The effect of compression force, cooling medium, and type of animal product on physical and chemical properties in super-chilling process

Ice and dry ice in flake forms are often used as cooling media for meat preservation. The cooling process is done by covering the meat with these cooling substances. This method generally takes a long time to reduce the temperature of the meat because the contact between the surface of the cooling medium and the meat is less effective. Applying compression force to the cooling medium will increase the intensity of contact between the cooling medium and the meat, which is expected to improve the performance of the cooling process. This study aimed to investigate the effect of compression force on the cooling medium in the cooling process of meat products. In this study, three levels of compression force (0, 100 and 200 kg), two cooling media (ice and dry ice flakes), and three types of meat (beef, chicken and tuna) fillets were studied. A completely randomized design, factorial 3×2×3, was used in this study. It was found that applying compression force increased the speed of temperature reduction for beef, chicken and tuna fillets. Compression force, ice and dry ice medium, and meat type significantly affected the evaluated meat's physical and chemical properties (p<0.05). Interactions between compression force, cooling medium, and material types significantly influenced the temperature difference, lightness, hue, chroma, moisture content, protein, carbohydrate, ash and total volatile base (P<0.05). © 2025 The Authors.