Effects of Weak Oscillating Magnetic Fields on the Freezing of Pork Loin

A number of novel freezing systems have been developed that claim to improve the quality of frozen foods by enhancing supercooling in the food prior to ice nucleation and consequently controlling ice crystal formation. One of these is the Cells Alive System (CAS) produced by ABI of Japan, which applies oscillating magnetic fields (OMF) during freezing. This study was carried out to investigate what effect applying OMF (0.04 to 0.53 mT) during freezing had on the freezing characteristics of pork loin samples when compared to freezing under the same conditions without OMF. Overall, the results of this study clearly indicate that freezing under the OMF conditions used in these experiments had no significant effect on the freezing characteristics of pork, in comparison with freezing under the same conditions without OMF.