When meat is cooled below 0 °C, ice

When meat is cooled below 0 °C, ice forms at the initial freezing
point temperature of the meat. Water-based biological products such
as meat generally have an initial freezing point temperature below
the 0 °C freezing point of pure water (0 °C) depending on the type
and concentration of solutes within thewater/liquid phase of the product
(IIR, 1972). According to Pham (1996), the initial freezing temperature
of meat can be estimated using the equation: ѲF=−4.66x0/xw−
46.4xa/xw (where ѲF=initial freezing temperature, x=mass fraction,
a=ash, o=other components, and w=water) underscoring the importance
of the composition of the water (or liquid) phase of meat in
determining its freezing point.
Ice formation occurs during the freezing of foods after a degree of
supercooling – defined as the “phenomenon of reducing the temperature
of a material below its freezing point without crystallisation occurring”
– has been achieved, the ice formation is accompanied by the
heating up of the supercooled product close to the freezing point (IIR,
1972).
Chilled meats generally command a premium over frozen meats,
for this reason, meat processors, particularly in export oriented
countries, continually look to increase the proportion of chilled
products that they export. Superchilling defined as the process by
which the temperature of products are lowered to 1–2 °C below
the initial freezing point of the product is being used to achieve extended
chilled storage life (Kaale, Eikevic, Rustad, & Kolsaker,