3. The effect of temperature on living matter

3.1 Food processing

The use of refrigeration in the food industry is of vital importance to this activity. Two functions can be identified in this use:

• cold-processing: this function involves the cold transformation of raw products to obtain a final product with the desired nutritional and sensory qualities. A wide variety of industries are involved, including beverages (especially wine and beer), dairy products and, for freeze-drying applications, very specific products such as coffee and high value-added products (mushrooms, etc.);

• Cold maintenance: this function also includes refrigeration or freezing operations, prior to product storage. The purpose of maintaining food products at the right temperature...