To begin with, let us first clear a misconception that freeze drying results in frozen food product, rather it results in a perfectly dried product with moisture content as low as 4% or below. Freeze drying removes only water content present in loose form or in bonded form i.e. solvent, leaving intact the molecular structure of the product. The end product is light in weight with least or no change in volume. The food product neither requires any treatment with chemical nor it is subjected to harsh temperature during drying. The quality of freeze dried product is unmatched to any other product processed by conventional drying methods. In fact, it is the same method by which life saving vaccines and pharmaceutical drugs are preserved.
Definition: As the name suggests, Freeze Drying means freezing the product below its eutectic point (i.e. deep frozen) and then drying. Drying is done under very high vacuum and at temperatures well below the freezing point. Freeze drying is a sublimation process where water in frozen state is converted into water vapours with out allowing it to go through liquid state. Vacuum condition ensures sublimation and hence the process is also called as Vacuum Freeze Drying.The end product retains most of its original characteristics like structure, size, flavor, color and most importantly the active nutrients. The water phase diagram above illustrates various drying methods.
Freeze dried ingredients finds its application in wide range of industries e.g. soup mixes, snacks which are fat & salt free, breakfast cereals, bakery, baby food, dairy, instant meals, confectionery industry and so on. Freeze Drying can be applied to variety of products like:
REF VAC offers full food freeze drying project on turnkey basis.
Few of the areas where we can assist you like none other are as follows :
Reva FFDs are fully indigenous plants, which means low capital investment as compared to imported plants. Since we have long been involved with maintenance and refurbishing of imported freeze dryers, we are aware of the problems associated with operation and maintenance of these plants. While designing Reva FFDs every care is being taken to overcome such difficulties so as to make them suited to Indian operating conditions with out compromising with the sophistication of international standards.
Other benefits are: