CHILLING

CHILLING - Cristina S. Nebres - MSU at Naawan 1

 INTRODUCTION
• Since fish is highly perishable, proper handling
must start from the moment it is harvested
until it reaches the consumer’s table. The
fisher, the middleman (wholesaler and
retailer) and the consumer all have important
roles in keeping fish as fresh as possible.
Lowering the temperature (chilling,
refrigeration and freezing) is the key factor in
maintaining the quality of fresh fish.
• Chilling is the most common practice in
keeping the freshness of fish.
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• CHILLING means the reduction of
temperature to some point below (-2 to -
40C for superchilling) or above (between
0 to 50C) the freezing point of water in
the fish muscles.
• Chilling does not stop spoilage but slows
it down considerably.

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 METHODS OF CHILLING
• 1. WET ICE (ICING)
- Icing is by far the most common and useful
way of chilling the fish catch.
- Cooling is effected by the direct contact
between the melted ice and the fish. When
ice is placed in close contact with the fish,
heat transferred from the warm fish to the ice
resulting to the melting of ice; in turn the fish
is cooled down by the melted ice.
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 WET ICE (ICING)
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 • The following considerations must be taken
when icing fish:
1. Sufficient ice must be used to maintain fish
temperature at 00C. 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.
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• 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.

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• 2. Chilled Seawater (CSW) or Ice Slurry
- This is also termed as “slush ice” which is a
mixture of seawater and crushed ice used
for the chilling of fish catch.
- Advantages of CSW over icing:
- 1. CSW chills fish much faster than wet ice.
- 2. Fish in CSW do not suffer from physical
damage due to crushing or pressure from
other fish.
- 3. Fish in CSW are washed in the slurry.
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• In spite of the advantages mentioned, CSW
chilled fish do not necessarily keep longer
than wet iced fish.

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3. Other Methods
• 1. Refrigerated Air
• Air chilling is commonly employed in big
commercial boats. Chilled air is circulated
by a finned evaporator and fan situated at
one end of the fish room.
• These units are often referred to as air
blowers.

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 Outdoor Air Cooled Process
Chilling Refrigeration Models
( APS )

The APS chiller modules are used to conserve plant

floor space by enabling the cooling system to be
placed outside, either beside the building or on the
roof. CHILLING - Cristina S. Nebres - MSU at
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Refrigerated Air 2008 Refrigerator box
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• 2. Dry Ice
• Dry ice is solid carbon dioxide. Cooling is effected by
the evaporation of the dry ice.
• Due to its very low temperature (-78.90C), dry ice
should not be used in direct contact with fish to
avoid cold burns.

COLD BURN
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•This method of chilling is preferred
for air shipment of fish, as this does
not caused leakage.
•The use of dry ice is subject to
restrictions because it expands from
a solid form into a gas and it may
expel oxygen, posing a hazard to the
safety of airplanes
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Naawan
• 3. Gel Ice Mat
• Gel ice made by freezing a water-based gel.
The advantage of gel ice is that all water is
bound with no chance of water leakage
during thawing . Gel mat chilling is suitable
for air transport of fish.

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Naawan
 TYPES OF ICE
• The most common types of ice used in fisheries are
the following:
1. Block Ice
• Block Ice made by freezing water in forms (cans or
moulds) of the desired size.
• Ice blocks are rarely used directly for cooling fish
because of their size and weight. They must be
crushed into smaller pieces. Block ice melts slowly
but it is easy to transport in insulated containers to
the villages.
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Block Ice

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• 2. Crushed Ice
• Crushed ice usually comes from blocks or
slabs broken down through mechanical
crushers or manually.
• Crushed ice is irregular in size with sharp
edges.

Prawns on crushed iceCHILLING - Cristina S. Nebres - MSU at 18

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• 3. Flake Ice or “Scale”
• Commonly produced from fresh water as thin
flakes, formed instantly on cold metallic
surfaces such as the inside of a fixed, vertical
cylinder.
• Disadvantages
•It is denser than crushed ice so more flake
ice has to be used to achieve the same
cooling as crushed ice.
•It tends to clump and it melts very rapidly
making it less practical for longer transport
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Flake Ice or “Scale”

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• 4. Tube Ice
• Tube ice is made by freezing water on the inside
surface of a tube.
• Tube ice lasts longer and melts more evenly than
the other shaped ice.
• Useful for transporting fish in uninsulated
containers.
Disadvantages
• Due to its cylindrical shape, it is not practical for
icing
• It can also bruise the fish because of its relatively
large size.
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 Tube Ice

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 METHODS OF STORING ICED FISH
• 1. Bulking
• In bulking, the ice and the fish are layered to
achieve intimate contact, which will insure the
maximum storage life in ice.
• This method of storing fish is usually utilized in the
hold of fishing boats to economize on space.

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• Bulking has disadvantages when a very large
volume of fish needs to be stored:
• 1. Fish can be physically damaged through the
pressure of fish above and the pressure of ice.
• 2. In general, bulked fish are of poorer quality
than shelved or boxed fish after the same
storage time.
• 3. The unloading of the catch is difficult, which
could result to rough handling.

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 BULKING
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• 2. SHELFING – shelfing is applicable to larger
species which are gutted. In this method, the fish
is stored in single layers, gut cavity down on a
bed of ice; sometimes a little ice is spread on
top.

