JPS606611B2 - How to store seafood - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a novel method for storing seafood that preserves its freshness by rapidly cooling the seafood without freezing it.

In general, when seafood is frozen, its color, taste, and other quality are inferior to fresh fish, and autolysis occurs when thawing, making it susceptible to spoilage.

In addition, since fish farms and markets are close to each other, fish caught in coastal waters are usually not frozen but only ice-cooled. However, with this method, only the parts of the seafood that are in contact with the ice are cooled, and they quickly spoil. Furthermore, high-quality seafood is not suitable for freezing. Moreover, when these seafoods are cooled in a refrigerator, etc., it takes a long time for the temperature of the seafood to reach the desired low temperature, and during that time, autolysis occurs, resulting in a decline in quality and the promotion of spoilage. cause a phenomenon. Various methods have been tried in the past to overcome these drawbacks, but the methods of simply contacting with ice or freezing have the above-mentioned drawbacks.

In addition to the drawbacks mentioned above, the method of using a refrigerator has a unique structure that uses cold soot such as Freon gas in a sealed state.
Phenomena such as dryness inside the refrigerator and freezing due to supercooling are unavoidable.
Therefore, the method of storing seafood in a secondary refrigerator is not a preferable method from two major viewpoints: short storage period due to accelerated spoilage, and quality deterioration due to drying and supercooling. Can not.
Therefore, in order to solve these shortcomings and realize a method particularly suitable for storing seafood, we thoroughly studied the structure and cooling method of refrigerators. By directly sprinkling cooled salt solution inside the refrigerator, The temperature of the seafood in the refrigerator drops extremely quickly, and unlike fresh water, an aqueous salt solution can be cooled down to a fairly low temperature depending on the salt concentration while maintaining a liquid state, and this can be applied to cooling seafood. In addition to discovering new knowledge that it is possible to spray salt solution directly into the refrigerator, it is impossible to use a refrigerator with a conventional indirect cooling method, and it is necessary to use cooling gas with temperature and humidity control. Naoyabu found that it was essential to adopt a revolutionary new system that would be installed inside the warehouse.

After further research, they discovered that it is best to circulate the temperature-controlled and humidity-controlled gas, and that the optimal system for this purpose is to use a cyclone-type spray cooler. The present invention was completed based on this. That is, the present invention uses salt solutions having various salt concentrations and directly applies them to the seafood while controlling the temperature in order to rapidly cool the seafood in the refrigerator and also perform humidification and washing. The first feature is that the refrigerator is sprayed, and the second feature is that a method is adopted to directly introduce cold air into the refrigerator in order to realize the above process.
In order to implement this cold air direct introduction system most efficiently, the refrigerator is equipped with a cyclone-type spray cooler that directly introduces temperature-controlled and humidity-controlled gas into the refrigerator without freezing the seafood. The third feature is that the appropriately cooled gas is cooled by directly contacting the stored items, and the used gas is taken out from the refrigerator and cooled again in the above cooler, dust is removed and the system is circulated through ventilation. That is.

The present invention relates to a method for storing seafood at low temperatures by combining these features alone or by appropriately combining them.

Next, the method of the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to an example apparatus for carrying out the method.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a storage device for carrying out the method of the present invention, in which a refrigerator 1 is provided with a cooling section 2 either integrally or detachably. The refrigerator 1 consists of a series 11 which is surrounded by an inner panel 14 having a wall surface 12. Inside this weight body 11, a shelf 9 for storing seafood is provided so as to be fixed, rotatable, slidable, or attachable. The shelf 9 is preferably made of a material with ventilation and water permeability, and is preferably made of a material with holes or a mesh structure, for example. A saline solution conduit 60 is installed on the wall surface 12 of the refrigerator, and an appropriate number of saline solution spouts 61 are provided in the conduit 601 so that the cooled saline solution can be applied directly to the seafood in the refrigerator. Methods of applying salt solutions include the method of spraying water from the above-mentioned jet □, the method of sprinkling water by slightly increasing the diameter of the opening, or the method of directly injecting salt solution from a conduit. Used in combination or in combination. The number of pipes in the conduit 60,
The arrangement, the number of ejection ports 61, and their arrangement are determined as necessary. In this embodiment, piping is also provided on the side wall, but it is also possible to provide only the ceiling plate 19, or if necessary, two pipes may be provided on the bottom. A cooling section 2 consisting of a cooler 3 and a blower F is provided at the bottom of the refrigerator 1.

