Managing frozen foods

This comprehensive overview of frozen food technology and processes provides a unique overview of the entire supply chain from the farm to the freezer of the consumer. Specialists in each field cover the particular concerns involved in freezing fruit, vegetables, meat and fish. Maintaining quality is a key issue for the frozen food industry and this book identifies the key quality perameters in production and distribution as well as describing the technology and working practices necessary to attain them. Managing frozen foods is concluded with an examination of future trends and emerging new technologies.

Contents

Introduction C J Kennedy, Procter Department of Food Science, University of Leeds, UK

Maintaining safety in the food chain L Bogh-Sorensen, Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, Denmark

• Introduction
• Response of micro-organisms to freezing
• The major risks in the supply chain for frozen foods
• Techniques for microbiological analysis
• Sampling
• Effects of temperature abuse
• Thawing techniques
• New development in research
• Summary: effective monitoring and product quality

Fruit and vegetables: the quality of raw material in relation to freezing A Maestrelli, IVTPA, Milan, Italy

• Introduction
• Factors affecting F & V cultivar selection suitable for freezing
• Technological factors
• Sensory factors
• Agronomic and technological aspects of potatoes for freezing
• Nutritional factors
• How to measure subjective and objective F & V quality characteristics
• Future perspective of F & V cultivar selection for frozen products
• Summary

The Pre-treatment of fruit and vegetables D Torreggiani, IVTPA, Milan, Italy; A Raoult-Wack, Dept des Systemes Agroalimentaires et Ruraux, CIRAD-SAR, France and T Lucas, CEMAGREF, Groupement D'Antony, France

• Introduction
• Blanching
• Partial dehydration and formulation techniques
• Future trends
• Summary

The Pre-treatment of meat and poultry S J James, FRPERC, University of Bristol, UK

• Introduction
• Influence of the live animal
• Pre- and post-slaughter handling
• New trends
• Summary

The selection and pre-treatment of fish N Hedges, Unilever Research, UK

• Introduction to freezing of fish
• What are the elements of the frozen fish product supply chain
• Freezing of fish
• Changes occurring on frozen storage
• Pre-freezing factors which influence the quality of frozen fish products
• The effect of freezing rate
• The effect of temperature cycling
• Summary
• Further reading

Factors affecting the stability of frozen foods N Zaritzky, CIDCA, Universidad Nacional de la Plata, Argentina

• Physical changes during freezing and frozen storage
• The chemistry of frozen foods
• The impact of freezing on food quality
• New trends in research
• Summary: maximising quality in the freezing process

Freezing processed foods C J Kennedy, Procter Department of Food Science, University of Leeds, UK

• Introduction
• Ready meals
• Bakery products
• Ice cream
• Bibliography

Freezer technology J Miller, European Technology Group, Air Products, UK and C Butcher, Copywrite, UK

• Introduction
• Refrigeration systems
• Freezers
• Choosing a freezer

Selecting packaging for frozen food products M George, Campden and Chorleywood Food Research Association, UK

• Introduction
• Essential requirements for frozen food packaging
• Legislative responsibilities
• Types of packaging material
• Assessing the suitability of packaging materials for different products
• Packaging machinery
• Future developments in frozen food packaging
• Summary: how packaging can maximise product quality
• References

Storing frozen food: cold store equipment and maintenance, R Fuller, consultant

Retail display equipment F Polonara, Dipartmento di Energetica, Universita Degli Studi di Ancona, Italy

• Introduction
• Design of display cabinets
• Variations for different product types
• Installation
• Operation, monitoring, maintenance, breakdown
• New developments
• Legislative issues
• Summary

Future trends in frozen foods C J Kennedy, Procter Department of Food Science, University of Leeds, UK

• Consumers will want more frozen foods - markets
• Frozen foods will be more nutritious
• Ice crystals will be smaller - controlling ice nucleation
• And they will stay smaller - controlling ice crystal growth
• The frozen food chain will be controlled more effectively
• We will have wider choice and better display when we go shopping
• If we go shopping at all
• Summary
• Bibliography