Trade press release

GEA delivers energy savings with award-winning continuous freezer control system

30 Apr 2019

Successful test measurement in french fries production at Bergia Frites in the Netherlands

French fry processing at Bergia Frites, The Netherlands

French fry processing at Bergia Frites, The Netherlands – automatically controlling and monitoring the product’s frozen condition at the freezer exit via sensor with the award-winning CALLIFREEZE® system. (Photo GEA/Bergia Frites)

GEA has recently concluded tests proving the effectiveness of its award-winning CALLIFREEZE® system which improves product quality and provides energy savings by automatically controlling and monitoring the condition of frozen products as they exit the freezer. Because CALLIFREEZE® uses Aquantis sensors, frozen food processors can ensure accurate product quality control and avoid product wastage. The system calibrates freezer parameters through the continuous measurement of a product’s level of frozenness (LOF). This allows retention time, air temperature and fan speed to be controlled so that the required and precise level of freezing can be achieved with minimum energy consumption. To-date, CALLIFREEZE® is the world’s first in-line system to autonomously monitor and control frozen product quality in this manner, helping GEA customers meet their Industry 4.0 strategies as well as their environmental targets.

Tests on different french fries varieties

The CALLIFREEZE® tests, which took place in January 2019 at Bergia Frites, a market-leading french fry manufacturer in Roermond, The Netherlands, were performed on 7mm x 7mm shoestring, 9mm x 9mm straight-cut and 13mm x 13mm crinkle-cut fries. The results prove that savings can be achieved when freezing french fries by increasing the evaporating temperature and via the continuous monitoring and control of the LOF conditions according to quality targets.

Automatic setting of the optimum evaporation temperature

The CALLIFREEZE® system was installed at the exit of the GEA IQF tunnel freezer to continuously monitor the LOF. GEA technology was able to measure the percentage of frozen water in a 80 to 120mm product layer conveyed from the freezer to the packing area. The evaporating temperature of the CO2 refrigeration installation, also provided by GEA, was controlled according to optimized settings defined by the CALLIFREEZE® system.

The results show that crinkle-cut fries are sufficiently frozen when the evaporation temperature is increased by 3 degrees Celsius (-33 C to -30 C) with the original retention time. For 7mm x 7mm straight-cut fries, the evaporation temperature could be increased by 5 degrees Celsius, which represents a 15% energy savings in refrigeration supply, without a reduction in LOF. 

Taking into account the ability to increase the evaporation temperature by 3 C for crinkle-cut fries, for example, the reduced energy usage would result in savings of roughly € 41,000 per year, for a company operating a 10 tones/hour plant, without affecting product quality. This would mean a 18-month Return on Investment (ROI) period for the CALLIFREEZE® equipment; for larger plants the savings would be even greater and the ROI much quicker. This level of energy reduction represents an important contribution to the sustainability of a plant and can make a significant contribution in reducing industry’s overall energy usage if applied globally.  

It was also demonstrated that product LOF variation followed the same trend as product temperature. With continuous measurement and logging of product LOF, and the correlation between LOF and temperature, CALLIFREEZE® was shown to provide a solution for in-line product quality tracking. This significantly reduces the product waste often associated with batch systems operating via manual control. 

From May 4 to 9 GEA will present CALLIFREEZE® at IFFA, Frankfurt (Germany), the leading international trade fair for the meat industry at booth D06 in hall 8.

Media Relations

GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft

Peter-Müller-Str. 12


40468

Düsseldorf


Germany

+49 211 9136-0

About GEA

GEA is one of the world’s largest suppliers of systems and components to the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. The international technology group, founded in 1881, focuses on machinery and plants, as well as advanced process technology, components and comprehensive services.

With more than 18,000 employees, the group generated revenues of about EUR 5.4 billion in more than 150 countries in the 2023 fiscal year. GEA plants, processes, components and services enhance the efficiency and sustainability of customer’s production. They contribute significantly to the reduction of CO2 emissions, plastic usage and food waste. In doing so, GEA makes a key contribution toward a sustainable future, in line with the company’s purpose: ”Engineering for a better world“. GEA is listed on the German MDAX the European STOXX® Europe 600 Index and is among the companies comprising the DAX 50 ESG, MSCI Global Sustainability as well as Dow Jones Sustainability World and Dow Jones Sustainability Europe Indices.
 
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