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10.Refrigeration Facilities

• Scope
• 10.1Outcome
• 10.2General Principles
  • 10.2.1Capacity
  • 10.2.2Condensation
  • 10.2.3Rails and conveyors
  • 10.2.4Monitoring
  • 10.2.5Temperature sensors
  • 10.2.6Environmental loading facilities
• 10.3Process Rooms
  • 10.3.1
  • 10.3.2
  • 10.3.2.1
• 10.4Chillers
  • 10.4.1
  • 10.4.2
• 10.5Freezers
• 10.6Cold Stores
  • 10.6.1
  • 10.6.2
• 10.7Sharing Refrigerated Air
  • 10.7.1
  • 10.7.2
  • 10.7.3
  • 10.7.4
    • 10.7.4.1
    • 10.7.4.2
    • 10.7.4.3
  • 10.7.5
  • 10.7.6
• 10.8Detain Facilities
  • 10.8.1
  • 10.8.2
• 10.9Ice Production

10.Refrigeration Facilities

Scope

This section outlines the specific requirements of refrigeration facilities within any of the following categories of premises:

S, AB, ME, PH, DSP, GIP, PPH, APH, RSH.

10.1Outcome

Refrigeration facilities shall be designed and constructed to be capable of reducing all parts of the food to the required preservation temperature within the required time, and/or holding and storing the food constantly at or below that temperature, and to minimise the possibility of contamination.

10.2General Principles

10.2.1Capacity

Refrigeration facilities shall be designed for the maximum capacity likely to be processed and held on the premises at any one time.

10.2.2Condensation

The design and construction of refrigeration facilities shall ensure that condensation drip on to carcasses, food or equipment is minimised.

10.2.3Rails and conveyors

Rails and conveyors on which unprotected carcasses and their parts are transported or held shall be designed and constructed to preclude contact of conveyed product with walls, floors, ceilings, structures, fittings, equipment and other product.

10.2.4Monitoring

Equipment for the accurate monitoring and display of temperatures shall be provided and shall operate at all times while refrigeration facilities are in use. Refer also to IS 2: Section 6.4.

10.2.5Temperature sensors

Temperature sensor(s) shall be positioned so they accurately monitor the temperature within a room using a sufficient number to monitor the temperature range in different

parts of the room. If only one temperature sensor is used it shall be located in the return air flow to the evaporator unit, as this usually has the highest temperature.

10.2.6Environmental loading facilities

Environmental loading facilities shall be designed and constructed to protect food from environmental hazards and to ensure maintenance of the temperature of food during load in or load out.

The minimum requirement for protected food loadout facilities is a canopy.

Protection for unprotected food should be provided by means of sealed docking bays or fully enclosed environmental loading facilities.

10.3Process Rooms

10.3.1	Process rooms shall be designed and constructed to maintain process room atmospheres in accordance with the requirements of Manual 3.
10.3.2	Temperatures of temperature controlled process rooms shall be monitored by calibrated automatic temperature recording equipment. The room temperature shall be recorded at intervals of no greater than 1 hour. Refer also to IS 2: Section 6.4.
10.3.2.1	Process rooms include boning and cutting rooms, carcass cooling floors for overnight holding, conditioning and aging rooms, and thawing rooms.

10.4Chillers

10.4.1	Facilities for chilling foods shall be designed and constructed to enable the exposed surface or thermal centre of the food, as appropriate, to be reduced to or maintained at the temperature appropriate to the food and process. Refer also to Manual 6.
10.4.2	Chiller temperatures shall be monitored by calibrated automatic temperature recording equipment. The room temperature shall be recorded at intervals of no greater than 1 hour. Refer also to IS 2: Section 6.4.

10.5Freezers

Facilities for freezing foods shall be designed and constructed to enable food to be reduced to the temperature, within a prescribed time, appropriate to the food and process. Refer also to Manual 6.

10.6Cold Stores

10.6.1	Cold stores shall be designed, constructed and operated to ensure that frozen food is maintained at -12 0C or colder during storage and loading.
	Cold stores holding fish and fish products shall ensure that fish and fish products are maintained at -18 0C or colder during storage and loading.
10.6.2	Cold store temperatures shall be monitored by calibrated automatic temperature recording equipment. The room temperature shall be recorded at intervals of no greater than 4 hours. Refer also to IS 2: Section 6.4.

10.7Sharing Refrigerated Air

Chillers or freezers using a common refrigerated air supply with cold stores shall comply with the following requirements:

10.7.1	Cold stores shall be physically separated from the chiller or freezer by floor to ceiling walls.
10.7.2	Insulation shall be adequate to minimise heat transfer between the chiller or freezer and the cold store.
10.7.3	Where a chiller or freezer is used to refrigerate unprotected food, the inlet air from the cold store, if used to store packaged food, shall be adequately filtered to remove any dust/contaminants prior to release into the chiller or freezer.
10.7.4	Exhaust air from the chiller or freezer shall not be released directly back into the cold store and shall be dealt with by one of the following techniques:
10.7.4.1	discarded directly to the exterior environment;
10.7.4.2	ducted directly to the air inlet of the evaporator unit in the cold store room;
10.7.4.3	reduced to the temperature of the cold store room via a heat exchanger prior to return to the cold store room.
10.7.5	The refrigeration capacity of the cold store shall be adequate at all times to meet the maximum demands of the cold store and any additional demands placed on it in refrigerating any chillers or freezers.
10.7.6	The design and performance of the refrigeration system shall be validated by an independent refrigeration consultant.

10.8Detain Facilities

10.8.1	Adequate, clearly identified facilities shall be provided for the secure handling of detained food.
10.8.2	Detain facilities for carcasses which have not passed inspection shall be provided as either a stand-alone chiller or an area in a standard chiller with lockable rails, separate drainage or a drip tray, and be before the defined entrance of the boning room.

10.9Ice Production

Ice that may come in contact with food directly or indirectly shall be made from potable water. Facilities shall be provided for its storage, handling and transport that will not contaminate the ice.