Water chilling used a screw- or auger-driven chilling tank to bring down the temperature of the product to the required level. The water chiller is ideal for washing and pre-chilling eviscerated poultry prior to weighing, portioning and packing. It prevents deterioration in meat quality and microbial growth. Comes in sections of 3 and 6 meters which can be combined to match any production capacity. Water chilling is mostly suitable for frozen end product.
For fresh product, air chilling is recommended. Air chilling utilizes controlled cool air flows to bring down the temperature of the product to the required level. Only suitable for cooling fresh (meaning not frozen) product. Setup and layout depends on available space and processing requirements. Chilling by air is becoming the preferred cooling method in an increasing number of countries. The main reason is that it is a very hygienic process with a greatly reduced risk of cross contamination. And no water is used, which can be an important consideration (due to cost and availability) in some areas. One drawback of air chilling however, is that the method is only suitable for processing fresh products. If frozen chicken is the end product, water immersion is generally considered to be the preferred method of chilling.