FST 312

Chilling & Freezing

Dr. Tanya Luva Swer

 Chilling
• Rate of spoilage vary linearly with temperature in the range -1 to 25 oC.

• Rate of spoilage
• 2.5 oC >>1.1 oC.
• 5.5 oC >>0 oC.

• Initial exposure to sun will reduce ice storage of fishes.

• Decreasing storage temperature: reduce bacterial growth.

• Chilling: cool the fish to as low temperature as possible without freezing it.
• 0 to -4 oC for super chilling/ partial freezing of fish
• 0-5 oC
• Improper handling (which can bruised the fish) should be avoided.
 Chilling
• Does not prevent spoilage but controls it.

• Fish can stored for 3-15 days in iced condition: depending

upon species and several other factors.
• Fatty fish spoils faster (2-5 days)
• Belly bursting in heavy feeding fishes.
• Dipping in brine or sprinkling solid salt over the fish before icing.
• Fresh water fish> marine fish
• Tropical fishes> cold water fishes.
Chilling methods
 Icing
• Oldest, cheapest, easiest and reasonably efficient method.

Advantages
• Large cooling capacity for a given weight or volume.

• Harmeless, portable and cheap.

• Rapid cooling when fish is in direct contact with small

pieces of ice.

• Icing maintain the fish at temperature slightly above freezing

point of water.

• Ice keeps fish cool, moist and glossy; and control

deterioration.
 The following considerations must be taken
when icing fish
1. Sufficient ice must be used to maintain fish temperature at 0oC.
• For longer trips more ice than fish is needed, more than the usual 1:1 ice: fish ratio.

2. The arrangement of ice and fish must be in such a way that accumulated water, blood
and slimes can be drained easily.

3. Ice and fish should be placed alternately to avoid localized heating.

• Fish must be sufficiently surrounded with ice on sides, top and bottom.

4. When packing mixed fish, big fish must be placed at the bottom and small fish on top.
Fish with delicate skin should be packed on top of fish with scales.

5. Gutted fish must be filled up with ice in the belly cavity and must be arranged with belly
down in a slanting position inside the container.
 Methods of Icing Fish onboard
• Fish are stored in ice in commercial fishing vessels or utensils or in rooms
located below the working deck.
• Some considerations in designing the fish holds are:
Should be robust, hard and have smooth surface.
No cracks or crevices
Fitmets should be strong and corrosion resistant
Material used for construction should not cause contamination.
Insulated.
Methods:
Bulking
Shelving
Boxing
Insulated boxes
Bulking
• The fish hold is a insulated chamber located at
the near side of the Boat.
• It is divided into different compartments using
wooden boards supported by an upright beam.
• A layer of ice at least 5 cm thick is spread over
the bottom of a compartment followed by a layer
of fish. Ice is then spread over the fish and around
the edges so that the fish are not in direct contact
with the sides of the board.
• Further layers of fish and ice are added until a
depth of about 45cm ice and fish is achieved,
with a layer of 5 cm of ice at the top.
• A horizontal wooden board is now placed over
the section.
• The wooden board must be supported by the
stanchion structures, not by the fish and ice in the
lower compartment. More fish and ice are added
in the same way, again to a depth of 45cm.
• The operation is repeated until the compartment
is full.
• Wooden boards and stanchions must be kept
clean and out of direct contact with the fish.
 Shelving
o A refinement of the bulking method,

o The fish are carefully laid out in a single

layer on a bed of ice (5 cm) on each shelf and
covered with ice again.

