Commercial cool rooms and walk in freezers play a huge role in helping businesses keep perishable items fresher for longer. Some industries, particularly hospitality and food production, are increasingly using blast freezers due to the many food safety benefits they offer. However, blast cooling technology is also used in chemical manufacturing, pharmaceutical and more.
A blast freezer is a temperature-controlled unit that is capable of rapidly freezing food and other items. They can be a cabinet style self-contained system or a space lined with insulated panel and fitted with refrigeration equipment to chill a certain type and quantity of product depending on what your needs are.
Bacterial Protection and Control
A blast freezer can cool a product very quickly to -18 °C, rapidly decreasing the growth of microorganisms and reducing free liquid water activity that microorganisms depend on to metabolise. The speed at which the freezing takes place is handy for food storage as it means microbial activity is minimised as much as possible, ensuring the highest possible standards of food safety.
Meat, poultry and fish can especially harbour significant amounts of bacteria in their fresh raw form. These can multiply quickly in unsuitable conditions, but can be controlled and destroyed with the correct freezing and cooking methods. Blast freezers have the ability to freeze several tons of produce in as little as 24 hours. This super quick process makes it much easier to keep produce fresh in bulk.
Retaining Product Integrity
Blast freezers also help retain the natural quality of products like food. When an item is frozen, any water inside it crystallises. If freezing takes place at a relatively warm temperature, large ice crystals will form. In a blast freezer, the very rapid freezing creates small ice crystals. Large crystals can rupture cells. The smaller the crystals, the less damage to the food.
You may have noticed “freezer burn” on food products before, which results from a loss of moisture. A fast-freezing process also helps retain moisture, which means food can be stored for longer while retaining its quality. This not only improves the texture and taste of the food but also its nutritional quality, which is essential if the stored food is for hospitals or schools.
Blast Freezers and Cool Rooms in Sydney
At Cold-Rite Refrigeration, our blast coolers and blast freezers are constructed to the highest level of standard, above and beyond the BCA requirements and the health code so that you can be confident that your blast freezer complies with the most stringent codes and standards.
We provide a range of commercial and industrial refrigeration solutions, including walk in fridges, commercial water chillers, humidity-controlled rooms and more. We have a fleet of mobile workshops available for breakdown services, installation or planned maintenance throughout the greater Sydney metropolitan area extending to the Blue Mountains, Central and South Coasts.
