MSP MAGAZINE Issue 45

NEWS
CONSUMER RESISTANCE
There are other processing issues
too. Water pockets can form, which
can negatively influence sizing
accuracy. Consumers can therefore
end up with a lighter chicken than
they paid for! Perhaps the biggest
influence of all is consumer
preference. Where “fresh” air-chilled
product begins to make inroads
into a market, deep-frozen products
come to be seen as somehow not
being “fresh” and therefore of lower
quality. Consumers begin to object
to paying extra for the bloody water
which comes free when they thaw
their chicken out. This also leads
to some questioning the hygiene of
the process itself.
ADDING AIR CHILLING
In markets making the transition to
fresh product, a short air chill line
is often installed after the counterflow
screw chiller to give a drier
colder product, which is then sold
“fresh” at a premium price, often in
the processor’s own retail outlets.
The process still involves manual
re-hanging and does not permit
tracking by individual product.
Marel offers a combined immersion/
air chill system which overcomes
both these issues. In this system the
conventional counter-flow immersion
chiller is replaced by a multi-stage
water bath, through which
products are transported on an overhead
conveyor. After the immersion
chill phase product is conveyed to
an air chilling installation, often
installed immediately above the
multi-stage water bath. Product can
now be transferred automatically
both into and out of the system, saving
labor and allowing product to be
tracked and traced individually.
An additional benefit is the ability
to manage the amount of water
absorbed during the process and
how the product looks. Some
markets demand a white product,
often with a “shiny” finish. This
presentation is possible with the
combined system. In addition to
immersion in water during the first
phase, product can also be sprayed
during the air chilling phase.
INVESTING IN EQUIPMENT
AND SPACE
For the processor, moving from
a water-chilled process to an
air chilled one involves major
costly change. The counter-flow
immersion chiller will have to be
replaced by an air chill tunnel, in
itself a large investment. As air
chills less efficiently than water,
dwell time in the chiller will be a lot
longer and will take more energy.
This means that the chilling process
will take up a lot more space and
could be more expensive to run.
The processor will no longer be able
to add as much water.
NEW CHALLENGES
Managing a fresh process brings
other challenges too. As fresh
product has a limited shelf life,
accurate sales forecasts become
essential. Otherwise, processors
can find themselves with excess
stock which they can either not sell
at all or only at a substantial discount.
Tight discipline of the cold
chain from processing plant until
sale to the consumer must be rigidly
enforced to prevent consumer
complaints and loss of reputation.
AN IN-LINE PROCESS
Air chilling tunnels can take a
number of forms. They can be
single or multi-tier. They can be
single or multi-stage and can also
be used to mature product in line.
As already mentioned above, they
can be combined with a short
initial immersion phase. In all
situations product can be re-hung
automatically into the chiller from
the evisceration line with chilled
product re-hung automatically to
a whole product distribution line.
Automatic re-hang means that the
chilling process can be kept in-line,
saving labor and allowing each
individual product to be tracked
and traced through it.
The size of a chilling tunnel will
depend on hourly capacity, product
weight and the core temperature to
20 | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2020 | MSP Magazine