Agroindustrial project analysi

Plate Batch operation for $372,000 for 60 High labor costs for Good contact between cold plates andsmall- to medium-scale tons daily loading and unloading packaged food materials gives thisproduction of pack- of food materials; method the fastest freezing rate foraged frozen foods such $0.0107 per pound of packages filled with food materials;as fish fillets, meats, raw material because of the pressure applied on thefruits plates, uniform, well-shaped productswith minimum voids can be manufactured;not suited to freezing packageswith much dead air space; used extensivelyto produce "fish sticks" (bitsand pieces, as well as fillets, of fishare frozen into large slabs with applicationof pressure in plate freezer; thefrozen slab is sawed into desired sizesand batter is applied; the ready-to-fryproduct is frozen again)a. Cost estimates are based on 1976 data provided by J. R. Behnke ["Freezing: End-Product Quality Is as Important an Investmentas Operating Costs in Selecting a Freezing System," Food Technology, vol. 30, no. 12 (1976), p. 32] and 1971 datafrom A. W. Ruff ["Freezing Systems: Investment and Operating Costs," Food Engineering, vol. 43, no. 9 (September 1971),p. 76]; as before, data have been updated by using the 1977 "M & S Equipment Cost Index."b. A comparison of freezing times for small fruits and vegetables by different freezing methods and the product form theyrequire, based on data provided by C. L. Rasmussen and R. L. Olson ["Freezing Methods as Related to Costs and Quality,"Food Technology, vol. 26, no. 12 (1972), p. 32], is as follows: conventional air-blast (10-ounce packages), 3-5 hours; plate(10-ounce packages), ½/2-i hour; air-blast conveyor tunnel (individual pieces in bulk), 20-30 minutes; fluidized bed or tray(individual pieces in bulk), 5-10 minutes; cryogenic (individual pieces in bulk), ½/2-1 minute.