【加工業者必見‼】IQF凍結の意味とそれに必要な急速冷凍機とは

IQF freezing is often seen in frozen foods these days, but do you know what it is?

IQF freezing refers to freezing individual ingredients individually.

In fact, IQF freezing is used in most frozen foods for general consumers. However, it is a word that you don't usually hear, and some people may not be able to imagine what it is.

IQF frozen foods are popular with both consumers and businesses. In the future, IQF frozen items will become more popular, and if you don't know about it, you may lose customers.

Therefore, this site specializing in freezing introduces IQF freezing with a video. Furthermore, we will introduce methods of IQF freezing, and in some cases, products can be IQF frozen without changing the equipment.

If you know about it, you can put it to use right away, so please read till the end and put it to good use in your food processing.

What does IQF freeze mean?

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As I mentioned at the beginning, IQF means Individual, Quick, and Freezing.

IQF freezing is a method rapid freezing​of individual ingredients. IQF freezing is used in two senses. The difference is in the way you break it down.

The first is to arrange the ingredients one by one rapid freezing.

It is used for items that need to be frozen to maintain their shape to some extent, such as fish fillets and crab meat. By arranging them one by one and rapid freezing, they are frozen in pieces while maintaining their shape.

The second method is to rapid freezing in pieces using a special machine.

Each item, such as mixed vegetables and shrimp, is used for small items or items that don't need to be perfectly shaped. rapid freezing while vibrating on a conveyor prevents food from sticking together, allowing it to be frozen in pieces.

IQF freezing has been introduced so far, but what kind of things is it used for? From here, we will explain the foods for which IQF freezing is actually used.

Foods frozen with IQF freezing

Frozen food for consumers

​So-called frozen products for general consumers are basically frozen using IQF freezing.

It might be easier to understand if you imagine grilled rice balls or fried chicken.

If you defrost everything at once at home, you may not be able to eat all the food. Therefore, we use IQF freezing to freeze what we don't eat.

Frozen food for businesses

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IQF freezing may also be used for commercial food ingredients for restaurants.

If the food can be served for a certain period of time after being cooked, it is easier and cheaper to make it in bulk. Depending on the purchasing method, there is no need to use frozen products. However, for products with a short shelf life, we have to make only as much as we need to serve.

Frozen ingredients using IQF freezing are sometimes preferred as ingredients are used only as needed.

As we have introduced so far, IQF freezing is mainly used for two types of frozen foods for general consumers and food ingredients for commercial use.

​A wide range of foods are frozen using IQF freezing, from ingredients such as vegetables, fish, and meat to ready-to-cook items.

Now, some of you may be wondering what kind of benefits there are by freezing your IQF.

We will explain the benefits of freezing your IQF.

Benefits of IQF freezing

Improvement of quality

IQF freezing is an effective freezing method, but it takes too much time in a regular freezer. Therefore, it must be frozen using a freezing method called rapid freezing.

rapid freezing is a freezing method that prevents damage to food by freezing it quickly in a short period of time.

Because rapid freezing is used, when the food is thawed, it is much closer to its original state than food frozen using standard freezing methods.

Therefore, we can produce high quality products.

Increase in the number of transactions with restaurants

Since it is frozen in pieces, you can thaw only what you need and freeze what you don't need. Food waste can be reduced by preventing restaurants from making too much food or discarding it due to expiration dates.

Many IQF-frozen ingredients have been processed to make them easier to cook, such as shrimp with processed shells and heads, and pre-cut vegetables.

You can reduce the number of cooking steps by using ingredients that have been pre-processed at the restaurant. It also takes less time to thaw, which saves preparation time and reduces labor costs.

Some of the problems faced by restaurants can be solved by using frozen food using IQF freezing.

By freezing products using IQF freezing, you can increase the number of transactions with restaurants that are facing these problems.

Transportation costs are reduced

Currently, some ingredients such as shrimp are treated as water-injected frozen products.

Water-infused frozen products are frozen products that have been frozen by adding water to the ingredients.

