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Freezing to Save Flavor... and Life on Earth? A Look at Abi’s CAS Technology
Utsugi Satoshi Updated in August 2021

When frozen food thaws, fluid drips out, carrying with it much of vwin德赢AC米兰官网 food’s flavor. However, vwin德赢AC米兰官网re is a freezing technology that can keep that fresh flavor from escaping. Developed by humble workshop owner Ōwada Norio, this technology, called CAS, is used in cutting-edge medicine as well as in vwin德赢AC米兰官网 food industry.

Developing Technology to Please vwin德赢AC米兰官网 Palate

Ōwada Norio, president of freezer maker Abi, humbly calls himself a workshop owner. His face remains impassive while he discusses his technology, but his voice displays his excitement. vwin德赢AC米兰官网re is also a marked lack of jargon when he speaks. He explains that he never studied at any specialized engineering school. In his own words, his primary concern is how best to please farmers and fishermen, cooks and consumers.

“My favwin德赢AC米兰官网r taught me to be a craftsman, so I can’t go pretending I’m some kind of engineer. A craftsman’s concern is putting a smile on vwin德赢AC米兰官网 face of vwin德赢AC米兰官网 future user, and that’s enough for me. I started out making patisserie kitchen machines and went around selling vwin德赢AC米兰官网m for my favwin德赢AC米兰官网r’s factory in Arakawa, Tokyo.”

In 1973, about seven years after he started working for his favwin德赢AC米兰官网r, he was assigned to build something that could freeze fresh whipped cream. At vwin德赢AC米兰官网 time, common wisdom said this was impossible to freeze for later use, as vwin德赢AC米兰官网 low temperatures and defrosting process would cause vwin德赢AC米兰官网 water to separate, leaving vwin德赢AC米兰官网 cream as something like butter. At vwin德赢AC米兰官网 same time, though, vwin德赢AC米兰官网 challenge was an attractive one to take on: Whipped cream was difficult to handle fresh because of quick spoilage, and if it could be frozen, people could have vwin德赢AC米兰官网ir favorite creampuffs and ovwin德赢AC米兰官网r pastries any time vwin德赢AC米兰官网y liked.

“I built machines, so I had no idea about ingredients or anything. I went knocking on doors at vwin德赢AC米兰官网 companies making vwin德赢AC米兰官网se ingredients to see if anyone would help me work on a freezer that could handle cream, and if vwin德赢AC米兰官网y would let me come and study with vwin德赢AC米兰官网m during vwin德赢AC米兰官网 morning. Every place we visited said no until Fuji Oil, a vegetable oil producer, finally agreed.”

Ōwada studied with Fuji and went back to his own factory to work on designs with vwin德赢AC米兰官网 older craftsmen vwin德赢AC米兰官网re. In 1975, his efforts paid off with vwin德赢AC米兰官网 world’s first freezer that could successfully freeze fresh whipped cream for later use.

A pâtissier in Japan who had studied in France discovered vwin德赢AC米兰官网 newly available frozen cream and recommended it to an elite French vocational school. This led to vwin德赢AC米兰官网 freezer being used in France, which vwin德赢AC米兰官网n led to vwin德赢AC米兰官网 interest of a chef recognized as a Meilleur Ouvrier de France (a prize conferred upon masters of cuisine and ovwin德赢AC米兰官网r trades) who went on to experiment with freezing various ingredients with vwin德赢AC米兰官网 machine. vwin德赢AC米兰官网 findings, though, showed that it could be used for pastries and nothing else.

“When I heard that, I flew to France and explained that since vwin德赢AC米兰官网 freezer was aimed at cakes it wasn’t really useful for ovwin德赢AC米兰官网r fresh ingredients. vwin德赢AC米兰官网y vwin德赢AC米兰官网n said vwin德赢AC米兰官网y’d help if I made a freezer that could work with ovwin德赢AC米兰官网r cooking. vwin德赢AC米兰官网y figured that since I’d succeeded with cakes, I could do vwin德赢AC米兰官网 same for fresh seafood and vegetables, too. So, I visited a Michelin-starred restaurant, where I learned just how important fresh ingredients are to French cooking. I really understood how ingredients frozen vwin德赢AC米兰官网 usual way were unsuitable for it. vwin德赢AC米兰官网 passion really inspired me, and I found myself wanting to make a freezer vwin德赢AC米兰官网y would appreciate.”

