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FROZEN SEAFOOD, a major export earner for a number of South East Asian countries, need to be handled very carefully to retain the best possible visual appearance to the consumer as well as the best possible returns for seafood processors.
Delicate fish fillets need sensitive handling, both to maximise yield and to ensure they meet quality standards. Treating seafood with care means processors have more potential to demand premium prices and expand their markets.
The key to success for seafood processors is getting product to market in the right condition. Freeze too slowly, for instance, and these products are damaged. Products could immediately stick to a frozen mesh belt or, if soft and delicate as these are, could sink into the mesh leaving marks.
Freezing technology specialist, JBT FoodTech, is constantly modifying its Frigoscandia range to improve processing capabilities, efficiency and throughput. The company’s latest development, the ADVANTEC? Steel Belt Impingement Freezer, has been designed specifically with seafood processors in mind and forms part of the complete range of Frigoscandia freezing solutions.
The key feature is the solid steel belt, particularly effective for seafood as it prevents product sticking to the belt, allowing it to be placed and moved around the belt easily by hand.
Solid belt brings benefit to seafood and more
The ADVANTEC Freezer uses patented impingement technology to blast high velocity air jets at products, dispersing the boundary layer of insulating air which holds heat around the product. This results in extremely fast freezing times. Freshness and quality in delicate seafood products like raw peeled shrimps and scallops are quickly encapsulated to give a superior product every time.
JBT FoodTech says the solid belt system will eliminate mesh and ‘wrinkling’ with the straight belt layout, whilst reducing dehydration by 1 percentage points or more, and drip loss by up to 4 percentage points.
The infeed of the solid steel belt is ‘wet’ – not frozen – as it’s defrosted as it travels around from the outfeed, said Barry Jackson, JBT FoodTech’s regional sales manager for the UK. “This means that it’s possible to move the product around once it’s been placed on the solid belt ensuring it retains its shape, and resulting in a much better-looking end product. The solid belt is particularly useful for large delicate products such as king scallops, which deform easily, and flat fish as it prevents any head-to-tail U shapes,” he explained.
Apart from seafood, the new solid belt freezer has many uses. For example, pureed peas or sauces can be frozen as droplets and used in small quantities by chefs or in the QSR sector. Extruded seafood, particularly shrimp, can be re-formed and re-shaped into shrimp-shaped nuggets before being coated and fried. The solid belt can also be used for marinated chicken breasts, or any soft, sticky products which would normally sink into, or drip through, a mesh belt.
Anticipating the future
A full, global ban on chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) will mean that refrigeration systems and replacement parts using CFC refrigerants will need to be replaced. Frozen food exporters can expect that their facilities will be inspected for compliance by sustainable-oriented customers or even government agencies tasked with compliance and certification.
