Clyde L. Rasmussen2

Anyone contemplating a new freezing plant has the problem of type of freezer to install. If he does his homework carefully, he will learn that the most economical system may be, but is not always, the one that freezes water at the lowest cost per pound. His deliberations are akin to making a good stew. Freezing cost is a main ingredient but not the only one. Other ingredients that must be added include the physical requirements of the product (how it is packaged if it is packaged, its shape and size, and its form), product quality requirements, selling price or what the buyer believes the product and quality are worth to him, losses in processing and post-thaw handling, effects of freezing methods on other steps in the processing, effects of the other steps on freezing methods, and alternate methods for preserving the commodity. Those in the seafood business must add other factors such as where the freezing is to be done and whether or not the fish was previously frozen and by what method.

Anyone who has a freezing operation and is considering changing the procedures also has a special set of circumstances to evaluate. A word of caution is directed to those who may want to change the basic method of freezing to achieve a more efficient operation as well as to improve quality. The new method, automated and streamlined as it will be, should not be compared with an antiquated system, with all the benefits being credited to the new freezing method. Suppose the old method involves the use of air blast in a largely hand-truck-and-tray setup. One need not abandon the air-blast method to modernize the product handling part of this population. A comparison of basic freezing methods (such as air blast, plate, drum, liquid, immersion, or spray) must involve only those steps unique in each particular process.