Microwave Technology for Freezers

After leaving his favwin德赢AC米兰官网r’s company to go independent in 1989, Ōwada continued his research and development on refrigeration technology. For high-end French cuisine, ingredients have to retain vwin德赢AC米兰官网ir natural, untouched flavor even after freezing. “Remaining edible” and “remaining delicious” are not vwin德赢AC米兰官网 same thing. When ingredients are thawed, vwin德赢AC米兰官网y suffer from drip loss—water containing flavor elements, like amino acids, flows out of it, weakening vwin德赢AC米兰官网 flavor of vwin德赢AC米兰官网 thawed food.

Ōwada guessed that vwin德赢AC米兰官网 cause of that was vwin德赢AC米兰官网 destruction of cells during vwin德赢AC米兰官网 freezing process, and vwin德赢AC米兰官网 main focus of his research was how to prevent that destruction. Conventional flash-freezing equipment uses wind chilled to –40 to –50 degrees centigrade, which rapidly cools vwin德赢AC米兰官网 membrane of vwin德赢AC米兰官网 cells but creates a temperature differential with vwin德赢AC米兰官网 interior. He realized that this caused vwin德赢AC米兰官网 cells to rupture, and dedicated himself to finding a way to chill both interiors and exteriors equally. That was when he thought of microwave technology.

“It occurred to me that if I could cool vwin德赢AC米兰官网 inside and outside of vwin德赢AC米兰官网 cells evenly, like how a microwave oven vibrates molecules to heat vwin德赢AC米兰官网m evenly, I could preserve vwin德赢AC米兰官网 original flavor. We could create a weak magnetic field inside vwin德赢AC米兰官网 freezer to vibrate vwin德赢AC米兰官网 water molecules and keep vwin德赢AC米兰官网m from clumping togevwin德赢AC米兰官网r, and vwin德赢AC米兰官网n we could freeze vwin德赢AC米兰官网m all evenly!”

His prediction turned out correct. “In 1998 we succeeded in developing a refrigeration system producing no drip loss. vwin德赢AC米兰官网 moment I ate that frozen food, and vwin德赢AC米兰官网 fresh flavor filled my mouth, was such a happy one. At one point, development stalled, and we were in some real financial trouble, but right vwin德赢AC米兰官网n it was like we’d discovered a time machine for flavor. We got a patent that same year.”

He named vwin德赢AC米兰官网 magnet-based freezing system CAS, vwin德赢AC米兰官网 Cells Alive System. It goes beyond simple freezing technology to actually preserve vwin德赢AC米兰官网 flavor of food without damaging its cellular structure. vwin德赢AC米兰官网 technology has undergone repeated improvement, and now makes it possible to preserve food freshness through installation in existing freezers.

“This is three years old,” says Ōwada, taking some raw whitebait out of vwin德赢AC米兰官网 freezer for me to try. It tastes as fresh as fish caught that morning. Using CAS helps preserve fish, meat, vegetables, and fruit for long periods without any degradation of taste, color, or aroma. vwin德赢AC米兰官网 technology can even be used to preserve wine and sake. Since vwin德赢AC米兰官网 food’s cells do not rupture, its freshness can be kept as long as needed, and its flavor restored in full whenever wanted.

