Davis said the firm was targeting improvements to existing models, including its tunnel freezers to enhance their efficiency and freezing capabilities and ensure consistent freezing of the whole product.
Davis told FoodProductionDaily.com: “We are seeing a focus on the temperature controlled issue. Food safety is very big in the US right now and customers want to make sure they are not seeing any temperature variations [in products].”
Praxair is showcasing the latest model in its ColdFront range of chillers and freezers, which caters for such customer needs, at the US International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) in Atlanta.
Consistent distribution of CO2 snow
The ColdFront Even Chill system is designed to deliver automated, even and consistent distribution of CO2 snow (‘dry ice’) in bulk packaging bins for food applications.
Praxair claims the unit delivers evenly chilled product, makes the best use of dry ice, cutting costs, and has been created to save on space.
Davis explained that US food safety laws require protein to be frozen at a distinct temperature to combat microbial spoilage.
‘Heat spots’
More traditional systems relied on operators keeping units regularly filled with dry ice manually, said Davis. However, this led to product being frozen unevenly, with so-called ‘heat spots’, he added.
Now, these same operators could be responsible for supervising the running of the Even Chill machine, he said. “You still have the spend for the cryogenic vat, but because you are not hand-shoveling, you have dry ice left.”
Interest from other parties
The first commercial customer had installed the Even Chill system in December, said Davis. “Since then we have seen interest from other parties.”
Other units in Praxair’s ColdFront range featuring at IPPE include its Diced Product Chilling unit and Solid Belt Tunnel Freezer, which prevents belt damage.
Its Ultra Performance Flighted Tunnel Freezer for individually quick frozen food, Continuous Rotary Chilling System, Controlled Atmosphere Stunning Systems and oxygen and CO2 supply systems, equipment and technical support are also on display.