Dive Brief:
- Quick chill systems offer pork producers benefits in improving the quality of the meat and the efficiency of pork processing, David Baker, a Stellar senior refrigeration engineer wrote in Food Manufacturing.
- The faster manufacturers can decrease the pork's internal meat temperature, the better they can preserve the meat's quality. Quick chill cooling also preserves weight and moisture, which improves the meat's taste and texture and prevents shrink and lost money.
- Quick chill cooling can improve food safety by reducing bacterial contamination and extending shelf life. It also produces a darker meat color by reducing instances of PSE (pale, soft, and exudative) meat, which can quickly turn gray on display in the store.
Dive Insight:
By using quick chill systems, manufacturers potentially improve the quality of meat they produce into cuts that fit the high-demand premium market. That makes manufacturers' pork output more versatile. It also enables the manufacturer to charge a higher price for the improved quality, which boosts the top line.
However, quick chill systems could prove an expensive upfront investment, which can make them cost-prohibitive for certain operations. But if a manufacturer can make that investment, the company's long-term return would be improved by reducing weight loss and shrink. Reducing shrink by as little as 1% can save a manufacturer money, especially over the long term.
Besides the investment, different cooling systems can also impact meat's tenderness. USDA's Meat Animal Research Center performed a study in 2011 that determined that blast chilling can result in higher loin muscle slice shear force, which could increase the chance of pork loins with unacceptably tough chops by 13 times.