Source: https://www.m-mart.co.jp/search/item.php?type=buybuyc&id=ibnet&num=3882

Frozen products with water injection are a good way to maintain the freshness of ingredients, but about 30% of the product becomes water to maintain freshness. As a result, the cost of transporting that water will be extra.

By converting water injection frozen products to IQF freezing, transportation costs can be reduced accordingly.

We have introduced the benefits so far. You may have discovered that there are many benefits to freezing IQF. Although this may seem like a lot of good things, there are actually some disadvantages as well.

Let's take a look at the disadvantages of freezing IQF.

Disadvantages of freezing IQF

Freezer burn

Foods frozen with IQF freezing are frozen in pieces. Therefore, since the surface area is larger than when frozen in bulk, freezer burn is more likely to occur.

Freezer burn is when the moisture in food is lost and the fats and oils in the food oxidize, resulting in a loss of texture and flavor. There is no safety issue when eating freezer burnt food, but the taste of the food will be lost.

Although the quality of frozen food is better than that of food frozen using regular freezing methods, the quality is lower than that of food that is rapid freezing in bulk.

prone to frost

When frozen using IQF freezing, drying tends to occur and the amount of water vapor inside the package increases. When the water vapor in the packaged air cools, it becomes frost and sticks to the food.

If frost forms on the food, it may turn into water when thawed and the food may become soggy. Ingredients that are sensitive to water will deteriorate in quality due to water released from melting frost.

However, deterioration in quality can be prevented by glazing and vacuum packaging. Here we will explain in detail how to prevent deterioration.

Solved with glaze treatment and vacuum packaging

There is a way to prevent quality deterioration that occurs by freezing IQF. There are two types: gray processing and vacuum packaging. From here, we will explain glaze processing and vacuum packaging.

Glaze treatment

Glazing is a process in which the surface of food is covered with a thin layer of ice.

Source: http://online.reishokukyo.or.jp/susume/151127.html

By performing glaze processing, you can prevent the freezer burn of food that tends to occur with IQF freezing, and you can keep the food in a delicious state that preserves its flavor and texture. However, glazing is an effective method, but it is compatible with different ingredients.

Currently, seafood ingredients such as shrimp and fish go well together, and glaze treatments are often used, which also goes well with meat.

Glazing is a process in which a small amount of water is applied and frozen. However, depending on the ingredients and thawing method, wiping off the water may be necessary, or the food may not be compatible, resulting in quality deterioration.

Therefore, not everything should be treated with glaze. You should try glazing on the ingredients you are handling and see the results before deciding whether to use it or not.

vacuum packaging

Vacuum packaging after IQF freezing prevents air from entering, preventing air from coming into contact with the food, and preventing frost from forming.

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Vacuum packaging prevents the two disadvantages caused by IQF freezing and maintains high quality for a long period of time.

Therefore, depending on the quality and shelf life required, consider vacuum packaging.

rapid freezer required for IQF freezing

IQF freezing is an effective freezing method.

IQF freezing allows us to provide high quality products and make products easier for users to handle.

IQF freezing has two meanings, both of which require rapid freezer.

The first is to line them up one by one using rapid freezer rapid freezing, and the second is to use a special rapid freezer that applies vibrations.

The second method, IQF freezing, requires a special machine, so it costs a lot of money.

No matter which IQF freezing method you use, the quality of the product itself will hardly change.

rapid freezing minimizes damage to food by freezing it quickly in a short period of time, bringing it as close to its original state as possible.

If you use IQF freezing, you don't need any special equipment, so it's easy to try and see what kind of product you get.

Conclusion

On this page, we introduced what IQF freezing is and what advantages and disadvantages it has.

We also introduced rapid freezing required for this purpose.

IQF freezing is used in a variety of situations and is becoming increasingly popular. Therefore, whether IQF is frozen in the future will have a big impact.

In addition, rapid freezing is required for IQF freezing, and rapid freezing allows high quality to be maintained for a long period of time.

We recommend that you know what happens to the food you handle when rapid freezing rapid freezing, and what happens when you use IQF freezing.