Klinge Corp: Blast freezing could shift high-value fish from air to sea freight

THE way is now open to move expensive fish shipments from air freight to sea freight by blast freezing cargo from minus 20 to minus 60 degrees Celsius (-4 to -76 Fahrenheit), the company said.

"Blast freezing high-value fish to an ultra-low temperature of -60 C (-76 F) substantially reduces transportation costs as the fish can be transported by containership rather than air freighted," said a statement from the company, located in York, Pennsylvania.



Klinge Corporation said its tests show that tuna shelf life is increased when frozen to -60 C (-76 F) and thawed, at a time of the customer's choosing in a controlled environment.



Klinge's model CBU-30 is used to deep freeze yellow fin tuna, as well as other types of high-value fish, reports American Shipper. "The shift to lower temperature freezing machinery is growing rapidly around the world," the company said.



The CBU-30 is designed for transport and functions equally well as storage for frozen cargo. The blast freezer ensures full airflow, even in loads with very high cargo internal pressure drops, said the report.



"This very controlled thawing method optimises tuna quality by ensuring that the natural red pigmentation of tuna is maintained much longer and that there is minimal drip-loss," said company president and CEO Henrik Klinge.