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Water uptake by poultry carcasses during cooling by water immersion

Article  in  Chemical Engineering and Processing · May 2007

DOI: 10.1016/j.cep.2006.05.020

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 Chemical Engineering and Processing 46 (2007) 444–450

Water uptake by poultry carcasses during cooling by water immersion

Bruno A.M. Carciofi, João Borges Laurindo ∗
Department of Chemical and Food Engineering, Federal University of Santa Catarina, CP 476, 88040-900 Florianópolis, SC, Brazil
Received 15 November 2005; received in revised form 10 April 2006; accepted 20 May 2006
Available online 17 September 2006

Abstract
Poultry carcasses have to be chilled to reduce their temperatures from approximately 40 to 4 ◦ C, which will ensure safe products. Water immersion,
water spraying and air blast are the most common methods used for chilling poultry carcasses. In immersion chilling, carcasses are moved through
tanks containing a mixture of ice and water. The variables influencing water uptake by carcasses during immersion were investigated in this work.
To perform accurate experiments in industrial chillers is difficult and for this reason experiments were performed in a pilot chiller. Poultry carcasses
were taken directly from the processing line. The pilot chiller allowed some investigations on the influence of water stirring method and intensity,
temperature and hydrostatic pressure on the poultry carcasses water uptake. Also, a mathematical model for water absorption was proposed. The
results indicated that water temperature, hydrostatic pressure and water stirring conditions are determinant in the amount of water absorbed by
poultry carcasses during immersion cooling. This work generated knowledge and data in a domain with few data available in the literature.
© 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Poultry carcasses; Hydrostatic pressure; Water immersion

1. Introduction
Basic industrial processing of poultry is similar in some fac-
tories, having the following common steps: slaughter, bleeding,
hot water immersion, feather withdraw, viscera withdraw, wash-
ing and cooling [1]. The carcasses cooling step is very important
to the preservation. Poultry carcasses have to be chilled to reduce
there temperatures from approximately 40 to 4 ◦ C, which will
ensure safe products. During cooling, the higher temperature is
found in the chicken breast center, due to its slowest cooling
rate. Water immersion, water spraying and air blast are the three
most common methods used for chilling poultry carcasses. In
immersion chilling, carcasses are moved through tanks contain-
ing chilled water or a mixture of ice and water [2]. This system
is used a lot in the USA and Brazil, two of the biggest poultry
producers in the world.
USA poultry industry routinely uses rapid chilling because
the United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and
Inspection Service demands that poultry is to be chilled below
4.4 ◦ C after 4 h post mortem [3]. In Europe the usage of cold air to
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +55 48 3331 9448; fax: +55 48 3331 9687.
E-mail address: joao@enq.ufsc.br (J.B. Laurindo).
cool poultry carcasses is very common and there are restrictions
to the usage of immersion chilling [4].
Brazilian Agriculture Department [5] demands the usage of
at least two chiller tanks in the poultry cooling process. A first
tank is necessary to wash the carcasses, where it is necessary to
use water at temperatures lower than 16 ◦ C that must be changed
at renovation rates not lower than 1.5 l per poultry carcass. In
a second tank, the cooling water must be under 4 ◦ C, and its
renovation must be 1 l per carcass, at least. This tank is built
in stainless steel and in their interior the poultry carcasses are
displaced by means of an endless screw, in counter-current with
the cooling water. During immersion, carcasses gain water that
enters in the intercellular spaces created during the rigor mor-
tis [6]. In Brazil, water uptake by carcasses is controlled by
the factories and by the Brazilian Agriculture Department. This
control is performed directly in the industrial tanks, by mark-
ing some pre-weighed carcasses and determining their water
gain during their cooling in the two chiller units. Brazilian law
allows the maximum of 8% of water uptake during carcasses
cooling [5]. Data about water absorption in poultry carcasses
were reported by Young and Smith [4]. They reported that rel-
ative water absorptions by smaller carcasses were higher than
that of larger carcasses, and that the immersion time is the most
important variable associated with water uptake. James et al.
[2] suggested that immersion time and water agitation intensity

