IQF Freezer Manufacturers

IQF freezers — fluidised bed and tunnel types

Individual Quick Freezing (IQF) is the standard technology for producing free-flowing frozen food products — frozen peas, diced vegetables, berry fruits, prawns, fish pieces, and diced or minced meat that, once frozen, do not clump together and can be portioned from a bag. The two main IQF technologies are: fluidised bed IQF freezers (the product enters a chamber where a very high-velocity upward cold airflow suspends the product particles, separating and freezing them individually as they travel through the tunnel; works best for small, uniform, free-flowing particles — peas, diced vegetables, corn kernels, berries, shrimp, diced cheese; product exits as free-flowing frozen pieces); and IQF tunnel or spiral freezers with inter-piece separation (for larger or more irregular products that cannot be fluidised — cut green beans, sliced mushrooms, fruit segments, cooked pasta — a conveyor belt carries the product through the freezer with controlled spacing to prevent clumping). All IQF systems use refrigerants to produce the low-temperature circulating air (-30°C to -40°C). Ammonia refrigerant systems and modern HFO refrigerants are the primary options for new installations.