DeepchillTM is a homogenous mixture of a brine or freshwater with millions of ice crystals.
As a superior cooling and preservation medium, deepchillTM has been successfully used for fish chilling, storage and transportation of different fish products onboard the fishing vessel, the barge, at the farm, or inside the processing plant around the world.
The installations for various fish species such as shrimp, mussels, salmon, tuna and yellowtail reveal that the deepchillTM process maintains the freshness of the fish throughout the cold chain, ensures premium quality product, longer shelf life and higher yields.
An example of the deepchillTM installations can be found in the Hiketa Fish Processing Centre of the Kagawa Fishery Union in Japan. The center processes as much as 1000mt of fresh farmed fish, such as yellowtail, amberjack and red sea bream. DeepchillTM in various ice consistencies is incorporated into its entire process to keep product consistently cold and fresh. While the Sunwell system makes deepchillTM from seawater, the salinity of the deepchillTM can be automatically controlled, so there is no worry of sub-cooled temperatures damaging the product.
Upon receiving, the live fish are quick-killed then rapidly pre-chilled in large totes, using lower ice fraction deepchillTM to maintain their freshness prior to processing. These totes are delivered to the primary processing room where the fish are gutted, cut and cleaned. The fish are conveyed to the secondary processing room, where they fall into a tote containing a deepchillTM slurry to maintain their temperature prior to filleting. The fillets are dried with a cold air blast then conveyed to the packing room. In the packing room, the fillets are vacuum-bagged, checked through a metal detector, weighed, boxed and finally packed with a higher ice fraction deepchillTM slurry or dry crystals to keep the product cold and fresh until it reaches the customer.
As confirmed by Mr Ikuhiro Hattori, Chief Administration Officer of Kagawa Fishery Union, "Using slurry ice with its superior cooling effect and stable ice storage temperature, we can deliver the fresh and delicious taste of the production region to consumers." Mr Masayoshi Yoneda, General Manager of the Centre, comments further, "We've been satisfied with the operating result of the deepchillTM system not only in chilling performance but also in saving time and manpower for processing."
DeepchillTM has also been used for the salmon industry in Norway, Chile, Canada and Australia. For example, Patagonia Salmon Farming SA of Chile implemented a deepchillTM based total quality control process. Live salmon is shipped from the harvesting plants to the processing factory and deposited in receiving ponds. The fish are then pumped directly to the factory, into a pre-chilling tank approximately 28m3 in size, containing deepchillTM slurry with a low ice fraction. In this tank, the fish rapidly cools from 14 oC down to approximately 2 to 3 oC, but remains alive. Using deepchillTM as a replacement of CO2 results in little stress on the fish.
The salmon are removed from this tank, cut and then placed into a bleed-out tank. This tank also contains deepchill to continue cooling and preserving the fish as it passes through this part of the process. The final stage is the gutting and filleting of the fish. The salmon is kept in totes full of deepchillTM until it can be filleted, thereby maintaining the freshest, highest-quality salmon possible.
Managing director Hans Kossmann acknowledges, "Integrating the deepchillTM system into our entire process at the plant has improved our quality significantly."
Sunwell says that continuous innovation allows the company to stay ahead of its competition in the fish farming and processing industries. One of its latest deepchillTM variable-state ice systems delivered to a salmon processor in Australia includes a sophisticated computer-based automatic monitoring and diagnostic package. A dedicated human-machine-interface with a touch panel which allows operators to easily monitor and record the operating parameters of the deepchillTM ice system, while office personnel can easily to track the status of the system’s operations online, and even change the system settings.