0255-2701/$ – see front matter © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.cep.2006.05.020
 B.A.M. Carciofi, J.B. Laurindo / Chemical Engineering and Processing 46 (2007) 444–450
are the variables controlling the water uptake by poultry car-
casses. Savell et al. [3] reviewed the researches about the effects
of chilling systems on meat quality, with special attention to
tenderness, color and shrinkage. They reported that when car-
casses were cooled quickly, they had the potential to be affected
by cold-induced shortening and toughening, and also reported
that delayed chilling had a positive influence on post mortem
tenderness.
James et al. [2] reviewed the influence of chilling process on
product safety (microbiology), product quality (flavour, appear-
ance and texture), and also the chilling parameters (operat-
ing costs, weight loss and chilling time) and chilling meth-
ods (immersion, spray/evaporative, air and deep/super chilling).
These authors observed that carcasses lost weight in air chill-
ing process (between −1% and −3%), lose or gain weight in
a process with water spray (since −2% to +1.7%) and gain
weight in immersion process (since +4% to +8%). Greater water
gains occur in broilers (1.36–1.6 kg) through immersion in tum-
bling ice slush during 0.5 h, increasing +11.7% in the carcasses
weight. On the other hand, the most significant loss (−2.55%)
was with broilers in air chiller (1 ◦ C, 0.75 ms−1 , RH: 94%, 4 h
post mortem). Results showed that weight gain by immersion
in tumbling ice slush, in comparison with immersion in still
ice slush, was approximately six times greater in 0.5 h. The per-
centage of ice used in slush ice systems has been shown to affect
moisture absorption by the carcasses. The ice content that pro-
moted the highest weight gain was 35% in relation to the mass
of water in the chiller.
In this work the kinetics of water uptake by poultry car-
casses was investigated under different water temperatures and
agitation conditions. A mathematical model was proposed to
represent the water gain by these carcasses during their immer-
sion in water.
2. Experimental
2.1. Determination of water uptake by poultry carcasses
To perform accurate experiments on water uptake in indus-
trial chillers is difficult, because the operation conditions cannot
be strictly controlled and sometimes it can prejudice the pro-
duction itself. In this way, the experiments were performed
in a pilot chiller, built close to the industrial equipments, in
a factory that processes poultry, in Brazil. Poultry carcasses
were taken directly from the processing line, after viscera with-
draw and fast wash operation, before entering the industrial
cooling (before the feed of the first chiller). The carcasses
selected did not have rips or wounds in the skin, factors that
could modify their water absorption. All samples were revised
regarding the possible presence of viscera that was not with-
drawn in the industrial process line. The carcasses weight
ranged between 1.605 and 2.094 kg, values determined by a
0.001 kg precise scale (Toledo—model 2096-H/1, Brazil). After
this selection and weighing, the selected carcasses samples fol-
lowed to the pilot chiller, which is sketched in Fig. 1. The pilot
chiller was a rectangular stainless steel tank with dimensions
1 m × 0.915 m × 0.540 m, in which was possible the recircula-
445
Fig. 1. Sketch of the pilot chiller.
tion of water by means of a centrifuge pump (3 hp, 36 m3 /h,
3.8 bar, WEG, Joinville, Brazil) or the injection of compressed
air in its bottom. Approximate control of water recirculation and
air injection was performed with valves. The flows were deter-
mined by rotameters specific for air and water.
Carcass samples were hanged in the pilot chiller by means of
a metallic support, with capacity for 15 carcasses that remained
immersed in water without direct contact with the tank or with
each other.
After cooling experiments, samples were removed from the
pilot tank and hanged for 2 min before the final weighing, in
order to minimize the water adhered to their surfaces. Weight
measurements were performed for 15 carcass samples, to aver-
age the data. The amount of water absorbed during cooling was
calculated relatively to the carcass mass before immersion, as
given by the following equation:
mA m − m0
W= = (1)
m0 m0
where mA is the absorbed water mass, m the mass of poultry
carcass after immersion and m0 is the mass of poultry carcass
