Looking for Freezing Guidelines
Is there a guideline in which product must go from 41 degrees to 32 degrees in a certain amount of time?
What is your finished good?
It is a raw cookie dough that is produced at room temp. The product is intended to have an additional processing step conducted by the end consumer. The end consumer is at the food service level. My goal is to reduce the amount of pathogen growth from the time of processing to the time it is placed in the freezer. I can follow guidelines to say the product will be chilled from a room temp to 41 degrees within 4 hours but do I need to prove the amount of time it takes to freeze the product? If so, what guidelines do I follow?
We process RTC poultry (non amenable species) governed by FDA, we use the guidelines of 16 hours to below freezing (based on our species size)
I cannot find anything specific for your product, however, I would try to keep time to below freezing as close to 16 total hours as possible.
When you say "room temp" what temperature is that? Depending on your processing temperature, you may need to reduce your chilling/freezing time significantly.
It is a raw cookie dough that is produced at room temp. The product is intended to have an additional processing step conducted by the end consumer. The end consumer is at the food service level. My goal is to reduce the amount of pathogen growth from the time of processing to the time it is placed in the freezer. I can follow guidelines to say the product will be chilled from a room temp to 41 degrees within 4 hours but do I need to prove the amount of time it takes to freeze the product? If so, what guidelines do I follow?
Hi Acunio,
Strictly "freezing" implies attaining a temperature of, say, -18degC, at the slowest cooling point in the product.
Guidelines are primarily safety based, eg micro. activity is assumed to have ceased when slowest cooling point reaches 0degC.
Here is an illustration guideline for a home freezer. Yr own situation will depend on the product size/shape/weight and how you propose to freeze it -
Ideally, a food 2-inches thick should freeze completely in about 2 hours. If your home freezer has a "quick-freeze" shelf, use it. Never stack packages to be frozen. Instead, spread them out in one layer on various shelves, stacking them only after frozen solid.
https://www.fsis.usd...safety/CT_Index
Just as another example, IMEX (seafood) plate freezers have a typical specification that they should be able to reduce the core temperature of a 7kg block of fish from "room temperature" to -18degC in 2 hours.
Another similar thread (there are others) here -
Attached Files
Reference the FDA Food Code, freezing requirements. I've attached a copy.
Hi kibeda,
I was unable to find any freezing times in this document.
Can you give a Clause No./page reference ?.
Or were you referring to cooling times for hot foods ?, ie -
The Food Code provision for cooling provides for cooling from 135ºF to 41°F or 45°F in
6 hours, with cooling from 135ºF to 70°F in 2 hours. The 6-hour cooling parameter, with
an initial 2-hour rapid cool, allows for greater flexibility in meeting the Code. The initial
2-hour cool is a critical element of this cooling process. An example of proper cooling
might involve cooling from 135ºF to 70ºF in 1 hour, in which case 5 hours remain for
cooling from 70ºF to 41ºF or 45ºF. Conversely, if cooling from 135ºF to 41°F or 45°F is
achieved in 6 hours, but the initial cooling to 70ºF took 3 hours, the food safety hazards
may not be adequately controlled.
( 3-501.14 )
Sorry, I was probably thinking cooling or assumed freezing would be included in this document. Hope you find your answer.
Hi Charles,
Sorry, I was probably thinking cooling or assumed freezing would be included in this document. Hope you find your answer.
No problem.
The fact is that, afaik, there are very few quantitative (consensus) answers to a general freezing time requirement. IIRC the UK stipulates freezing to be done as quickly as possible. :smile:
In contrast there are numerous suggestions/opinions regarding times for cooling stages, particularly from a "hot" temperature.