The cooler 3 may be an air conditioner, a cooler, a cooler using soot, or any other suitable air conditioner that can produce cooling gas. The cooling gas outlet of the cooler 3 is connected to the cooling gas introduction port 18 provided on the bottom of the refrigerator 1.
Connect with. A gas discharge opening 7 is bored in the ceiling plate 19, and this is connected to the cooler 3 via a gas conduit 4 and a fan F so that gas can be circulated and vented. Of course, it is also possible to simply discharge the used gas to the outside of the refrigerator through the opening □17. As the gas used here, any gas can be used as long as it does not harm the fish and shellfish.For example, air, nitrogen gas, carbon dioxide gas, and other inert gases. A mixture with oxygen or the like is used as appropriate.In this embodiment, air is used.As for the effects of this embodiment, first, although it is not shown in the drawings, open the door and put fresh seafood on the shelf 9. Atsushi counterfeit.

Then close the door and open the cooled salt solution tank (not shown).
The cooled salt solution is sent under pressure through a conduit 601, and
A cooling solution is spouted from 1 to the entire area inside the bulge 11 to uniformly and rapidly cool the seafood. The used solution is discharged from the drain grooves 15 and 16 to the outside of the refrigerator, and can be disposed of as is or recycled for use again. Of course, it is also possible to use fresh water. Salt solutions include sodium chloride, potassium chloride,
It refers to salts such as calcium chloride and magnesium chloride dissolved in an appropriate solvent, but aqueous solutions of these salts are usually used.

The freezing point of salt solutions, especially aqueous solutions, varies depending on their concentration, and while fresh water freezes at 0°C, aqueous salt solutions retain their liquid state even at temperatures below 0°C. Particularly suitable for rapid cooling. In the case of saline water, the freezing point is -1.7℃ at Baume 30, and at Baume 5
．． -3.600 at 70, -5.6℃ at Baume 8.30,
Baume 10. is -7.800, and in the case of calcium chloride aqueous solution, the freezing point is -1.7 at Baume 2.50.
00, Baume 5.90 and freezing point -3°C.

The saline solution is a 1-10% saline solution cooled to about 0-17°C (particularly preferably a 2-8% saline solution cooled to a temperature of -2-15°C).
℃) may be applied directly from the beginning, or
As will be described later, the temperature of the salt solution may be lowered in stages to reach the desired product temperature. When the temperature of the seafood drops to a predetermined level by applying the salt solution, the application is stopped and switching is made to direct cooling using the returning body (air in this example).

15 to 15 degrees Celsius in the cooler 3, preferably 0 to 15 degrees Celsius
Air, particularly preferably cooled to -3°C, is introduced into the refrigerator from the open row 8 by the fan F.

Since this cooling air is sucked from the open row 7 by the action of the fan F, it is discharged from the open row 7 to the outside of the refrigerator while slowly circulating inside the refrigerator. This used air may be discharged as it is, but since it contains cold air, it is processed again in the cooler 3 via the gas conduit 4 and used for circulation. The optimum temperature for storing seafood according to the method of the present invention is -3
In order to directly cool and supply the inside of the refrigerator using cooling gas at .degree. C., it is of course possible to use a cyclone type spray cooler, which will be described later, in addition to the method using the cooler 3 described above. FIG. 2 shows an example of another refrigerator according to the present invention, in which reference numeral 1 denotes a refrigerator, which has the following structure.

That is, in the wall surface 12 constituting the painted body 11 of the refrigerator, a pipe 13 through which cooling water flows is welded to the inner surface panel 14 of the wall surface 12, and a pipe 13 is welded to the inner surface panel 14 of the wall surface 12, and the inner space of the wall surface 12 and the outer periphery of the inner surface panel 14 are provided. is filled with insulation material. Inside the cliff body 11, below the wall surface 12, there is a drain receiving groove 15.
, 16 are provided.

