finned surface evaporators to cool the air and large fans to direct the refrigerated air over the carcasses. During the 1950’s blast freezing became the dominant method of freezing worldwide and the fundamental principles of carcass freezing changed little over the next 50 years. Prior to the 1950’s the beef trade was dominated by quarter beef carcasses. The emergence of the hamburger in America opened a new market for frozen boneless beef suitable for direct processing. In response to the new boneless product demand, Ellis Hardie Syminton Ltd in conjunction with Bill Freeman constructed the world’s first continuous carton freezer for 27.2 kg beef cartons near Palmerston North (New Zealand). The freezer blew refrigerated air as low as 40 C at a velocity around 3 m/s over the cartons and achieved freezing times of 24 h.