Vietnam is still testing fresh 6 month chicken preservation

The effect of the magnetic field in combination with rapid freezing, the preserved black chicken remains the same color, toughness and protein content.

The black chicken of the Northwest Hmong is a precious chicken that is used as a medicine, but if not preserved properly, meat and nutritional quality is significantly reduced.

With traditional freezing technology, dehydration or irradiation . there are many limitations. In freezing technology, the cooling of ice crystals will damage the irreversible tissue structure and change the food sensory properties. Irradiation is not convenient because before exporting frozen chicken to foreign countries, it is necessary to ensure irradiation and keep at -17.8 degrees C .

H'Mong black chicken is currently being searched by the market due to its rich nutrients.(Photo: DC).

In order to ensure the quality of exported chicken, the requirement is that after preservation, chicken meat remains the same color, not reduced vitamins and trace elements (K, Na, Ca .). The research team of the Regional Research and Development Institute, the Ministry of Science and Technology, experimented with preserving CAS (Cell Alive System) - cell preservation technology to solve this problem.

From January 2017, the research team including Mr. Dao Thuy Duong and Ms. Ta Thu Hang chose H'Mong chicken (weight from 1.2kg to 1.5kg) for experiment. The criteria for color, fat content, protein, micronutrients are measured before and after storage.

The results showed that, after 6 months of black chicken preserved by CAS technology, the color index and toughness were not different from the original. The rate of dehydration only decreased by 2.35%, the pH index decreased slightly to 5.9. Sensory quality and microbiological criteria to ensure food hygiene and safety according to TCVN 7046: 2009 on fresh meat.

Frozen chicken preserved with CAS technology.(Photo: TH).

The project has been checked and accepted from December 2017. Mr. Ta Thu Hang, a member of the research team, said that this technology was transferred from Japan (June 2013), being tested by the Research and Development Institute for food and agricultural products.

The process of studying the group also tested the defrosting methods (microwave, room temperature, water .) showed that using cold water 10 degrees C, every 30 minutes instead of every 120 minutes for quality Best meat, low dehydration rate.

This success helps businesses and chicken production facilities to be confident when exporting to countries. However, the technology is currently very expensive (more than 10 billion VND / ton / day and more than 20 billion VND / ton / hour) so businesses are not easy to invest when there are no big enough orders.

Ms. Hang said, in order to support businesses, the Regional Research and Development Institute can provide services and outsource to enterprises when they are not eligible for technology investment.

Principle of operation of CAS technology

CAS technology uses magnetic fields, similar to microwaves but incorporates a cooling system that allows preserving agricultural products to retain the same cellular structures as when harvested.

The system works on a principle, when the device emits magnetic fields, creates weak energy evenly distributed, loosens food cell molecules without breaking down walls and membranes. These cells, along with water molecules, form frozen mixes, limiting freezing like traditional preservation technology.

Depending on the type of food, agricultural products, seafood can use CAS with different magnetic field strength. To apply this technology, users only need to install CAS equipment or equipped with CAS function for existing cooling system.

CAS's quick cooling process divided into 3 stages:

1. Step 1 : Use low energy to limit water molecules to clot and maintain in super cold conditions to accelerate the cooling process.
2. Step 2 : The membranes and walls of the cells are stabilized so they do not cause damage to the preserved products.
3. Step 3: Refrigerated products, when taken, still ensure new quality, can be stored 1-3 years, even 10 years.