Baking & Snack - February 2019 - 106

COOLING AND FREEZING

Often bakers may underestimate - or not fully
understand - how chilling or freezing dictates
quality and consistency of the final product.

Designing the right
freezer can be tricky
since it involves
accurate temperatures
and proper air flow.
Tecnopool

remain vitally important, according to Scott Houtz.
Freezing a par-baked loaf of artisan bread, for instance,
requires a different approach than a dense cheesecake.
Fabio Conti, IPCO's global product manager for food,
pointed out the chemical composition of the ingredients
will influence the processing time and the equipment
sizing. "Fatty-based products take more time to freeze
compared to water-based products," he said. Product
consistency may also directly impact the type of chiller.
"Liquid and pastry products cannot be processed on
wire mesh belts, for instance," he added.
When it comes to quality, Mr. Bogle pointed out that
choosing the proper belt often has a significant impact.
"For instance, if you have a soft product and select a belt
with large openings, the product may sink into the grid
of the belt leaving excessive marking," he observed. "If
the product is rather firm, selecting a belt with too much
support can hinder air flow and cooling rates."
Bakers should consider multiple potential factors
before installing a cooler, chiller or freezer. "Having to

106 Baking & Snack February 2019 / www.bakingandsnack.com

change to a smaller opening belt just because a smaller
product was added to the mix can be very expensive, so
make sure to think long term when selecting belting for
a cooler or freezer," Mr. Bogle said.
Jonathan Lasecki, Ashworth's chief engineer, requests
a completed data form to facilitate the belt selection process. "A process data sheet tells us about the product, the
speed, the load, the temperature, and infeed and outfeed
length, and includes a general system layout" he said.
"From this data, a belt is selected based on a tension calculation to estimate what a belt would experience during operation."
Anticipating shifts in a product portfolio, however,
is ultimately critical. "If there is a dramatic change in
weight, maybe from a small sub roll to a panned bread,
we can suggest they go to a different belt type or an additional support rail," Mr. Lasecki noted.

Failure's not an option
From Mr. White's perspective, system designs should
incorporate materials and have superior hygienic construction. Integrated automatic cleaning systems that
provide a focused product zone and belt washing are vital components in addressing the potential for bacteria,
pathogens or allergens. "A well-engineered, integrated
cleaning system can dramatically reduce the time and
lower the weekly cost of the sanitation phase of maintenance system," he said.
Mr. Hobbs noted Ashworth's Omni-Grid 360 Weld
and Omni-Pro product lines offer high hygiene standards because of the 360-degree welding. "It removes a
lot of historical crevices seen with button welds on gridstyle belts which harbor contaminants and bacteria,"
he said.
Because many bakeries have blast freezers installed in
plants without proper environmental humidity controls,
condensation frequently occurs at the inlet and outlet.
Mr. Houtz observed moisture dripping may create food
safety issues while reducing a freezer's effectiveness as
the infiltrating moisture will greatly increase ice loading on the coils. Managing that infiltration through a
conditioned vestibule may mitigate food safety risks
while providing benefits of reduced defrost and reduce
energy usage.
Michael Anderson, AMT's sales manager, recom-

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