Cold Storage for Meat Processing

Q: Why is blast freezing -35 °C instead of -18 °C?

Freezing speed determines ice crystal size and therefore drip loss after thawing. At -30 to -35 °C the core passes the freezing zone quickly, keeping crystals small. -18 °C is a storage temperature, not a freezing temperature.

Q: Can one refrigeration system serve all rooms?

It can be built that way but is rarely the cheapest to run. Blast freezing has a short, very high load; frozen storage has a long, flat load. Sharing one system means oversizing for storage or starving the freezer.

Q: Aluminium coils or air coolers for frozen storage?

Gravity coils for raw material stored for months, less defrost and less weight loss. Air coolers where product turns over weekly and fast pull-down is needed.

Q: How long does a cold storage project take?

Typically 6 to 12 weeks for a mid-size plant, depending on panel production, equipment lead time and site readiness.

Q: Do you supply the panels as well as the equipment?

Yes. PU and PIR panels, doors and fittings are produced in the same factory as the units and heat exchangers.

Meat processing cold storage is a set of rooms at different temperatures — blast freezing, frozen storage, chilled storage and tempered processing rooms — served by refrigeration systems sized to each room's duty, not one system for the whole plant. Room temperatures below follow the Chinese national hygiene standard GB 12694-2016, which is the reference most export-oriented processors are audited against.

Temperature zones

Room	Temperature	Notes
Blast freezing room	-30 ~ -35 °C	Fast freezing; shelf coils or blast freezers depending on packing
Frozen storage	-18 °C	Long-term storage of finished product
Chilled storage	0 ~ 5 °C	Fresh product awaiting processing
Curing / tumbling / resting	0 ~ 4 °C	Process room, hygienic design
Inner packing room	10 ~ 12 °C	Low-temperature air conditioning
Outer packing & other	15 °C	Air conditioned, not refrigerated

Reference: GB 12694-2016, National food safety standard — Hygienic specification for meat processing (effective 2017-12-23).

How the systems are selected

The common mistake is sizing one system for the entire plant. In practice each room has a different duty profile, and mixing them costs either capacity or power.

Blast freezingSemi-hermetic screw parallel units for meat processing; open-type screw for slaughterhouses. Shelf coils are preferred for large-piece products, air coolers for packed goods.

Frozen storageDedicated screw and piston-parallel units. Aluminium gravity coils for long-storage raw material; air coolers where turnover is high.

Chilled & process roomsHermetic scroll condensing units with stainless-steel housed coolers — quiet, stable at 0~5 °C, easier to clean.

Low-temperature air conditioningDual-discharge, bottom-return coolers below 3.5 m ceiling height; ceiling side-blow above that. This is where most plants get condensation wrong.

Tonnage decides the system

Cold storage scale	Recommended system
Small fruit / vegetable or blast rooms	Hermetic scroll, air-cooled condensing unit
Below 5,000 t	Direct-expansion semi-hermetic screw unit
5,000 – 20,000 t	Pump-barrel liquid overfeed
Above 20,000 t	Open-type screw unit
Multi-storey cold storage	Pump-barrel liquid overfeed

Projects

25,000 t

Raw material storage, 12,000 m², four rooms at -18 °C, two 3 t/h spiral freezers

4,000 t/y

Meat processing plant with blast freezing, frozen storage and switchgear

30 t/12h

Blast freezing plus 3,000 m² low-temperature processing hall at 15 °C

Frequently asked

Why is blast freezing -35 °C instead of -18 °C?

Freezing speed determines ice crystal size, and crystal size determines drip loss after thawing. At -30~-35 °C the core passes the freezing zone quickly, keeping crystals small. -18 °C is a storage temperature, not a freezing temperature.

Can one refrigeration system serve all rooms?

It can be built that way, but it is rarely the cheapest to run. Blast freezing has a short, very high load; frozen storage has a long, flat load. Sharing one system means oversizing for storage or starving the freezer.

Aluminium coils or air coolers for frozen storage?

Gravity coils for raw material stored for months — less defrost, less weight loss. Air coolers where product turns over weekly and you need fast pull-down.

How long does a project take?

Typically 6–12 weeks for a mid-size plant, depending on panel production, equipment lead time and site readiness. Overseas projects add shipping and installation crew scheduling.

Do you supply the panels as well as the equipment?

Yes. PU / PIR panels, doors and fittings are produced in the same factory as the units and heat exchangers, which is why interfaces are simpler than a multi-supplier project.