before immersion.
Some experiments were performed with this pilot chiller in
order to investigate the influence of relevant variables on the
carcass samples water uptake: (i) influence of water stirring
method and temperature; (ii) influence of water stirring inten-
sity; (iii) influence of hydrostatic pressure. From experimental
data, a mathematical model was proposed to predict the time-
evolution of water absorption by poultry carcasses. This model
is described in the following session.
2.2. Determination of transient temperatures of poultry
carcasses during cooling
The transient temperatures in the geometric center and in
the cutaneous regions of poultry carcasses were determined by
inserting temperature sensors in these locations. These sensors
were pointed in order to perforate the skin and penetrate the
poultry breast muscle into its center. Pt100 sensors (precision
of 0.5 ◦ C), connected to a data acquisition system, were used
to the measurement of the time-temperature evolutions. Data
446 B.A.M. Carciofi, J.B. Laurindo / Chemical Engineering and Processing 46 (2007) 444–450
were recorded at each 10 s and visualized through an interface
connected to a PC.
2.3. Influence of stirring method and temperature on
carcasses water uptake
Six different experimental conditions were evaluated: water
temperatures of 1 ± 1 and 15 ± 1 ◦ C, and three stirring levels: no
agitation (NA), water recirculation (WR, 8 m3 of water per hour)
and injection of compressed air (IA, 2.4 m3 of air per hour).
2.4. Influence of water stirring intensity on carcasses water
uptake
This study was performed by promoting water agitation by
injecting compressed air at different rates. The used conditions
were (a) without air injection (NA, no agitation), (b) 50% open
valve (IA, injection of compressed air, 2.4 m3 of air per hour) and
(c) 100% open valve (MIA, maximum injection of compressed
air, 4.8 m3 of air per hour). The WR and IA condition was eval-
uated for two different temperatures: 1 ± 1 and 15 ± 1 ◦ C.
2.5. Influence of hydrostatic pressure on carcasses water
uptake
A cylindrical tank 1.645 m long and 0.535 m of diameter
was used to study the influence of hydrostatic pressure on the
carcasses water uptake. For that, two metallic supports were
used to keep samples immersed at different vertical positions,
with water at 15 ◦ C. The vertical positions from the water sur-
face were 0.180 m (level 1), 0.845 m (level 2) and 1.470 m
(level 3).
2.6. Mathematical model for water absorption
The water absorption evolution by a carcass during water
immersion is equal the quantity that crosses the carcass surface,
Eq. (2):
d numerical value − experimental value
(mass of water) = jA (2)
dt
where j is the flux through the carcass surface and A is the carcass
surface area. The water flux is given by the following equation:
j = km (potential difference) = km [mAm − mA ] (3)
where km is a proportionality parameter between the flux and
the potential difference, similar to a mass transfer coefficient;
mAm the maximum water mass that can be absorbed by carcass
(when t → ∞) and mA is the absorbed water mass by carcass (at
time t). Substitution of Eq. (3) in Eq. (2) gives the mass balance
in the carcass during water immersion as a function of its area
and its maximum water absorption capacity:
dmA
= km A[mAm − mA ] (4)
dt
Dividing Eq. (4) by the initial mass of poultry carcass, m0 , leads
to Eq. (5):
dW
= km A [Wm − W] (5)
dt
where Wm is the maximum water fraction in the poultry carcass
(when t → ∞), defined as Wm = mAm /m0 and W is the instanta-
neous water fraction in the poultry carcass (at time t), defined as
W = mA /m0 .
It is very difficult to evaluate with precision and exactness
of the carcass area, which varies with weight, sex, and with
others characteristics of poultry. In this way, the product km A
was defined as a new parameter, called effective coefficient of
water absorption (Km ), which includes the effect of the water
absorption surface (“mass transfer surface”).
In this work was considered that the Km decreases with the
evolution of carcass water absorption, i.e., it is inversely propor-
tional to the amount of water absorbed by a carcass. Thus, this
coefficient was written as a function of the constants K0 and β,
as given by the following equation:
Km = km A = K0 eβW (6)
where Km unit is min−1 .
From Eqs. (5) and (6):
dW
= K0 eβW [Wm − W] (7)
dt
The problem to be solved is to determine the values of K0 and