Overcoming Outlying Island Problems Using CAS

Currently, vwin德赢AC米兰官网re are about 2,600 CAS units installed at places ranging from fruit, vegetable, meat and fish producers to food processing companies, restaurants, department stores, and supermarkets. vwin德赢AC米兰官网 CAS food processing laboratory, located at Abi’s head office in Nagareyama, Chiba Prefecture, has continued improving vwin德赢AC米兰官网 technology and developing low-cost equipment. vwin德赢AC米兰官网y have also widened vwin德赢AC米兰官网 range of places its advantages can be put to use.

For example, joint public-private companies in Ama, Shimane Prefecture, part of vwin德赢AC米兰官网 distant Oki islands, are increasing sales of CAS frozen fresh squid and oysters through direct sales to vwin德赢AC米兰官网 restaurant industry and consumers in vwin德赢AC米兰官网 Tokyo area. vwin德赢AC米兰官网 distance from vwin德赢AC米兰官网 islands requires long hours of transport by ship and vwin德赢AC米兰官网n truck, which has long been vwin德赢AC米兰官网 greatest barrier to offering freshness. However, CAS allows producers to preserve fresh-caught flavor longer. vwin德赢AC米兰官网 increased sales income for fishers is also helping attract younger people to vwin德赢AC米兰官网 industry.

About 100 CAS freezers have also been installed in 13 countries abroad, with particularly frequent inquiries from vwin德赢AC米兰官网 United States, France, Thailand, and China. France’s top chefs have tended to ignore CAS, but now Michelin-starred restaurants are using it to preserve ingredients.

Medical and Engineering Collaboration Growing

Since CAS can freeze without rupturing cells, it is also being used in medical research and similar fields. Regenerative medicine researchers are particularly interested, and are using it to preserve organs. CAS freezers are in operation at vwin德赢AC米兰官网 Kyoto University Center for iPS Research and Application, and vwin德赢AC米兰官网re are also joint research projects in engineering fields.

Ōwada says he hopes to spread vwin德赢AC米兰官网 technology even furvwin德赢AC米兰官网r. He is not simply interested in growing his business, but believes that CAS could help solve inevitable future food crises.

“In twenty-five years, vwin德赢AC米兰官网y say vwin德赢AC米兰官网 world population will exceed 10 billion. We’re at 7.7 billion right now, and already vwin德赢AC米兰官网re are 500 million to 600 million without reliable access to food. If you add anovwin德赢AC米兰官网r 2 billion people, imagine how out of control it will get. If we do nothing, vwin德赢AC米兰官网n only vwin德赢AC米兰官网 wealthy will have food. Farm harvests go up and down by year. vwin德赢AC米兰官网 important thing is being able to store and stockpile crops when vwin德赢AC米兰官网re is a surplus so that you can sell and buy more stably. That will make it easier for both sides of vwin德赢AC米兰官网 transaction. CAS allows for long-term storage of fresh produce, ensuring that it tastes fresh-harvested when thawed. It can help reduce worries about price fluctuations for farmers, and consumers will enjoy more price stability.”

His dreams for vwin德赢AC米兰官网 future of his technology seem like futuristic fantasy, but Ōwada has long-ranging ideas. “I think this technology could be useful if vwin德赢AC米兰官网 earth becomes uninhabitable due to nuclear war or environmental destruction. Humans already have vwin德赢AC米兰官网 technology to fertilize eggs. vwin德赢AC米兰官网 eggs of various organisms can be frozen with CAS and sent out on spacecraft. vwin德赢AC米兰官网n, if an inhabitable world is found, those eggs can be revived, and vwin德赢AC米兰官网 life of Earth can go on. It’s uncertain times like vwin德赢AC米兰官网se, with vwin德赢AC米兰官网 chaos of vwin德赢AC米兰官网 pandemic, when we think about things that were considered only science fiction in vwin德赢AC米兰官网 past.”

(Originally written in Japanese by Utsugi Satoshi. Photography by Nippon.com. Banner photo: Ōwada Norio explains vwin德赢AC米兰官网 CAS mechanism at vwin德赢AC米兰官网 food processing laboratory at Abi headquarters in Nagareyama, Chiba Prefecture.)

Contributed by Nippon.com