Ice Recrystallization in Frozen Beef

Temperature fluctuations produced during storage and transport of frozen food lead to activation of the recrystallization processes, causing enlargement of the ice crystals and diminishing advantages obtained in quick freezing of products. A model for interpreting recrystallization of ice in frozen beef was established considering that in this phenomenon the driving force is the tendency to a decrease in surface energy of the crystalline phase and that rate of movement of the grain boundary is proportional to its curvature. Meat samples were frozen and submitted to higher storage temperatures. Histological analysis of tissues immediately after freezing and of samples stored at different times made it possible to measure evolution of ice crystal size and obtain kinetic constants for proposed recrystallization model. Mechanisms for interpreting the phenomena were discussed, determining that transition of molecules occurs preferently through the liquid phase.