Verification of the effect of spray chilling in preventing chiller yield loss

Spray chilling is the intermittent spraying of carcases with water to minimise carcase weight loss (shrink) during initial chilling.  It is widely used in the USA but has not gained wide acceptance in Australia possibly due to the perception that the shelf life of vacuum-packaged meat is reduced.  Swift Australia decided to quantify the benefits and determine whether shelf life is affected.

A system was successfully installed to service one chiller and operational parameters were devised and tested.  Average carcase weight loss was reduced to 0.47% and boning trials confirmed an increase in saleable meat yield of 0.53%.  Carcase cooling rate and microbiological status was not affected by spraying carcases with ambient (22°C) water.  Storage trials with vacuum-packaged primal cuts showed that shelf life was not affected by spray chilling up to a storage period of 13 weeks.

It is recommended that Swift Australia extend spray chilling to the remaining chillers at Dinmore and consider it at their other sites.

Further information on spray chilling is available.

Click here to download a copy of the final report