Electromagnetic freezing: Effects of weak oscillating magnetic fields on crab sticks

• Published in: Journal of food engineering Vol. 200; pp. 87 - 94
• Main Authors: Otero, Laura, Pérez-Mateos, Miriam, Rodríguez, Antonio C., Sanz, Pedro D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2017
• Subjects: Crab sticks; Electromagnetic freezing; Food preservation; Food quality; Frozen storage; Oscillating magnetic fields; Food preservation; Oscillating magnetic fields; Electromagnetic freezing; Frozen storage; Crab sticks; Food quality
• ISSN: 0260-8774; 1873-5770
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2016.12.018

Since the early 2000s, electromagnetic freezers have been sold all over the world. According to the manufacturers, the oscillating magnetic fields (OMFs) applied by these devices are capable of avoiding ice damage in frozen foods. To assess the effectiveness of OMFs in preserving food quality, we froze crab sticks in a commercial electromagnetic freezer, both with (<2 mT, 6–59 Hz) and without OMF application. Crab sticks were also frozen in a conventional freezer, both with static- and forced-air conditions, to compare electromagnetic freezing with conventional methods. After 24 h and 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of storage, we did not find any effect of the OMFs on the drip loss, water-holding capacity, toughness, and whiteness of the crab sticks frozen in the electromagnetic device. Moreover, no advantage of electromagnetic freezing over air-blast freezing was detected at the conditions tested. More experiments at larger magnetic field strength and wider frequency ranges are needed to have a complete view of the potential effects of OMFs on food freezing. •Crab sticks were frozen in both an electromagnetic and a conventional freezer.•Several quality attributes were assessed after 0–12 months of frozen storage.•Electromagnetic freezing failed to retain the quality of fresh crab sticks unaltered.•Oscillating magnetic fields produced no effect on the quality of the frozen samples.•No advantage of electromagnetic freezing over air-blast freezing was observed.