Correct method
o Gut cavity down on a bed of ice.

o Shelves are removable.

o Shelves supported by stanchions and rest on

ice and fish.

o Not popular due to higher space and labour

requirement.
Incorrect method
 Boxing • Most preferred.
• Fish packed in ice in boxes usually maintain quality for
o Different designs and sizes longer periods than if kept on shelving or in bulk.
o Plastic or aluminium alloys.
o Layer of ice spread evenly on
bottom followed by fish and ice in
alternate layers.
o Box should not be overfilled
o Ice should not protrude over the rim
of the box.
o No shelves or internal support.
o Types: plastic box (PE and PP),
Polystyrene, galvanized iron,
wooden, etc.
A box should:
1. Be strong and robust.
2. Be able to be stacked so that the weight
of the top boxes are taken by the boxes
below, not by the fish in the box below.
3. Be able to nest to save on stowage space
when empty.
4. Be easily cleaned and, if necessary,
sterilized.
5. Allow ice melt-water to flow away
outside the box below and not through it
on to the fish in the lower box.
6. Have good thermal insulation.
Insulated boxes
• In small boat fisheries, insulated boxes are used
to carry ice to sea, and for storing ice and fish,
when fishing occupies only a short period.

• The size of the boxes depends on the size of the

boat and the amount of fish normally caught in
a day’s fishing.

• The ambient temperature will govern the

amount of insulation required in the box,
though about 10-15cm of expanded
polystyrene is common.

• Insulated boxes for small fishing boats can

often be made locally at low cost.
 Required quality of ice
1. Prepare from water free from contamination: as ice is in primary contact with fish.
 Municipal water should not be used directly in ice production. It can be used after necessary
cleaning and chlorinating (5-10 ppm).
 Water from ponds, lakes, ditches, rivers, canals or sea-shore should not be used.
 Sea water contains salt and transformed into ice at much lower temperature than the usual temperature required
in ice formation (0˚C). Therefore, the quality of ice from sea water is not good. However, seawater is
sometimes used in ice production if freshwater is scare, as in case of big trawler or factory ship in the sea or in
desert states
2. Quality of ice will be good if adequately treated tube well or deep tube well water is
used.
3. Large tanks\reservoirs where water is preserved in ice plant should be cleaned
regularly
4. Proper handling and storage: do not drag on dirty floors, do not use contaminated
crushers or storage boxes.
5. Left over ice must not be used for next trip.
6. Antibiotics in water at prescribed dose may increase shelf life of iced fish but this
should strictly follow local and international regulations.
 Types of ice
1. Block ice:
o Block ice is the most common type of ice used to ice
fish outside the processing plant.
o Traditional ice plant makes the ice by placing water
in cans which are submersed in tanks containing
circulating sodium or calcium chloride brine and
refrigerated by mechanical means.
o The dimension of the can and the temperature of the
brine are usually selected to give a freezing period of
between 12-24 hrs
o The block weight can vary from 12 to 150 kg
depending on the requirement.
o A common size produced is 2.5 x 1.5 x 1 feet weighing
70-80 kg .
o * Inadequate freezing can cause hollow inside
the ice blocks.
Types of ice
2. Plate ice:
o Ice sheets formed by spraying water over chilled hollow flat plates.
o Then run running water inside the hollw plate to release the plates.
o Optimum ice thickness is 10 to 15 mm and particle size is variable
Types of ice
3. Tube ice:
o A series of hollow vertical tubes the outer surface
which is surrounded by refrigerant (tube and
shell vessel)
o Water passes through the tube and refrigerant on the
outer surface.
o Tube ice is formed on the inner surface of
vertical tubes and is produced in the form of
small hollow cylinders of about 50 x 50 mm with
a wall thickness of 10 to 12 mm.
o As ice drops from the tube a cutter chops the ice
into suitable lengths, normally 50 mm.
o The usual operating temperature of this type of
plant is -8 to -10˚C.
Types of ice
4. Soft ice: made by freezing soft brine or sea
water in a drum provided with refrigerated
walls.

5. Crushed ice: Usually crushed at the time

of usage. Large surface area but have
sharp edges.