β that give the best fit of experimental data of carcasses water
uptake, for given process conditions. In this way, Eq. (7) was
solved numerically, using a fourth order Runge–Kutta method
[7]. For that, a computational program was implemented using
Delphi 7.0® . The assumed values of K0 and β were the values
that provided the lower sum of residues for each set of exper-
imental data. The residues were calculated by the following
equation:
residue = |numerical value − experimental value| (8)
The model accuracy was evaluated through prediction error, cal-
culated by the following equation:
prediction error = × 100
experimental value
(9)
The time step used in the numeric resolution can influence the
numeric convergence [7]. In this way, the numerical code was
tested using different time steps, reducing them to the parameters
(K0 and β) values and the cumulative error was stable.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Typical cooling curves of carcasses
Typical temperature–time evolutions of carcasses submitted
to immersion cooling under the condition IA-1 ◦ C are showed
in Fig. 2. About 60 min were necessary to decrease the carcass
central temperature from 40 to about 4 ◦ C.
 B.A.M. Carciofi, J.B. Laurindo / Chemical Engineering and Processing 46 (2007) 444–450
Fig. 2. Time–temperature evolutions of the center and of the surface (under the
skin) of poultry carcasses submitted to immersion cooling in water at 1 ◦ C-IA.
The thin and bold lines represent two different carcasses.
3.2. Influence of temperature and water stirring method on
carcasses water uptake
The time evolution of water absorbed by carcasses is pre-
sented in Fig. 3, where each experimental data represents the
average result for 15 carcasses. It can be observed that higher
quantities of absorbed water were observed for the experimen-
tal condition IA-15 ◦ C, while the lower absorption values were
found for the condition NA-1 ◦ C. In general, higher tempera-
tures lead to higher carcasses water uptake. The same behavior
was found for water stirring, i.e., higher water agitation leads to
higher water absorption by carcasses. Experimental results indi-
cated that more than 50% of water absorption occurred during
the first 10 min after carcasses immersion, for all experimental
conditions investigated. After that, a decrease in the carcasses
water absorption was observed. A discussion about the kinetics
of water absorption is presented with the mathematical model
results.
3.3. Influence of water stirring intensity on carcasses water
uptake
The air injection influenced positively the kinetics of water
absorption by the carcasses, as showed in Fig. 4. Comparing
Fig. 3. Weight gain (kg/kg) of poultry during the immersion time, for different
experimental conditions.
447
Fig. 4. Weight gain (kg/kg) of poultry during the immersion time for no agitation
(NA) at 15 ◦ C, injection of compressed air (IA) at 1 ◦ C, injection of compressed
air (IA) at 15 ◦ C and maximum injection of compressed air (MIA) at 15 ◦ C.
the condition without agitation (NA-15 ◦ C) with the condition
under agitation (IA-15 ◦ C), at the same temperature, it was found
that the water absorption was almost 100% higher for IA-15 ◦ C
condition. A comparison among different intensities of air injec-
tion, at the same temperature, indicated that at the condition
MIA-15 ◦ C water absorption was superior in more than 50%
than at the condition IA-15 ◦ C. As expected and already evi-
denced in this work, temperature has a positive influence on
water absorption rate. On the other side, Fig. 4 shows that the
increase of water absorption with the temperature (difference
between the conditions IA-15 ◦ C and IA-1 ◦ C) was lower than
the increase promoted by water agitation (difference between
the conditions NA-15 ◦ C and IA-15 ◦ C) or by the increase on
the agitation intensity (difference between the conditions IA-
15 ◦ C and MIA-15 ◦ C).
3.4. Influence of hydrostatic pressure on water uptake
Experimental data of water uptake of carcasses placed at
different water depths are presented in Fig. 5, where the pos-
itive influence of the hydrostatic pressure on the water uptake is
shown. It suggests that the water flux is governed by a hydrody-
namic mechanism, i.e., higher pressure gradients promote higher
Fig. 5. Weight gain (kg/kg) of poultry during the immersion time for depths of
0.180, 0.845 and 1.470 m.
448 B.A.M. Carciofi, J.B. Laurindo / Chemical Engineering and Processing 46 (2007) 444–450

