Capricorn Food Product India introduced Individual Quick Freezing (IQF)/ Bulk Freezing in the Vegetable and Fruit Processing industry.
IQF commonly known as Flash freezing is a commercial freezing technology, that allows fruits & vegetables to retain its quality & original nutritive value by preventing the formation of large ice crystals in the fruit cells. Since each whole fruit is individually frozen, particles do not cohere & the final product is not frozen into a solid block. IQF products eliminate reprocessing & considerably reduce the drop loss during thawing & refreezing. It also gives a longer shelf life to the fruits & vegetables. Individual consumers in importing countries prefer IQF products as they can avoid purchasing in bulk packages & hence, IQF products fetch a better price in the international markets.
| IQF generally takes place in two stages. In the 1st stage, the product is partly frozen to a pre-determined point & thereafter, fluidized to a semi-weightless stage by partially suspending it in the air in the 2nd stage. The velocity & pressure of air in the process is adjusted to ensure ultra rapid freezing in IQF form.
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The raw materials are cleaned & made to ultimate vegetable products and fruit products such as cuts, dices, slices, cubes, or whole fruits. The process includes peeling, washing, weighing, blanching & then cooling. Thereafter, loaded onto a conveyor & process continued till the core temperature is below -18°C. The product is finally stored at -20°C till shipment. Capricorn has a storage capacity to store 2000 Metric Tons finished product at -20°C.
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Over the years, volume of exports of frozen fruits & vegetables from India have increased manifold. Main importing Countries are UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand & other Western European countries. Product basket has also increased to cover more value added products. Currently, the ranges of products exported in this category are:
- Frozen fruit pulps
- Frozen fruits (chunks, cubes, slices, etc.,)
- Frozen mainstream vegetables
- Frozen Indian ethnic vegetables.
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