US-based meat processing company Central Maine Meats is using a flash freeze technology which is claimed to preserve agricultural products for longer time.
The flash freeze technology, which is currently being used at the company's Brunswick Avenue facility, can freeze up to up to 3,300 hamburger patties a day.
The technology can preserve fruits, vegetables, and seafood for year-round consumption in Maine.
Central Maine Meats can produce smaller packages for local retailers and cooperatives. The company can also use stock keeping units and bar codes which facilitate meat to be traced back to farm origin.
The tunnel is a large metal box which uses nitrogen dispersed by fans to freeze food that is carried through the freezer chamber on the machine's conveyor belt. It has been manufactured by Matheson Gas.
The freezing activity is controlled by the temperature on the machine, length of the conveyor belt, and the time the product takes to make its way through the chamber, reported Press Central.
Flash freeze is claimed to retain freshness by sealing in moisture. The company claims that the items which are frozen through this technology do not stick together when they melt and they do not endure cell breakdown which is commonly caused with traditional freezing.
The company has obtained approval from Gardiner Planning Board to set up a large-scale flash-freeze facility at the Libby Hill Business Park. Central Maine Meats plans to install five or six tunnels with sizes ranging from 18-20 feet long to 40 feet long.
The company hopes to meet the orders and preserve meat at its Brunswick Avenue facility where the tunnel has been installed for use by its employees.
