OctoFrost has come a long way in the frozen food processing industry by listening to its customers’ needs and working together with experts in the food industry. OctoFrost manufactures and offers equipment for the thermal treatment of food products such as blanching, cooking, chilling and IQF freezing.
According to Sana Rehman, marketing coordinator for OctoFrost, IQF freezing has been in development for decades: "Individually quick frozen or IQF technology has been continuously developing since 1960s. IQF involves freezing each individual item of product separate from each other with the help of cold air streams. This type of freezing is much quicker and results in higher product quality when compared to traditional cold storage."
For the Ukrainian berry processors, OctoFrost offers IQF Freezers and Chillers, which can together increase freezer capacity and achieve high quality freezing. "Due to their nutritional and immunity-boosting benefits, IQF berries are growing in demand in Europe, with more interest in sourcing berries from Eastern Europe. This spur in demand for Eastern European berries, has also shifted focus on high quality and food safety as required by global traders. We have kept these needs in mind while designing the IQF Freezer and IF Chiller." Rehman explains.
The OctoFrost tunnel freezer comes with rounded corners, sloping surfaces and exchangeable bedplates, that can be easily cleaned outside the freezer, supporting continuous production even when switching between different batches of product. The free-standing monoblock housing unit allows easy cleaning under the freezer as well.
As the Ukrainian labor force is migrating to other countries, the cost of labor for berry processors is rising. Going for OctoFrost's IQF solution solves that issues, Rehman states: "Among the unique benefits of the our equipment is high automation, which significantly reduces the need for manpower. The latest OctoFrost bedplates only require a single person for bedplate handling, so the changing and cleaning, with no downtime to the production process. In addition to food safety, the upgraded bedplates are cutting manpower costs, increasing yield and making the process more efficient."
Because of the water recirculation and filtration system, the OctoFrost™ IF Chiller uses up to 90% less water than other water chilling systems. "The unique filtration system is achieving top sanitary results for providing completely clean and safe filtered water. On top of that, the water in the whole IF Chiller, including the Plate Heat Exchanger (PHE) and water filter, remains below the critical 6°C to guarantee food safety. This means that the chiller can run non-stop without the need for changing water until the end of the production day." Rehman says.
The rainshower and cross-flow water systems together with impingement technology lead to faster heat transfer, translating in less energy consumption per kg of product. The heat recovery section at the beginning of the OctoFrost Chiller is adding up to energy efficiency of the whole system.
Rehman also takes pride in the development of the OctoFrost Link, which is a great help to both their clients as well as traders in the food industry: "We started with the OctoFrost Link in 2017 and it's a global forum that connects food processors who are using OctoFrost equipment with traders in the food industry. It is a gateway to global buyers of high quality IQF products. Membership is free for all of the OctoFrost customers, who can readily access a bank of 200 traders worldwide across a variety of applications, such as IQF berries, IQF Vegetables and many more."
