Air Liquide new Cryo Cabinet: an innovative hygienic solution to optimise your freezing processes

Cryo Cabinet freezers nominated for Hygienic Design Award

Governments and consumers continue to make increasing demands – as indeed they should – with regard to the application of hygiene in the food industry. Air Liquide’s latest Cryo Cabinet generation – a series of high-tech cryogenic cabinet freezers – introduces various innovative techniques to meet these demands.

The new Cryo Cabinet freezers are designed to freeze, crust freeze or chill a wide range of food products quickly, safely and efficiently. Our commitment to hygiene has been recognised by the industry body, EHEDG (European Hygienic Engineering and Design Group, French arm) at CFIA (Rennes, 2017) nominated the Hygienic Design Award.

PcH 2017 : Air Liquide nominated

30% higher production capacity

The Cryo Cabinet freezers were designed for batch processing. Designed with food production in mind, one food loaded trolley fits into the freezer perfectly. As soon as the door is closed, nitrogen or carbon dioxide can be injected into the cabinet to freeze, crust-freeze or chill the contents. This process is 30% faster than before, resulting in significantly lower consumption costs.

“Mechanical chillers are still being widely used today, but the problem is they chill and freeze much more slowly,” explains Beny Bruggeman, Cryogenic International Senior Expert at Air Liquide. “As a result, larger ice crystals form in the food, resulting in a deterioration in the quality of frozen products such as meat, fish, seafood, vegetarian, fruit and vegetables.”

Maximum score for hygiene

“The Cryo Cabinet series was designed based on the hygiene guidelines of the EHEDG. Our engineers were also trained by EHEDG specialists to this end. The result is that the Cryo Cabinet series is one of the most hygienic ranges of chillers/freezers on the market.”

“The cabinets are made from stainless steel and are entirely welded, thereby eliminating nuts and bolts from the design. While they may make parts easier to assemble they are virtually magnets for dirt and contamination. The handles, locks and hinges are also made from stainless steel. Inside the freezer, instead of the traditional 90° angles, only bend angles of 45°are used."

"These can be cleaned much more easily, resulting in a greatly reduced risk of impurities remaining in the freezer.”

Attention to detail

“The door closure consists of a system with a sturdy magnetic seal which can easily be removed (patent pending). Magnets were installed behind the Cryo Cabinet’s frame, while the removable part consists of a stainless steel core that remains in place thanks to the magnets.”

“But we’ve also thought carefully about the fan and the exhaust system. The fans are made from stainless steel and are fitted with hygienic bolts and a special seal. The exhaust system is positioned in such a way that any condensation that may arise cannot come into contact with the food. And on the outside we’ve provided user-friendly, hygienic controls that are easy to clean and maintain.”

All-in-one solution

“The Cryo Cabinet range is part of Air Liquide’s Nexelia line. The Cryo Cabinet is available to be used with both cryogenic cooling agents: liquid nitrogen and liquid carbon dioxide. This means we can guide the user from A to Z, regarding not only the use of the freezer itself but also the necessary gases and the initial installation.”