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Frozen Food: A Constantly Expanding Industry

There is plenty of frozen food in Brazilian’s refrigerator. More popular with singles, young couples and people who live alone in general, frozen foods are already part of our routine.

To have an idea, according to the Brazilian Association of the Food Industry (ABIA), dehydrated and super frozen products registered a growth in sales in 2019 of 5.6%, this data can be considered extraordinary if we consider the GDP growth of 1.1%. In Latin America, Brazil is the largest consumer of this market: 61% of the population opts for ready meals.

Frozen foods began to fall in Brazilian’s taste in the 1980s, especially in regions where women's participation in the labor market was predominant. In recent years, frozen foods have consolidated as an alternative for those who prefer convenience, but also don’t want to resort to fastfood.

Among the main advantages of frozen foods are:

• Longer storage time;
• Practicality in preparing meals (the products are already cut, cleaned and pre-cooked), requiring only frying or heating to consume;
• Less effect of seasonality, since it is possible to store fruits and vegetables out of season, for example;
• Less waste.

Freezing is the best method for storing food, without losing its nutritional properties. It is important to note that this market is constantly subject to the regulation and inspection of health surveillance.

In addition, manufacturers must pay attention to the permitted levels of sodium and fat, at the minimum temperature allowed, and must have all nutritional information on product labels.

Currently, there is a large offer of frozen foods within reach in supermarkets: animal protein, pasta and snacks, vegetables, fruits, seafood and even complete meals, with meat and vegetables, not to mention the fastfood sector. Recently, foods without added gluten and lactose, known as “functional” have also gained more market, overlapping the organic products segment.

For those who want to bet on the frozen food market, regardless of the way they want to commercialize the product (sale to supermarkets, food-service establishments or directly to the consumer), it is necessary to evaluate what is the best way to perform the freezing.

Are you looking for a solution for quick freezing of your products? Access the page with our line of evaporators for freezing tunnels HERE (in Portuguese)

Freezing tunnel: correct way to freeze food

The fast freezing tunnel is one of the most efficient way to store almost any type of food. In this process, the intense air flow reduces the temperature down to minus -30ºC, down to the total freezing level of the product. The process can take 30 to 60 minutes.

However, it should be noted that some caution in the project and selection of the evaporator is necessary and decisive to avoid problems such as the formation of water crystals, which causes the loss of the original characteristics of the food, such as flavor, color and texture.

The freezing tunnel is ideal for companies of all sizes. The food is taken by trolleys with a capacity of 150 kg to 1,000 kg to the place, the conduction can also be through conveyors or manually inside recipients. Once frozen, they are taken to the conservation chamber. Other advantages of this freezing mode are the possibility of leaving the food in stock for a longer time, in addition to conserving the product in long-distance transportation.

Photo: rear and front view of the floor evaporator for freezing tunnel Deltafrio DRP3 PREMIUM concept, finished in stainless steel.

Among Deltafrio’s solutions for quick freezing, there are highly efficient floor evaporator models. TC floor evaporators, for example, are compact and suitable for small tunnels. The DRP model (photo) provides fast freezing, due to its high air flow, which acts directly on the food, these evaporators are also the most suitable for products that are packed in packaging or arranged in trays, however, during the project phase it's needed a lot of caution with the type of obstruction represented by packaging and / or trays, these “obstacles to freezing” will need to be overcome by the evaporator. The DUB model is ideal for tunnels where food cannot suffer direct air action.

Discover Deltafrio's quick freeze solutions! Access our page with the line of evaporators for freezing tunnel (in Portuguese)

Another extremely important care, depending on the size of the freezing tunnel and packaging of the product, is the application of what we call “false ceiling”, the purpose of this resource is basically the creation of a single air path, eliminating unproductive and burdensome recirculations to the system, thus also ensuring uniform performance within the tunnel.

For those who consider the frozen food market an alternative for financial gain, Deltafrio offers excellent quality solutions. We hope that the content was useful for the reader.

See you next time!