Quick freezing
Berry IQF line
Clean, sort and individually quick-freeze strawberry, raspberry and blueberry while protecting the whole-berry form.
- 1,000 kg/hCapacity
- BerriesMaterials
- IQFFinished product
Process flow
Pre-washing
Gently clean the incoming berries.
Inspection
Sort out defects and foreign material.
Color protection and pre-cooling
Protect color and bring product temperature down.
IQF
Individually quick-freeze the berries.
Packing
Pack free-flowing frozen berries.
| Materials | Strawberry, raspberry, blueberry |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 1,000 kg/h |
| Finished product | Individually quick-frozen whole berries |
What to prepare
- Berry type, ripeness and fragility
- Whole-berry or cut requirement
- Color and damage tolerance
- Cold storage and cold-chain plan
Berries need the gentlest handling in the IQF family: pre-washing, inspection, color protection and pre-cooling keep the whole-berry form and color before individual freezing.
Engineering and process considerations
- Low drop heights and gentle water movement protect delicate, ripe berries.
- Inspection removes defects and foreign material before freezing.
- Color protection and pre-cooling stabilize the berry before the freezer.
- Individual quick freezing keeps berries free-flowing for retail and export packing.
Standard configuration
| Reference capacity | 1,000 kg/h |
|---|---|
| Power supply | 380 V / 50 Hz, three phase (60 Hz / 440 V available) |
| Food-contact material | Stainless steel SS304 (SS316 available for high-chloride duty) |
| Control | PLC with touch screen and overload protection |
| Warranty | 12 months on main components |
Compliance and hygienic design
| Food-contact material | SS304 standard; SS316 optional for high-chloride or acid duty |
|---|---|
| Surface finish | Ra ≤ 0.8 µm hygienic finish available on food-contact surfaces |
| Hygienic design | EHEDG / 3-A design principles; cleanability per EN 1672-2 |
| Food-contact compliance | FDA 21 CFR and EU 1935/2004 / 10/2011 declarations available |
| Certification | CE marking and destination-specific certificates on request |
| Food safety support | Design supports HACCP, ISO 22000, FSMA and BRC programs |
Process reference
The ranges below are industry reference values used for initial sizing; final settings are fixed by product trial and the acceptance criteria in the quotation.
| Handling | Gentle transfer to protect delicate berries |
|---|---|
| Freezing | Fluidized IQF; −35 to −45 °C evaporation reference |
| Product | Whole, free-flowing IQF berries |
| Sorting | Pre-sort to remove defects and foreign material |
Line FAQ
Berry IQF FAQ
Whole or cut berries?
How is berry damage controlled?
What cold chain is required?
How the line is balanced
Define the product basis
Crop, incoming condition and the finished condition you sell fix every downstream stage.
Balance each handoff
Each stage is sized so its output matches the next machine's feed, with no hidden bottleneck.
Fix utilities and layout
Water, drainage, power, heat and operator access are drawn together before the layout is frozen.
Verify on representative material
A product trial confirms washing, cutting, drying or freezing results before shipment.
Acceptance criteria
- Whole-berry integrity
- Color after pre-cooling and freezing
- Free-flowing condition after IQF
- Damage rate through handling
Selection inputs
- Product and incoming condition
- Target output and operating schedule
- Utilities, water and available footprint
- Finished condition and downstream handoff
Berry lines justify their gentle handling with a higher whole-berry yield and fewer damaged pieces at packing.
Berries are the most fragile IQF product, so the line's gentle transfer and pre-cooling stages usually return their cost through fewer damaged pieces.