Note that the cliff body 11 is equipped with a door device for delivering or ejecting stored items, a shelf for storing stored items, etc., although not shown in the drawings, similar to conventional refrigerators. There is. It is also a good idea to install a sirocco fan above the entrance to create an air curtain when seafood and people come in and out. A cold air introduction opening 17 is provided in the center of the ceiling plate 19.
In addition, a discharge port 18 is provided in the center of the bottom surface 20. Then, low-temperature air generated by a cold-air device, which will be described later, is introduced into the weight body 11 from the cold-air introduction opening row 7. At the same time, cold water at a slightly lower temperature than the pipe 13 is allowed to flow through the pipe 13 buried in the wall surface 12. A large amount of cold water is prepared in a cooling water tank 101 and is constantly cooled by a cooling device 102 to maintain a low temperature, and this cooling water is constantly sent by a pump 103 to keep the wall surface 12 at a low temperature. At this time, the cooling water may drop below -2°C, but it never freezes because it is constantly being circulated. This piping 13 is not necessarily essential, and may not be provided if it is not necessary. A cooling fluid spout is provided in the refrigerator cliff body 11,
Cooling fluid such as water, saline solution, or other aqueous salt solutions such as calcium chloride, potassium chloride, and other salts adjusted to an appropriate temperature is sprayed into the refrigerator from this spout.

The cooling fluid jet ports 61 are normally provided in appropriate numbers 61a, 61b, 61c, . In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, a pipe 60 with a cooling fluid outlet 61 is installed on the ceiling plate 19 and side wall surface of the housing 11, but this may be provided on the bottom surface 20. This pipe is connected to a cooling fluid tank equipped with an appropriate cooling device (not shown), and the fluid is transferred while controlling the temperature and concentration to be appropriate. Of course, when water is used as the cooling fluid, the cooling water tank 101 for wall cooling can also be used as the cooling fluid tank. The jet nozzle 61 may be designed to have a fixed or variable angle as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, or may have an oscillating structure like a sprinkler. By adopting such a structure, the cooling fluid is uniformly distributed over the seafood. If necessary, it is also possible to provide a protruding pipe 60 and spray water from its tip, or to install a sprinkler. 0 in the cooling water tank 101
Store salt water at a temperature of -2 to -5 degrees Celsius, preferably -2 to -15 degrees Celsius, and heat the inside of the refrigerator from the outside to -2 to -5 degrees Celsius, particularly preferably -3 degrees Celsius.
It may be cooled to around ℃. From the cold air introduction opening 17 to the bonito body 1
The cold air introduced into the lotus body 11 and the wall surface 1
2, the temperature and humidity inside the refrigerator are adjusted, and while removing dust, the air is sent to a discharge port 18, where it is discharged to a cooling air device to be described later. Although the condensed water may condense on the wall surface 12, it falls into the grooves 15 and 16 and is discharged outside the cliff body.

The cooling fluid ejected from the ejection port 61 is also discharged in the same manner. In the above embodiment, the cold air is introduced from above the weight body 11 and discharged from below, but it may be introduced from below and discharged from above as in the first embodiment. .

Next, adjust the temperature in the refrigerator mentioned above.

A cold air device that supplies cool air with controlled humidity will be explained. FIG. 3 is an example of this. In FIG. 3, 1 is a refrigerator, and in this case, the refrigerator 1 is shown in a cross-sectional shape different from that in FIG. 2. 3, the illustration of the cooling fluid outlet 61, the pipe 60, and the cooling fluid tank is omitted, and the same reference numerals are given to the same materials as in FIGS. 1 and 2, and detailed explanations will be omitted. Omitted. Three air fans are used, and the discharged air is blown into the first cyclone 34.

A steam pipe 35 is attached to the cyclone 34, which separates solid matter such as garbage entrained from the refrigerator 1 and also sterilizes the air by ejecting steam as necessary. However, it can be simply stated as “this first cyclone 3
4 can be omitted and the steam pipe can be directly passed through the pipe 33'. In this case, the steam pipe may be closed directly to this pipe 33' or the spray cooler 36. Dust etc. can be removed by passing it directly through the pipe 33'. The cyclone 34
The air from which dirt and the like have been removed is sent to a mist cooler 36 via a conduit 33.