Fig. 6. (a) Figure adapted from Offer and Cousin [8], sketching the changes that occur in muscles post mortem. This sketch represents a section of muscle: (a1)
immediately after slaughter; (a2) some time post mortem; (a3) muscle in rigor mortis. (b) Physical model for water uptake mechanism by poultry carcasses: (b1)
first step of water absorption, controlled by the hydrodynamic mechanism; (b2) second step of water absorption, when the pores are partially filled by liquid.

fluxes through the meat pores (intercellular spaces) connected Fig. 6a2 and a3). In these conditions, the poultry carcasses can
to carcasses surfaces. The water absorption differences among absorb water quickly, until the pores (intercellular spaces) are
carcasses kept in different levels decreased with the immersion partially filled by liquid (Fig. 6b1). Ten to 15 min after immer-
time, suggesting the presence of two absorption stages. In a first sion (Fig. 6b2), a second step of water absorption takes place,
stage there is the fulfilling of pores close to the surface by the when the rate of water uptake decreases a lot, being controlled
hydrodynamic mechanism. After that water penetrates inside the by internal pseudo-diffusion of water in the muscle. The physi-
carcass by a pseudo-diffusive (slow) mechanism. cal model sketched in Fig. 6b was used to propose a predictive
According to literature [6,8,9] there are two kinds of inter- mathematical model for water absorption by carcasses submitted
cellular spaces in the muscle post mortem, as sketched in Fig. 6a to immersion cooling. In that model, the effective coefficient of
(adapted from Offer and Cousin [8]). In this Figure the three water absorption (Km ) was considered to decrease with carcass
fibers bunches are separated by the perimysium (bold traces) water absorption.
and the fibers are separated by the endomysium (thin traces).
The sketch represents a section of a muscle in three situations: 3.5. Simulation results
(a1) immediately after slaughter, when there are no intercellular
spaces in the muscle, (a2) some time post mortem, when the first The values of β and K0 , as well as the sum of residues obtained
intercellular spaces between the bunches of fibers and the per- from the comparison between predicted and observed results,
imysium appear, (a3) muscle in rigor mortis, when the spaces for different time steps, are presented in Table 1. The influ-
between the fibers in each bunch appear. Using the nuclear ence of time step on the numerical results indicated that the
magnetic resonance (NMR) technique to study the evolution numerical solution converged for time steps lower than 0.1 s.
of water diffusion coefficients in rabbit muscle, Foucat et al. [9] The values of β and K0 , determined using this time step, are
observed that these coefficients, parallel and perpendicular to presented in Table 2. The β values increased with the water
the fibers direction, increased post mortem. Moreover, the diffu-
sion anisotropy, defined by the ratio Dparallel /Dperpendicular , also Table 1
increased post mortem, indicating the increasing of intercellular Values of K0 , β and the sum of residues, for different time periods
spaces. 
Time’s step (s) β (kgcarcass /kgwater ) K0 (min−1 ) Residues (×105 )
From these results and from the sketch in Fig. 6a, a physi-
1.00 −250.52 0.1708 1.2271
cal model was proposed to explain the water uptake by poultry
0.50 −266.04 0.2204 1.2520
carcasses during immersion cooling, which is summarized by 0.25 −267.84 0.2276 1.2586
Fig. 6b. Literature reports that poultry rigor mortis is achieved 0.20 −291.01 0.2875 1.1135
in about 20–30 min [10]. In this work, the investigated poultry 0.10 −291.19 0.2883 1.1134
carcasses were used about 45 min post mortem. In this way, it 0.05 −291.19 0.2883 1.1134
0.01 −291.19 0.2883 1.1134
was considered that these carcasses were immersed in the chiller
after the onset of rigor mortis (intercellular spaces sketched by Experimental data at 1 ◦ C, with water recirculation.
 B.A.M. Carciofi, J.B. Laurindo / Chemical Engineering and Processing 46 (2007) 444–450 449

