Dairies

Keyfrost technology in the dairy industry

In the first dairies, when maturation took place in cellars and natural caves, the
climate was typical of these environments: high humidity, cool or cold temperatures,
and minimal ventilation. Modern systems aim to create these conditions
but adapt them to the maturation requirements of each type of cheese.
In fact, the temperature and humidity conditions in the maturing warehouses are not set according to weight loss, but rather according to the main microbiological and enzymatic processes that characterize cheese maturation.
Keyfrost is able to design and size air conditioning systems for
small/medium commercial cold rooms or large dairy industry plants.

The Draining Cells

This phase consists of removing the whey so that the curd does not become too acidic and to control the percentage of both ingredients during the cheese’s maturation. If a harder cheese is desired, the curd is broken up to allow more whey to escape. Salt is usually added at this point: it also helps to slow down the production of lactic acid, enhances the flavor, helps to preserve the cheese, and facilitates its aging.

Salting rooms
In general, maturing rooms are designed to allow cheese to mature in suitable conditions. Cheese is salted in cool environments (at temperatures below 15°C). Salting can be carried out dry or in brine. The salting time varies depending on the type of cheese: for soft cheeses it can take a few hours, while for hard cheeses it can take several days.

Drying chambers
The drying chamber is a small room in which the product is placed for two days. During the drying phase, the temperature varies between 23°C and 27°C and the relative humidity between 50% and 75%. From a plant engineering point of view, the problem is complicated by the fact that the chambers are generally filled with cheese and that the above-mentioned thermo-hygro-fluid dynamic conditions must be achieved uniformly in all areas around the cheese.

The Aging Rooms
Aging must always take place in special rooms, at a cool temperature, normally around 10-15°C, and with a high and constant humidity level. During aging, the cheese loses most of its water content (weight loss over long periods exceeds 30% of the initial total), becomes more compact, undergoes the transformation of fats and proteins and the fermentation of residual sugars, acquiring its characteristic flavor.
Since the cheese is effectively “born” during the aging process, it is clear that excessive haste, unsuitable environments, or negligence in carrying out the necessary operations can lead to poor results at this stage, even if the raw materials and processing are of excellent quality.

Packaging and wrapping rooms
In dairies, packaging and wrapping operations take place in rooms where it is necessary to prevent any risk of external contamination.
Temperature and humidity are kept under control, with particular attention paid to air circulation so as not to harm operators.

The refrigeration unit
The refrigeration unit is designed to meet all temperature and humidity control requirements in all areas of the dairy.
Thanks to inverter technology, the refrigeration unit is able to optimize the amount of electricity required to guarantee excellent performance and savings.

The air flow
The air treated by the AHU is initially conveyed through special stainless steel and fabric ducts.
The components that make up the air treatment system can be quickly dismantled and sanitized.
The fabric air distribution ducts can also be dismantled and washed periodically. This ensures the highest level of hygiene and cleanliness at all times, which is extremely important in order to avoid any type of product contamination.
The AHU is equipped with a wide-range variable speed fan that allows a wide range of air intake speeds to be set, adapting to different requirements.
The electronic controller also regulates the air speed within the set range to automatically compensate for pressure drops due to the progressive clogging of the air filters.

Supervision
The Frigotel® Supervision system allows you to remotely manage your refrigeration system.
Consumption readings, detailed alarms, statistics, and operating parameter configurations directly from your preferred device.

The advantages of the Keyfrost system

An ideal environment for transformation processes

Thanks to the new air diffusion system, the climate inside the drying and aging rooms is regulated in a gentle and uniform manner. This is an extremely important factor in the product refinement process.

Minimized weight loss

The innovative air flow variability system allows for different air speeds in the ducts and therefore on the product in the chamber; in this way, it is possible to manage the exact desired weight loss on the product.

High energy efficiency

Keyfrost AHUs are designed to achieve significant energy savings. The hot gas heating coil is powered by hot gas from the compressor discharge, thus utilizing heat that would otherwise be irreversibly lost to the outside environment without being exploited. This heat recovery system limits and sometimes even eliminates the use of fuel-fired boilers to produce hot water, which is extremely important in product refinement processes.