As the global health trend continues, demand for frozen berries and tropical fruits is also increasing as more people start to prefer these over canned or dried fruits.
"One of our most popular IQF fruits is the mango, which is mostly used for confectioneries, frozen salads and smoothie mixes. Today’s end customer expects to buy a well-separated and good looking mango when opening the package, but the traditional freezing methods are starting to fail in offering high quality products with natural appearance. This is why we believe that IQF is a great tool, but it is still important that the product that we freeze is in the right condition as well." shared Carmen Popescu from OctoFrost Group.
In order to achieve a good freezing result with IQF mango, the OctoFrost team has a few important do’s and don’ts to share, which can be grouped in 6 main criteria.
1. Controlling the maturity and ripeness degree of the mango
2. Controlling the brix level
3. Right cutting and dicing equipment
4. Pre-cooling before freezing
5. Good dewatering
6. An even feeding rate of the in-feed conveyor
Although these tips above apply to all markets, there are still some regional differences that can cause some challenges when freezing.
"The accepted brix level for mango, according to the international standards, is between 11 and 14. However, in Asia, the brix level can be up to 22, which is an attractive feature, but it can also make the freezing process more challenging." said Carmen.
"It is truly a science to process IQF mango, which is why we are always supporting mango processors who want to develop the best methods taking into account the raw material available and the equipment they use."
