Rethinking Cold Chain: How a leading food processor has saved thousands by swapping Blast Chillers for Vacuum Cooling

Invest in Minutes, Save in Hours

It’s easy to think, “We’ve always done it this way.” But for one mid-sized food processor in Victoria, sticking with three 24/7 blast chillers was quietly draining hundreds of thousands from their bottom line and bottlenecking their growth.

The Hidden Cost of “Adding Another Chiller”

Running three industrial blast chillers nonstop to cool over 10,000 meals meant using over
72 kW of power draw every hour or an expenditure of over $175,000 per year in electricity alone.

More importantly, cooling times were stretching toward the 6-hour regulatory limit, risking microbial growth and bringing compliance headaches to the team.

Faced with rising energy costs and cramped production lines, the team’s first impulse was to install an additional blast chiller. Instead, they challenged convention and discovered vacuum cooling.

Thinking Differently: How Vacuum Cooling Works

Rather than chilling from the outside in through forced air, vacuum cooling works with temperature and moisture within the product to cool it from the inside out creating a low atmospheric pressure environment. The result?

• Cooling from 90 °C to below 5 °C in under 25 minutes, well under the 6-hour safety window
• Energy use of approx ~1 kWh per 100 kg of cooked food
• Near-elimination of microbial growth by quickly passing through the danger zone (60 °C to 20 °C)
  

The Numbers: Real Savings, Real Impact

Our Victorian processor cools roughly 4,000 kg of meals per batch.

Blast chillers usage was done at AU$40.32 per batch
Vacuum cooling usage is now done at AU $11.20 per batch

or running two batches daily on Blast Chillers was AU $29,440/year
Vacuum cooling allows them now to do the same at only AU $8,176/year

That is a stunning 72% reduction or annual energy saving or AU $21,264

Additional benefits included:

• Virtually zero product rejections thanks to rapid, uniform cooling
• Extended shelf life and rock-solid compliance with food-safety standards
• Increased production due to increased flow in processing
  

From Footprint to Free-Up Space

Space reclaimed from blast chillers was repurposed to install a second production line boosting throughput by 15% without expanding the building. That alone translated into roughly AUD50,000 of incremental annual revenue.

Compliance and Confidence

Australia’s food-safety code demands chilling from 60 °C to 5 °C within six hours. Traditional blast chilling often tiptoes close to that limit, especially with dense meals or rich sauces. Vacuum cooling smashes through it in minutes, giving operators not just compliance, but total confidence.

The Takeaway: Pay Less Over Time, Because Efficiency Pays Off

By swapping “more of the same” for a game-changing approach, this Victorian processor:

• Cut energy costs by over 70%
• Increased production capacity without new chillers
• Freed up valuable floor space for growth
• Managed microbial risks and compliance with ease
• Small footprint. Big impact. Priceless quality.
  

Ready to challenge your cold-chain assumptions?

Contact Heuch Cooling Solutions, leaders in Vacuum Cooling in Australia with local support and maintenance included, today for a quote, a demonstration or a Complimentary Feasibility Study and start saving by the minute.

Download Vacuum Cooling for Food Brochure by clicking HERE