'Rolling Wave' Freezer Speeds IQF Pasta Production
Pierino Frozen Foods, Inc. is said to be one of the first prepared foods processors to harness new cryogenic ‘rolling-wave’ technology to individually quick-freeze (IQF) gourmet pasta out of its 30,000-square-foot, SQF-certified facility in Lincoln Park, Mich.The CRYOLINE CW IQF freezer, patented by Linde LLC, Murray Hill, N.J., uses a proprietary rolling-wave action to keep IQF products separate as they freeze.
The rolling wave agitates the moist pasta items on the belt to keep them from sticking and to improve the flow of cryogen around the product. The result is more rapid heat transfer, higher throughput and lower operating costs than with a similar-sized tunnel freezer. The cryogenic freezer, which can use either liquid nitrogen or carbon dioxide (CO2), also avoids the snow buildup associated with other types of cryogenic freezers.