The spray cooler 36 has an air conduit 33 opened on the side that connects to the cyclone 34, a reflux pipe 37 fixed at the upper part, and a cold liquid pipe 38 installed around the reflux pipe 37 in the spray cooler 36.
Attach the spray ports 39a, 39b and branch them to create a large number of spray ports 39a, 39b.
. The cooling salt solution tank 10 is always kept at a predetermined temperature (0 to -5 degrees Celsius,
A large amount of salt solution cooled to -2 to -5°C, particularly preferably -3°C is stored in large quantities, and the cooled salt solution is passed through the pump 29 to the counterfeit nozzles 39a, 39b, etc. Droplets are ejected into the spray cooler 36. Therefore, the air entering the spray cooler 36 is transferred to the mist pipes 36a, 39b, . . .
...contacts with the liquid droplets, exchanging heat quickly and efficiently, excess water due to cooling is condensed and deprived of water, deficient water is humidified, and becomes saturated at a temperature approximately equal to the temperature of the cooled salt solution. It exits from the reflux tube 37. On the other hand, the saline solution that has taken away the heat dissolves or suspends the odor and dust particles in the refrigerator, and is not suitable for repeated use. Return the cooled saline solution tank 1 via the ''. For this reason, it is preferable that the furnace filtration device 42 has a normal furnace filtration surface layered with an adsorbent such as activated carbon, Katsuraminato, acid clay, or the like. The cooled air leaving the mist cooler 36 still contains some droplets and is moist, so it is completely dehydrated by the second cyclone 43. Therefore, only air with saturated humidity passes through the reflux pipe 47 to the refrigerator 1.
will return to. At this time, if it is desired to obtain a constant humidity (for example, 60% humidity) instead of a saturated humidity, a constant amount of dry air at a certain temperature may be sent and mixed through the air pipe 44. Between the suction pipe 25 and the return pipe 47 of the fan 30,
A bypass pipe 48 is provided, and an air flow rate control device 49 such as a damper is provided on the bypass pipe 48.

On the other hand, the refrigerator is provided with an internal temperature detection device A; and an internal humidity detection device B, B2. An operating section 70 that operates a fluid ejection mechanism (not shown) is provided, and when the temperature inside the refrigerator changes due to the arrival and departure of seafood or people, the air flow control device 49 operates to release the air in the return pipe 47. By controlling the bypass amount to the suction pipe 25 and/or by jetting fluid from the cooling fluid jet port 61, a large amount of temperature-controlled and humidity-controlled air and/or fluid can be temporarily circulated, temperature inside.

It controls humidity. In the figure, 44 is an air supply pipe, the end of which is closed by a cyclone 43, and if necessary, dry air is sent for humidity control, and steam is blown in to heat the circulating air. It is also possible to sterilize the refrigerator 1 and piping via the pipe 47. Further, 5 is a refrigerant compressor of the cooling salt solution cooling device, and 6 is a compressor 5.
A condenser 7 of the cold soot gas discharged from the tank is a conduit and is connected to an evaporator 8 in a cold saline solution tank 10. Further, C is a temperature detector in the cooling salt solution tank Kame 0, and temperature detectors A, ,
A2 is electrically coupled to the unillustrated power of the fan 30,
Temperature detector C is electrically coupled to compressor 5. Reflux pipe 4
7 and the suction pipe 25 are connected to cold air conduits 23 and 24 which communicate with the openings 17 and 18 of the refrigerator 1 through the four-way switching valve 22.

In the drawing, the reflux pipe 47 is connected to the open row 7 on the ceiling plate 19 of the refrigerator.
A suction pipe 25 is shown connected to a conduit 23 that extends to the entrance 18 of the bottom plate 20 of the refrigerator, and at this time, cold air flows into the refrigerator from above. and is discharged from below. Four-way switching valve 22 to 9
It will be clear that when the refrigerator is rotated 00 times, the above-mentioned lotus communication relationship is reversed, and the cold air is switched to flow in from the bottom of the refrigerator and exit from the top. When operating the above device, first the compressor 5 is operated, and the cooling salt solution tank 10 is operated.
The saline solution in the container is lowered to a predetermined temperature as described in the first embodiment. When the temperature drops to a predetermined temperature, the switch of the compressor 5 is turned on and stopped by a command from the temperature detector C, and when the temperature rises, it is opened and operated to perform ON/OFF control. When the fan 30 and pump 29 are operated, the air inside the refrigerator 1 passes through the first cyclone 34, the spray cooler 36, and the second cyclone 43, is purified and cooled, and then flows back into the refrigerator 1.
When the temperature inside the refrigerator 1 falls to a predetermined temperature, the temperature detector A,
, detects this and rotates the air flow control device 49 through the actuating section 5, so that the air in the recirculation pipe 47 is transferred to the bypass pipe 4.
8. It circulates through the suction pipe 25, the fan 30, the first cyclone 34, the mist cooler 36, and the second cyclone 43, and enters the refrigerator 1 at all or only in a limited amount.
Also, if the temperature inside the refrigerator 1 suddenly rises, the "ventilation control device 4"
9 stops and returns to its original state and circulates only into the refrigerator 1. By doing this, the temperature inside the refrigerator is maintained at a constant level, but by adjusting the temperature of the cooling pipe 13, the humidity inside the refrigerator is reduced. For this reason, when the temperature of the cooling pipe 13 is adjusted after adjusting the humidity detector B to a predetermined humidity scale, the relative humidity inside the refrigerator will fluctuate, and this fluctuation will be detected by the humidity detector B. , B2 operates the operation unit 50, so the humidity inside the refrigerator can be controlled for the same reason as above. Seafood cannot be kept fresh unless it is cooled as quickly as possible.

