Injecting a cryogen into the bottom of a mixer/blender or kettle is inherently a more efficient way of chilling product than adding water ice, dry ice pellets or CO2 snow from the top, or tempering and mixing frozen meat blocks. Cryogenic bottom injection (BI) mixer chilling leverages the thermodynamic properties of liquid N2 (-320°F) or CO2 (-109.6°F). The cryogen immediately contacts the food to remove more BTUs.
The meat industry has been using BI technology for decades to batch chill fresh product sold to wholesalers, restaurants and supermarkets. Millions of pounds of ground meat and poultry are formed into patties and nuggets and used in mixes such as for burritos. However, traditional cryogenic injectors have always posed problems. For starters, nozzles often clog and typically require additional time for daily maintenance and sanitation. While these might be considered minor issues, clogging can escalate and result in inconsistent chilling and longer cycle times.