Table 2 water stirring condition, at 1 ◦ C. This result is coherent, because

Values of K0 , β and average predictive errors determined by simulations for time higher absolute β values lead to lower carcass water uptake. The
step of 0.1 s
average errors in the carcasses water uptake predictions were
Experimental β (kg/kg) K0 (min−1 ) Predictive 6.12 ± 1.08% using the same K0 value in all simulations. In this
conditions error (%) way, the mathematical model represented well the kinetics of
NA-1 ◦ C −297.27 0.0763 7.17 water absorption by poultry carcasses submitted to cooling by
WR-1 ◦ C −291.19 0.2883 4.47 water immersion, under the investigated conditions.
IA-1 ◦ C −234.12 0.0995 5.64
NA-15 ◦ C −209.24 0.0622 5.76
WR-15 ◦ C −201.25 0.0696 6.30
4. Conclusions
IA-15 ◦ C −119.08 0.0606 7.39
Water temperature, hydrostatic pressure and water stirring
conditions are determinant of the amount of water absorbed by
poultry carcasses during immersion cooling. Immersion time
Table 3
Values of β and predictive errors determined by simulations for different exper-
is the other variable controlling this absorption, although it is
imental conditions, fixing K0 = 0.1 (min−1 ) and the time’s step of 0.1 s industrially unchangeable and close to 60 min.
The procedures used to promote water stirring increase the
Experimental β (kg/kg) K0 (min−1 ) Predictive
conditions error (%)
carcasses water uptake. Their usage needs to be evaluated for
each situation, considering laws and other specific restrictions.
NA-1 ◦ C −328.68 0.1000 8.05 The mathematical model represented well the kinetics of
WR-1 ◦ C −205.76 0.1000 8.65
IA-1 ◦ C −234.58 0.1000 5.64
water uptake by poultry carcasses submitted to immersion cool-
NA-15 ◦ C −255.75 0.1000 6.77 ing, taking into account the reduction of the effective coefficient
WR-15 ◦ C −234.61 0.1000 6.68 for water absorption with the process evolution.
IA-15 ◦ C −154.13 0.1000 7.51 The results reported in this work can be very useful to under-
stand and to improve the cooling process of chicken carcasses
by water immersion.
temperature and with the stirring during the cooling operation,
Appendix A
while K0 did not show dependency with these variables. For a
better evaluation of β values, a characteristic value of K0 was
fixed (K0 = 0.1 min−1 ) for the numerical simulations of carcasses
A carcass surface area (m2 )
water uptake for the six experimental conditions. The new β val-
D water diffusion coefficient (m2 /s)
ues determined from this consideration are presented in Table 3.
J flux through the carcass surface area (kg/(m2 min))
Prediction errors increased slightly in relation to the values pre-
m mass of poultry carcass after immersion (kg)
sented in Table 2. The same behavior was found for β, which
mA absorbed water mass by carcass (kg)
absolute values ranged from about 154–328, for IA-15 ◦ C and
mAm maximum water mass that can be absorbed by carcass
NA-1 ◦ C conditions, respectively.
(kg)
The evolution of the effective coefficient of water absorption
m0 mass of poultry carcass before immersion (kg)
(Km ) with the water absorption condition is presented in Fig. 7.
km proportionality parameter between the flux and the
The absolute Km values were lower for water stirring with air
potential difference, similar to a mass transfer coef-
injection at 15 ◦ C, while the higher β value was found for no
ficient (1/(m2 min))
Km effective coefficient of water absorption (min−1 )
K0 experimental constant (min−1 )
t time (min)
W water fraction in the poultry carcass (kg/kg)
Wm maximum water fraction in the poultry carcass (kg/kg)

Greek letter
β experimental constant (kg/kg)

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