wanted to update its IQF production which processes cooked sausage and meat crumble, meatballs, and sliced and diced beef products. Linde replaced an old IQF freezer with the new CRYOWAVE. The rolling-wave action seals in moisture and ensures each piece is individually crust frozen. Linde worked with Pocino to program the new IQF freezer for each product.

Linde is a leader in cryogenic solutions for the food industry and offers other advanced methods for high-volume quick freezing:

• With a bath of liquid nitrogen at minus 320°F, Linde immersion freezers offer the fastest way to crust-freeze or quick-freeze 10,000 to 15,000 pounds per hour of IQF food items prior to further processing or packaging.
• For thicker foods such as marinated chicken breasts and other items that require longer freeze times, the Linde immersion spiral freezer quick-freezes in two stages – first with immersion in liquid nitrogen, then with nitrogen gas in the spiral freezer stage. State-of-the-art cryogenic design combines high-efficiency nitrogen utilization with high-volume throughput to 20,000 pounds per hour.

Beyond meat, poultry and seafood, other foods that are individually quick frozen include fruits and vegetables and prepared foods such as pizza toppings, tortellini and other pastas.  

The Linde Food Team performs in-plant assessments and works with food processors to develop optimal solutions. For more information, see Linde (www.lindefood.com), or call: 800-755-9277. 

Linde LLC supports the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) and the advancement of food safety. Linde has a Food Safety Management System in place for all bulk carbon dioxide (CO₂) plants and air separation facilities supplying the food & beverage industry in North America. In June 2012, Linde became the first supplier to certify all of its CO₂ plants to a benchmarked GFSI scheme, FSSC 22000 (Food Safety System Certification).