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Defrosting of chicken, turkey and rabbit
Our customer was looking for a quick and efficient way to thaw some frozen chicken, turkey and rabbit. See how our quick and cost saving defrosting solution fully meets their needs.
Former process
Our customer, located in Italy, employs approximately 200 workers. This company provides different type of frozen ready-meals products to restaurants and cafeterias in several European countries. Some of these products are made of frozen chicken, turkey and rabbit, as well as pork and beef, which are thawed the day before processing and cooking.
Their plant was not equipped with a quick thawing solution. They were defrosting the meat blocks in a cold room with injection of steam, for 48 hours. The main drawbacks were drip losses, bacterial growth, and long processing time.
Customer needs
This customer needs to temper chicken and turkey wings, whole rabbits, as well as pork and beef, from -15° to -1° before boning, slicing, and cooking to prepare the ready-meals.
The daily volume processed is about 20 tons of meat and they switch several time a day between one product to another.
Solution proposed
Taking into account the volume treated, SAIREM’s TMW75 microwave tempering tunnel offers the requested capacity. This continuous solution allows our client to switch quickly from one product to another with the recipes integrated in the user friendly software.
Meat blocks are now homogeneously tempered from -15° to -1° or -2° C in less than 15 minutes instead of 48 hours previously. In addition, the exudates are reduced by 3% which translates into savings of 400 000 € per year of raw meat!
Why choosing SAIREM for defrosting method?
During his research for the most efficient thawing solution, this customer has been evaluating other technologies, like hot air with fog system, who were too slow. Radio frequencies have also been considered, but were less performing on this specific case and the required space was much more important.
Our client was also really sensitive to the fact that SAIREM produce both microwave and radio frequencies systems. This is the warranty that our company offers the best and most adapted technology. Finally, our customer liked the fact that we are an European company, with a production plant close to theirs.
Key benefits of microwave defrosting solution
Microwave technology has many advantages in terms of food products tempering and defrosting :
- Speed: our equipment saves time and money for the company, the customer can temper 20 tons of meat in a day which is ready in few minutes instead of 2 days.
- Quality: the product quality has been enhanced thanks to the quick defrosting and a homogeneous final temperature.
- Savings: microwave thawing reduces the drip losses by 3%, which represent savings of more than 400 000 € per year for this company.
- Safety: fast and homogeneous tempering prevents microbial development on the meat blocks completely.
NUTRITEMP RANGE
Our microwave and radio frequency tempering and defrosting solutions are designed for industrial food processing applications requiring fast, controlled, and uniform tempering and thawing. They support both packaged and unpackaged products, ensuring precise temperature control prior to further processing.
Available in batch, compact, and modular designs, our space-saving tempering and defrosting equipment adapts to different production volumes, site constraints, and product types. With remote control connectivity for monitoring and process optimization, our systems deliver consistent product quality, reduced lead time, and stable, efficient production flow across a wide range of operating conditions.
Calculate your payback
How much is drip loss really costing you?
Every thawing cycle comes with hidden losses. Depending on your product and process, drip loss can reach up to 8% of total weight — directly impacting your margins before production even begins.
With just a few inputs, you can estimate your actual financial losses and identify how much you could recover with a more efficient defrosting solution.
Test our food processing solutions
Interested in testing industrial microwave or radio frequency technology to optimize your food processing performance?