6. Flake ice: Improvement to crushing.

Smooth contours in the shape of very thin
flakes.
 There must be drainage for melting ice
• Melted water carries blood, slime and
bacteria.
• It must be able to drain from the bottom of
the box or container without coming into
contact with the fish.
• This can be done by installing a false bottom
in the boat or box; in its simplest form this
can be several planks at the bottom of the
boat to raise the fish.
• Fish boxes should have holes in the sides to
allow.
Quantity of ice required for
chilling the fish
 Temperature change (Initial fish temperature-required final
temperature)
 Quantity of fish
 Specific heat of fish
 Latent heat of fusion of water
 Theoretically: 1 part of ice and 3 parts of fish is sufficient. (but upon
cooling no ice will be left to keep fish chilled)
 So additional ice will be required.
Therefore, in quantifying the amount of ice
the following points should be considered.
1. Ambient temperature.
2. Type of container:
o Insulation of ice box: Ice absorbs the heat from the fish body and thus melts. Ice is also
melted by surrounding air unless fish and ice is protected with insulating materials.
Therefore, quantity of ice varies depending on the condition of insulation of the box.
o Cooling the box itself: Ice is needed for cooling of the box or container\insulation of the
box.
3. Contact with fish:
o Nature of packing in ice: All the ice are not in direct contact with all fish. If ice crystals
are small and homogeneous, packing is good, cooling of fish is prompt and ice will last
long.
4. Length of storage: Time for keeping fish in chilled condition\length of journey.
5. Thickness/ size of fish: How quickly the fish are chilled.
 Storage Characteristics of fish held in ice
Storage life of fish in ice depends on:
1. Species
2. Size
3. Method of capture
4. Fat content of fish
5. Feeding and breeding cycle.
 Storage Characteristics of fish held in ice
1. Melt water, as ice absorbs heat from fish to cool it, carries away a good
proportion of bacteria from surface.

2. Melt water also carries away a considerable % of soluble proteins, salt

and other flavouring agents and nutrients.

3. Weight loss (7-8%) observed in fishes stored in pens or holds with

several layers of fish and ice.
 Super chilling

• Reducing temperature slightly below 0oC

• -2 to -4 oC

• Also called as partial freezing of fish.

• Using refrigerated sea water (RSW) or

chilled sea water (CSW)
 Refrigerated sea water (RSW)
• Seawater has a salt content of around 3 to 3.5%.

• At 3.5% salt, seawater has a freezing point of about –2oC.

• Thus, if seawater is refrigerated, it is possible to reduce the

temperature so that a storage temperature of –1oC can be
achieved.

• Sea water cooled by mechanical means and circulated through

tanks installed onboard on fishing vessels.
 Refrigerated sea water (RSW)

• Fish can be stored in the tanks and float being less dense than sea
water.

• Fish may also be placed in perforated vessels immersed in RSW.

• Temperature should be controlled to avoid freezing: affect eating

quality of fish.

• Pumping maybe necessary for circulation and ensure mixing

(sometimes done with CSW system)/ however agitation due to
moving vessel can facilitate mixing.
 Advantages: Refrigerated sea water (RSW)
• Better contact with chilling • No undesired physical damage.
medium
• Better firmness and appearance
• Cool faster than melting ice
• Fish washed in RSW
• Better storage life (esp. non-fatty
and large fish)
• Less labour

• More packing per unit volume

• Less ice
than when using melting ice
Disadvantages: Refrigerated sea water (RSW)

• Rapid development of rancidity in fatty fishes like sardine

• Bubbling CO2 can reduce this disadvantage.

• Flesh of some fish, viz. mackerel, can become darkened upon storage in
RSW.

• Uptake of salt by fish flesh may occur

• Depends on size, species, gutted or whole, ratio of fish: water, length of storage.
Disadvantages: Refrigerated sea water (RSW)

• Offal from fish stored in RSW will not be suitable for production of
fishmeal production

• Eyes of fish stored in RSW becomes opague and gilled bleached

• Shrimps keep well in RSW but develop black spot

• Bacteriological problems
 Chilled sea water (CSW)
• Also termed “slush ice”: Mixing of sea water
with ice.

• More cost effective than RSW

• Some times advantageous to combine RSW

with CSW: partial chilling by refrigeration
and then by ice.
Other methods
Advantages Disadvantages
• Similar to RSW • Same as RSW
• Others:
• Freezing of fish does not occur
here
 Other methods
• Application of dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) as a novel chilling
medium is found to be effective for preserving fish by reducing the
temperature rapidly.
• Dry ice as a cooling agent has certain advantages, it has bacteriostatic
effect, and it acts as an insulant enveloping the fish upon evaporation.