Spray Chilling Systems

 

Lean meat contains approximately 75% moisture. After slaughter some of this water evaporates or sublimes into vapour during refrigerated chilling and storage.  

This works against the producer because the moisture loss equates to weight loss. As meat is sold by weight, a small change in moisture has an important influence on resulting financial yield.  

Weight loss in commercial chillers may vary from 2-3%.

Spray Chilling Systems’ technology aims to reduce this to 1% or less, creating an immediate increase in sales revenue. Greater gains can be made with 0% weight loss which is achievable with close monitoring.

This target is backed by firm objectives set by Spray Chilling Systems at the start of a project.

There are three main aims -- to prove there is a reduction in chiller weight loss, to prove there is no increase in microbiological activity, and to prove that increased weight entering the boning room is reflected by increasing yields.

The exact methodology used is the commercial preserve of Spray Chilling Systems, but the new system can be set up in the works’ existing chiller or in a newbuild situation if preferred.

Carcasses will be saved direct from the cooling floor and placed in the chiller hot. Most weight loss occurs in the first two hours of the chilling process so by dividing the chiller into zones, spray chilling can be applied more quickly to those zones that are full, rather than waiting for the entire chiller to be loaded.

The duration of spray and the interval between sprays will be controlled by settings to be advised by Spray Chilling Systems.

The normal chilled cycle will continue after spraying is complete.

The customer will monitor the yield by test weighing carcasses in and out of chillers to confirm minimal weight loss. Any overweight carcasses can be railed back into the chiller.

Spray chilling may well have additional benefits for the plant, including:

• reduced refrigeration requirements
• reduced chiller condensation as carcasses are cooled more rapidly
• cleaner chiller floors
• easier boning due to the moister, softer external fat layer on carcasses

These are flow-on benefits, and simply add to the main aim of profitability gains.

The calculator on this page can give you an idea of what extra profitability you can obtain by restricting your weight loss to 1% of carcass weight, based on current lamb and beef prices.

Profit Calculator

 

 

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