Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
4909148 | Journal of Food Engineering | 2017 | 23 Pages |
Abstract
Since the early 2000s, electromagnetic freezers have been sold all over the world. According to the manufacturers, the oscillating magnetic fields (OMFs) applied by these devices are capable of avoiding ice damage in frozen foods. To assess the effectiveness of OMFs in preserving food quality, we froze crab sticks in a commercial electromagnetic freezer, both with (<2Â mT, 6-59Â Hz) and without OMF application. Crab sticks were also frozen in a conventional freezer, both with static- and forced-air conditions, to compare electromagnetic freezing with conventional methods. After 24Â h and 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of storage, we did not find any effect of the OMFs on the drip loss, water-holding capacity, toughness, and whiteness of the crab sticks frozen in the electromagnetic device. Moreover, no advantage of electromagnetic freezing over air-blast freezing was detected at the conditions tested. More experiments at larger magnetic field strength and wider frequency ranges are needed to have a complete view of the potential effects of OMFs on food freezing.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Chemical Engineering (General)
Authors
Laura Otero, Miriam Pérez-Mateos, Antonio C. RodrÃguez, Pedro D. Sanz,