Therefore, it becomes essential to carry out the water sprinkling operation, which is the most distinctive feature of the present invention, inside the refrigerator simultaneously or separately from the above operations. First, the landed seafood is brought into the warehouse, and then 8% saline solution cooled to -5°C is sent through 6 pipes, and the fresh fish is thoroughly watered from the spout 61 and rapidly boiled. Cool to

Then, the product temperature drops from 2000 to looQ. Therefore, the temperature of the saline water was raised to -3°C, and the temperature of the saline water was controlled using an appropriate temperature control means while being careful not to freeze the fresh fish, or separate saline water tanks controlled at various temperatures were prepared. The temperature rises to -2°C. Correspondingly, the temperature of the seafood decreases sequentially to 500°C, 3°C, and 1°C until it reaches the desired low temperature. This temperature varies depending on the type of seafood, but is 0 to -1500°C, particularly preferably around -3°C. When the temperature of the product becomes constant, the cooling is switched to the cold air described above. This cooling salt aqueous solution may be applied temporarily at the beginning like this, or it may be applied continuously in parallel with the cold air treatment, or it may be applied as necessary to prevent the product temperature from rising during the cold air treatment. It may be performed intermittently depending on the situation. If necessary, add cooled fresh water to the mist port 61.
It can also be sprayed from. Saline solution is 0
Since it can be cooled to below ℃, it is particularly suitable for rapid cooling of fresh fish, and can also be subjected to salting treatment by changing the concentration of salt.

Furthermore, by sprinkling water, operations such as washing and removing salt from fresh fish can be carried out in the same way. The cooling fluid jetting operation can be automated via the humidity detection devices B, , & and the actuator 70.

When no fluid ejection operation is performed inside the warehouse, the detection device B,
, B2 are connected to the operating section 50 to perform the normal cold air circulation operation as described above. According to the method of the present invention, ``As detailed above, a large amount of seafood can be uniformly cooled to the target temperature in an extremely short time compared to conventional dry refrigeration methods, and there is no freezing or dehydration. The chopstick effect of maintaining extremely high quality can be obtained, and the present invention can also be applied to extremely large-capacity refrigerated warehouses.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The figures show an embodiment of an apparatus for carrying out the method of the present invention, and FIGS. 1 and 2 are cross-sectional side views of a refrigerator, and FIG. 3 is a layout diagram of the entire cooling device. 1... Refrigerator, 2... Cooling section, 3...
... Cooler, 9 ... Shelf, 10 ... Cooling salt solution tank, 11 ... Sparrow body, 15, 16.
...Drain, 17, 18...Open □,
20...Bottom plate, 19...Ceiling plate, 22...
・・Four-way sliding door valve, 25・・・Suction pipe, 29・・・・
・Pump, 30...Fan, 34...Cyclone, 35
...Steam pipe, 36...Fake mist cooler, 37.
... Reflux pipe, 38 ... Cold liquid pipe, 39 ...
... Spray nozzle, 42... Furnace filtration machine, 43...
...Second cyclone, 44...Air pipe, 47
... Reflux pipe, 48 ... Bypass pipe, 4
9... Air flow control device, 50, 70... Actuating section, 60... Piping, 61... Cooling salt solution spout, 101... Cooling water tank. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Spray chilled salt solution directly onto the seafood in the refrigerator to quickly lower the temperature of the seafood, and use a cyclone-type spray cooler to control the temperature in the refrigerator to 0 to -5°C. A method for storing seafood, which is characterized by directly aerating moist cooling gas and storing the seafood at the lowest temperature at which it will not freeze.