Frozen peas, cut corn, green and lima beans, berries, cherries, diced fruit and vegetables, and other small uniformly sized products are stored in large bins with plastic liners. Packaging and labeling are done as needed. Double handling into and out of storage is involved, but the savings in other respects probably more than offset it. Dehydration loss in storage is claimed to be nil.
In recent years, a new storage method has developed. IQF fruits and vegetables are stored in bulk in large refrigerated silo-type rooms. Products are moved in and out pneumatically. Claims are made that storage capacity of such rooms is double that of conventional methods and less refrigeration is needed. Dehydration is at a minimum because no air circulates in the rooms. The savings for this type of storage are presumably substantial.
Application Unique to Freezing of Fish. Two factors of unique importance to seafoods are where the freezing is done and whether the product has been previously frozen. Many tons of fish are frozen aboard ships as they are caught. Most are frozen in bulk to be thawed and reprocessed later. It would seem questionable to use a costly instant freezing method in later processing if the fish had previously been frozen by a slower method. The quality differences between the instant and slow methods in the second freezing may well be minor, compared with differences attainable in freezing fish.