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 SHELFING

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• 3. BOXING

• Boxing is the preferred method of sorting fish in ice.

• Fish and ice are layered in especially made boxes.
The boxes can be easily be moved for transport to
market or permanently fixed on board the fishing
vessel.
Fish packed in ice in
boxes usually
maintain quality for
longer periods than if
kept on shelving or in
Example of Plastic tote boxes bulk.
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for iced fish Naawan
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• Several advantages of boxing:
• 1. The segregation of first from last caught
fish, small from large, one species from
another can be easily achieved.
• 2. Handling is kept to a minimum and with a
good boxing practice fish will not be damaged
physically.
• Disadvantages:
• - a disadvantages of boxing in some cases is
that the space occupied in storing fish is
greater than that for bulking.
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 TYPES OF CONTAINERS
• Considerations in the selection of fish container:
1) Insulating properties
2) Proper shape and dimensions for fishery
product concerned
3) Easy to handle, fill and empty
4) Easy to clean and stack securely one top of
another
5) Constructed from non-poisonous materials
6) Adequate provision for drainage of melt-
water

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 TYPES OF CONTAINERS
• 1. Plastic box
• Plastic is the term used to describe a wide
range of materials such as polyethylene (PE)
and polypropylene (PP).
• Plastics are composed of very large
molecules (chains or lattices called polymers
–made up of links or building blocks of
distinct molecular structure called
monomers).
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• Classification of Polyethylene (PE)
according to density:
• a. Low density (0.91 to 0.925 g/cm3)
• B. medium density (0.926 to 0.940
g/cm3)
• C. High density:
1. type III (0.941 to 0.959 g/cm3)
2. type IV (0.960 g/cm3 and above)
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• High density or rigid polyethylene (HDPE)
containers have proven to be very useful in
the chilling of fish.
• Disadvantages:
- They are expensive but will last long
• Advantages:
- These containers can withstand extreme heat
or cold and are easy to clean because of their
smooth and non-absorbent surface.
- The container can very well retain coldness
inside.

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 Polypropylene (PP)
- It has a low density
(around 0.902 g/cm3)
- It is one of the slightest
plastics, has a good
resistance to grease and most chemicals,
provides a good barrier to water vapor and can
withstand high temperatures due to its high
softening point.

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Polystyrene (Styrophore)
- Chemically, polystyrene are resistant to
weak acids and bases, vegetable oils and
other.
- Polystyrene boxes are becoming popular
locally for transporting fish from the
landing place to the market of fish plant.
- Disadvantage: difficult to clean, do not
last long and do not have drainage for
melt -water

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2. Galvanized Iron (GI) Sheet tubs (Bañera)
- Tubs made from GI sheets (bañera) are conical in
shape and so far the most commonly used
container by fishers in the Philippines. These tubs
are not provided with drains; they easily corrode
(rust); they have poor insulating property and are
quite difficult to handle due to their fill capacity,
around 40-50 kg.
- Bañera are becoming less popular locally and are
slowly being replaced by polystyrene boxes.

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Example of Galvanized Iron (GI) Sheet tubs (Bañera)

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• 3. Wooden boxes
• Wooden boxes can withstand rough handling
and have relatively good insulating property.
However, they are not easy to clean, and are
slightly difficult to handle because of their
weight. They become a hazard to handlers
(splinters can cause injury) when they are not
properly maintained.

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• 4. Coconut, Bamboo or Rattan Baskets
• These baskets are cheap and easy to handle due
to light material but difficult to clean and do not
last long. Ice will easily melt in these baskets
since they are insulated with coconut fiber
pillows, the fish can be kept cool for 24 hours

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 Types of Insulation
• The primary aim of using insulation in containers is
to slow down the rate of heat exchange between
two bodies at different temperatures.
• The efficiency of an insulating material in
preventing heat flow is measured as thermal
conductivity (k)

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• 1. Cork and Fiberglass Mat
• Cork and fiberglass mats have k values of 0.04 and
0.03, respectively. They are good insulating
materials, however, they are highly permeable to
water vapor.

CORK FIBERGLASS MAT COMPOSITED WITH

ALUMINUM FOIL
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• 2. Rice Hull, Kapok, Coconut fibers and sawdust
• These materials are cheap but not water-resistant.
Kapok when compressed loses its insulating power .

RICE HULL Kapok fiber

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 Sawdust o kusot
Coconut Fiber
Tagalog:
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• 3. Polystyrene (styrophore)
 It is widely used as an insulating material
because it is easy to produce.

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• 4. Polyurethane
 Expanded polyurethane has almost similar
properties (except for its lower compressibility
strength) as that of expanded polystyrene.
 Polyurethane material can be foamed in situ on to
the surface that needs to be insulated.

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 Handling Chilled Fish
• Temperature
Low temperatures (around 0˚C) must be
maintained until the commodity reaches
the consumer.
Fish must be chilled ASAP and kept chilled
before processing and during all stages of
fish preparation.

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• Time
•All delays must be kept to minimum.
•The length of time the fish can kept in a chilling
medium must also be known to the fish handler.
• Contamination
•Care must be taken that no contamination occurs
during chilling and during the storage of chilled fish.
•Good hygiene and sanitation (good housekeeping)
must be observed at all times
• Damage. Physical damage such as bruises, cuts,
punctures, etc. must be avoided when handling chilled
fish.

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The End of
Chilling

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