Cold processing of poultry food:
Advantages and uses: Poultry meat is rich in nutrients, containing various essential nutrients for the human body, and has tender meat that is easy to digest and absorb. The structure of poultry meat is similar to that of animal meat, consisting of muscle tissue, adipose tissue, and skeletal tissue. The maturation and spoilage process of poultry meat is basically the same as that of animal meat. After slaughter, the body temperature of poultry is close to 40 ℃. In order to inhibit the growth and reproduction of microorganisms, timely cooling should be carried out to reduce the body temperature to around 3-5 ℃.
Poultry meat is rich in nutrients, containing various essential nutrients for the human body, and its meat is tender, easy to digest and absorb. The structure of poultry meat is similar to that of animal meat, consisting of muscle tissue, adipose tissue, and skeletal tissue. The maturation and spoilage process of poultry meat is basically the same as that of animal meat.
After slaughter, the body temperature of poultry is close to 40 ℃. In order to inhibit the growth and reproduction of microorganisms, timely cooling should be carried out to reduce the body temperature to around 3-5 ℃.
There are many cooling methods for poultry, such as using cold water, ice water, and air cooling. For the cold processing of whole chickens, many cold storage facilities currently use direct freezing methods, but before freezing, the moisture in the poultry body must be dried to ensure the quality of the product.
The freezing of poultry meat is generally carried out in an air medium, using shelving pipes or strong blowing methods.
When freezing whole poultry, if packaged in plastic bags, they can be placed on a small car or basket with nylon mesh for air drying and quick freezing. Most of the unpackaged poultry are placed in metal trays and then frozen on shelves, hanging cages, or carts. After removing the trays, they are coated with ice and placed in a refrigerated warehouse for refrigeration. Most of the segmented poultry are packaged first and then frozen on trays.
The temperature of the quick freezing warehouse is generally -23 ℃~-35 ℃, and the relative humidity of the air is between 85%~90%. When the temperature at the center of the thickest part of the bird's muscle reaches -15~-18 ℃, the quick freezing can be ended and the bird can be transferred to a refrigerated warehouse at a temperature of -18~-20 ℃. During the quick freezing process, the weight of the poultry is reduced due to water evaporation, with a weight loss of generally 2-3% (without packaging). In a refrigerated warehouse at -18 ℃, chickens can generally be stored for 6-10 months, while ducks and geese can be stored for about 6-8 months