Generalization of a method for the characterization of quick frozen beef

Abstract

The lack of standardized tests for determining if a product can be defined as 'quick frozen' is a source of difficulty in the commercialization of foods. An even greater difficulty is the fact that there is no one definition of a quick frozen food. With the aim of partially filling this gap, a previous paper developed a simple physical method of characterizing quick frozen beef. The study was carried out with meat cuts cooled by means of heat transfer perpendicular, in a sense, to the meat fibres with 'quick frozen' being defined by a minimum average freezing rate. In the present paper the characterization method is generalized for either heat transfer perpendicular with, or parallel to, beef fibres, 'quick frozen' being defined either by a maximum freezing time or a minimum freezing rate.