The effect of freeze-chilling on the quality of ready-meal components

Freeze-chilling involves freezing and frozen storage followed by thawing an d chilled storage. It may have logistic benefits for food processors in tha t it enables 'chilled' products to reach more distant markets and facilitat es bulk production of these foods. Trials with potential ready-meal compone nts, tested individually: indicated that freeze-chilling reduced the vitami n C content of instant mashed potato and steamed broccoli in comparison wit h frozen-only or freshly prepared. Freeze-chilling also reduced the softnes s, adhesiveness and whiteness of instant mashed potato and increased its ce ntrifugal drip. It also resulted in lower shear values in steamed broccoli. Free-chilled steamed salmon had higher peroxide values than freshly steame d but these were not reflected in taste panel response, neither were any, o f the other differences in instant mashed potato or broccoli, i.e. no stati stically significant taste panel preferences or sample scores were obtained for the three products under test. Freeze-chilling resulted in raised tota l viable counts in comparison with the freshly prepared products bus these were within acceptable limits. Nevertheless, further tests on the safety, a spects of freeze-chi(ling need to be carried out. Issues such as the labell ing of freeze-chilled foods and use-by-dates must also be considered