9 replies to this topic

[Tech - QF]

Hi

 

We are working on some new products which contain cooked IQF warm water prawns, crab meat and mussels.

 

The ingredients, including the above, are cooked to min 90C, packed off into single portion pots then blast frozen and will be later reheated before consumption.

 

I believe that the frozen components should be added to the cooking vessel straight from frozen.

 

I am concerned about the fact that the shelfish will have been cooked twice and then reheated before eating.  But at the same time, I know that cooling of the shellfish and of the finished product is done industrially so under controlled conditions and fairly quick.

 

Should I be concerned?

 

Many thanks

[Charles.C]

Dear Tech-QF,

 

the process is unclear (to me). input = presentation?, eg shell-on, meat, product in pot = presentation? same?

 

cooked twice

do you mean the to-be-cooked material (presumably IQF?) is already cooked/frozen ? size range ? meat / shell-on ?

 

Assuming 90 degC is core temperature, this is unusually high target IMEX, (for shrimp) and probably the others also. Relates to texture, maybe.

 

conveyor cooker / steam ? cooking time ?

 

cooling time / temps ?

 

freezing time ? 

 

Rgds / Charles.C

[Ted S]

Hello.

 

Actually, if the IQF Seafood that you are purchasing is actually "cooked" (i.e. pasteurized), then you do not need to cook again in your process (unless you will somehow re-contaminate them). Cooked seafood is "Ready To Eat" and does not require further cooking for Food Safety. You could bring all ingredients except the pre cooked seafood to your 90*C, then upon cooling, blend in the frozen IQF seafood to help cool down the batch. As long as it is all done in a sanitarty manner, no need to re-cook the seafood since your supplier has already conducted the cook step on the seafood for you.

[Charles.C]

Dear TedS,

 

Yes, a single cook is clearly a logical one in respect to overall quality. No doubt chefs would agree also.

 

IMEX, a  typical target in a conventional cooking process is a core temp. above 75degC for the most demanding product moiety /  instantaneous micro.acceptability (more precise statements involve T vs t). But cooking processes can vary a lot, eg input type/manual manipulation / IQF/blast/plate freezer / packing. Economically, recovery is a critical factor and this is sensitive to handling, temperature, etc.

 

Globally, processors do purchase already cooked, bulk, seafood material (of all types) from suppliers and then reprocess for their specific requirements, typically including (re-)pasteurization. It all depends.

 

Rgds / Charles.C

[Tech - QF]

Hi

 

Apologies for not being clear.

 

We use steam jacketed vessels for cooking.  The IQF components are shell-off, already cooked and frozen down.

 

They are to be added to the mix during the cooking process, min temp reached is 90 C.  The intention is to homogenise them with the rest of the ingredients, not for cooking as such.  The finished product could well be a risotto or something like that.

 

Then portioned into pots and blast frozen.

 

My query is not the process for making the product but more the reheating process when the product will be eaten.

 

Many thanks and happy new year to all.

[Charles.C]

Dear Tech-QF,

 

Excuse my risotto ignorance but how is the finished product envisaged to be used by the consumer ?

 

IMEX every time you "process" seafood you lose something sensorial compared to fresh material, be it from taste, texture, odour, etc. Just try comparing a cooked fresh fish fillet to the same item after blast freezing.

 

But how much/ where you lose depends on the specific material, its original treatment and the subsequent one, eg via T, t of the multitude of process steps and (sometimes) other chemicals.

 

I deduce the crabmeat, mussel (meat?) are raw inputs to the pot. looks like some prodigious weight losses will be involved. The quality loss for the pot stage for the shrimp will likely relate to species/size/temperature/time/additives.

 

Responsibility for the quality aspect is usually, initially, the domain (buck-carrier) of R&D.

 

Unless the shrimp time at > 70 degC is minimal, i predict texture disappointment. If the original cook treatment was rigorous / laborious even more likely.

 

Rgds / Charles.C

[Tech - QF]

Thank you all.

 

Although I didn't make it clear in my opening post, my concern was one of product safety.  Quality/texture/taste deterioration is a potential issue but being looked into separately.

[Charles.C]

Thank you all.

 

Although I didn't make it clear in my opening post, my concern was one of product safety.  Quality/texture/taste deterioration is a potential issue but being looked into separately.

 

Well, assuming quality (microbiological) input materials, and if all core temperatures are reaching 90degC > rapid cooling > rapid, hygienic packing > rapid freezing, probably little cause for concern from the usual pathogen suspects. TPC can depend on the tropical history, species, size IMEX.

 

But as for the (reheated) eating quality, less predictable IMO.

 

Good Luck !

 

Rgds / Charles.C

[Tech - QF]

That's great, thanks for your help and advice.

[blanemasa]

Sounds like a interesting processing plant