What is IQF or individualized quick freezing?

IQF or individualized quick freezing is among the safest freezing techniques. Products retain their original qualities. We explain below what this technique consists of.

Freezing has been used for more than a century as a food preservation technique without the use of chemical additives. Already in prehistoric times, cold was used to preserve game. At that time they were buried in snow to delay their degradation. It is said that in 1926 the British philosopher, politician and scientist Francis Bacon fell ill with pneumonia after trying the first food freezing. It ended up costing him his life as he was trying to freeze a chicken by stuffing it with snow to investigate the effect of cold on preservation. His waiting in the open to test the result caused him to suffer from the flu, which eventually flu, which eventually became more complicated.. It was not until the 1930s that the first frozen foods began to be distributed thanks to techniques that allowed rapid freezing. Even at the end of the 1960s, these products were still unknown in Spanish society. Suffice it to recall as an anecdote the beginnings of Congelados Apolo in Lojawhere people spoke of “los pescados tiesos” (stiff fish) in reference to a then new product that would end up becoming popular both in the town of Granada and in the rest of the province thanks to this pioneering company in the sector.

Today, frozen products are trusted by consumers all over the world and have spread to the supermarket shelves: from fish and seafood to vegetables and ready meals that save time and effort.

The IQF technique

Today, technology in the freezing industry is advancing by leaps and bounds with different processing methods that allow the original characteristics of the food to be maintained. This is the case of IQF, which stands for Individual Quick Freezing. IQF is also one of the safest techniques. This is because the products retain their organoleptic and sensory qualities – nutritional values, texture, flavor and color.

This method, like other freezing techniques, does not require colorants or preservatives to preserve food. The main difference with respect to other methods is that since it is a rapid process, the ice crystals formed in the product’s tissue are miniscule, so that after thawing its cellular structure does not suffer deformation or spillage of its internal fluids. This process has another added advantage: it makes individualized thawing of food possible.

It should be noted that two variables are directly proportional to the preservation of the starting quality of the products: the speed of the freezing process and its low temperature. In other words, the faster and lower the temperature at which they are frozen, the fewer properties they lose along the way. This is why it is preferable to buy food already frozen, instead of buying it fresh and then freezing it at home, where there is no adequate equipment to do so with the necessary immediacy.

Congelados Apolo uses IQF in different varieties of products from the best fishing grounds in the world, thus guaranteeing their quality of origin. In addition, the company from Granada, a wholesaler of frozen fish and seafood, applies strict safety controls to avoid breaking the cold chain, another fundamental variable when it comes to maintaining the qualities of the food.

What is glazing?

Glazing is often used to maintain the organoleptic properties of products and prevent them from dehydrating. This technique, carried out during the freezing process, consists of spraying the surface of the product with water or submerging it, thus generating a thin film of ice that protects the food during storage. It should be noted that this layer adds an additional weight that should be indicated on the labeling to warn consumers. At Congelados Apolo, this extra weight is deducted from the final cost, thus preventing customers from paying for ice at the price of fish or seafood in cases where glazing is used. This measure is part of the guarantees offered by the company, which have made it a benchmark for quality in the frozen food sector.