Industrial gases offer multiple benefits in food production

Industrial gases can be applied to food production processes to boost productivity and help to create healthy, natural and organic food products, according to chemical company Air Products.

The company uses liquid nitrogen and carbon-dioxide to provide benefits in food freezing and chilling applications. Air Products has said that cryogenic gases can chill or freeze food products in minutes. The rapid freeze technique results in fewer heavy final products, while preserving moisture and quality.

UK-based industrial gas company The BOC Group states on its website that while products in traditional mechanical freezers lose up to 3% of hydration during the freezing process, cryogenic freezing only results in a 0.5% hydration loss.

These gases also help in the grinding of spices, nutraceuticals and other ingredients. The company has said that liquid nitrogen can be particularly useful in reducing frictional heat during the grinding process, increasing output and consistency. It also prevents loss of flavour and aroma.

Other advantages of industrial gases in food production include modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), which replaces regular air in packages with pure gas, such as nitrogen, which increases shelf life of foods. The added gas changes the composition of the air surrounding the food, which leads to food looking, smelling and tasting fresher for longer.

The company tests food products on an industrial scale to determine if manufacturers could benefit from installing cryogenics equipment in their own plants, before revealing whether the optimisation of the specific food processing operation is worth the cost of cryogenics.

Air Products hopes to demonstrate its technology at the Natural Products Expo West in California next week (8-10 March 2018).