USA – Having acquired the Danish refrigerated transport equipment manufacturer Norfrig Equipment in February of this year Pennsylvania-based Klinge Corporation has announced they are expanding their range of refrigerated containers to include a model that features blast freezing.
Klinge’s Blast Freezer Model CBU-30 is especially designed for transporting high value types of fish such as yellowfin tuna and is designed to freeze loads to an ultra-low temperature directly after being caught. The system also functions equally well for pre-frozen cargo.
According to Klinge Corporation, the shift to lower temperature freezing machinery is growing rapidly around the world. Blast freezing yellowfin tuna and other high value fish to an ultra-low temperature of -60ºC (-76ºF) substantially reduce transportation costs as the fish can be transported by container ship rather than air freighted.
Tests have also shown that shelf-life is increased when tuna is frozen to -60ºC (-76ºF) and thawed, at a time of the customer’s choosing, in a controlled environment.
Henrik Klinge, President and CEO of Klinge Corporation, said: “The units evaporator fan is designed to press the air through the load to ensure even temperatures throughout the load.”
“Many standard units are not equipped with an evaporator fan designed to accommodate cargos with high-pressure drops.”
In addition, the blast freezer is fitted with a special thawing module. This features a series of probes that monitor the thawing process by transmitting real-time temperatures to a microprocessor which is then analyzed.
The microprocessor calculates the rate of temperature rise in the cargo and adjusts temperature to provide the thaw rate without surpassing the predetermined core and surface temperatures.
“This very controlled thawing method optimizes tuna quality by ensuring that the natural red pigmentation of tuna is maintained much longer and that there is minimal drip-loss,” says Mr Klinge.
“Our Quick Thaw Unit saves our customers money as it increases the use of frozen seafood instead of expensive fresh seafood.”
