Seafood Cold Storage Solutions in Vietnam

A seafood cold store is a storage system dedicated to shrimp, fish, squid and other seafood products, operating at -18°C to -25°C for the finished goods area and 0°C to 4°C for the raw material receiving area. Tan Long designs and manufactures the equipment at its own plant and delivers turnkey cold storage and freezing systems for seafood processing plants exporting nationwide.

Why seafood needs a dedicated cold store

Tan Long deep blast freezer tunnels have been installed. — The -40°C deep-freezing chamber is used for processing and rapid freezing of seafood for export.

Seafood deteriorates faster than most other food groups. Immediately after harvest, enzyme and microbial activity begins to degrade the flesh, and the rate increases with temperature. For export products, a difference of a few hours at the chilling stage can decide what grade a consignment achieves — or whether it is rejected at the destination port.

That is why a cold store for a seafood plant cannot share the same design as an ordinary food cold store. The system has to solve three problems at once: chill very fast right at receiving, freeze fast enough to preserve the flesh structure, and hold a stable temperature throughout storage.

The cold areas in a seafood plant

Central NH3 compressor room for AJ Total Long Hau cold storage, installed by Tan Long. — A panoramic view of the NH3 central compressor room, meeting high safety standards, at the AJ Total Long Hau cold storage facility.

A seafood processing plant for export usually needs clear temperature zoning, with each area serving a different stage:

Raw material receiving — 0°C to 4°C. Where incoming goods are chilled immediately with flake ice machine. Flake ice is thin and has no sharp edges, so it makes even contact with the body of a fish or shrimp without bruising the surface.
Preparation and grading area. Held at low temperature throughout handling so the cold chain is not broken between stages.
Freezing area — -35°C to -40°C. Use air blast freezer, contact freezer or IQF conveyor depending on the product form.
Finished goods store — -18°C to -22°C. Where goods wait for shipment; this needs the highest temperature stability because the dwell time is longest.

The storage capacity of export processing plants is usually in the range of 500 tonnes to 5,000 tonnes, depending on output and the shipping cycle.

Choosing freezing equipment by product form

T-Light high-quality insulated cold storage doors are manufactured by Tan Long. — T-Light cold storage sliding doors are airtight, with double rubber seals to minimize heat loss.

This decision directly affects the selling price of the finished product, because it determines the form in which the product reaches the market:

IQF conveyor for products frozen individually — shrimp, fish fillets, squid rings. The pieces do not stick together, so the end customer can take exactly the amount they need.
Contact freezer for flat block products — block-packed fish fillets, block shrimp, surimi. Heat transfers through the plate surface, so it is fast with flat block forms.
Air Blast Tunnel Freezers for products of many shapes, flexible on product type but with a longer freezing time.

Many plants invest in both lines to serve different product groups — individually frozen retail products and block products for wholesale.

Refrigerant for seafood processing plants

For high-capacity systems, NH3 (ammonia) gives high efficiency and significantly lower running cost than Freon — the common choice at industrial-scale processing plants. In return, an NH3 system demands stricter safety requirements, a qualified operating team and complete inspection records for the pressure equipment.

Systems running at low evaporating temperatures, such as freezing rooms, usually need a two-stage compressor, because a single-stage compression ratio that high would push the discharge temperature up and reduce efficiency.

Standards for an export seafood cold store

Beyond the technical temperature requirements, a cold store serving export goods must also meet the conditions of the importing market:

Smooth, impermeable surface materials that are easy to clean and leave no gaps where micro-organisms accumulate
A layout that prevents cross-contamination between the raw material area and the finished goods area
Continuous temperature monitoring and recording, for the traceability file during an audit
Good floor drainage, able to withstand routine cleaning and disinfection
Inspection records for the pressure equipment in the system

Read more about ISO 22000 and FDA requirements for goods exported to the United States.

The delivery process at Tan Long

Survey and heat load calculation. Establishing the daily output, the temperature of goods at intake, the shipping cycle, the floor space and the available power supply.
Design and sign-off. Temperature zoning, selection of the refrigeration system configuration, and selection of freezing equipment by product form.
Equipment manufacturing at the plant. Tan Long manufactures the pressure equipment and ancillary equipment at its own plant rather than importing it for resale.
Construction and installation. The panel enclosure, cold storage door, the refrigeration system, the pipework and control cabinet.
Commissioning and acceptance. Tightness testing of the enclosure, checking the pull-down time, the temperature stability and the operation of the defrost cycle.
Handover and maintenance. Technical documentation, operating instructions and scheduled maintenance package.

Reference configuration table by scale

Plant scale	Storage capacity	Freezing equipment	Medium	Unit price
Medium processing facility	Under 500 tonnes	Contact plate freezer or air blast freezing tunnel	Freon	Contact us for a quote.
Export plant	500 – 2,000 tonnes	IQF combined with a contact plate freezer	NH3 or Freon	Contact us for a quote.
Large-scale plant	2,000 – 5,000 tonnes	IQF belt freezer, two-stage compression system	NH3	Contact us for a quote.

The table above is a reference configuration by common scale. The actual configuration and the quotation are settled after a site survey and a heat load calculation for the specific operating conditions of each plant.

Tan Long scope of supply

Storage and freezing cold rooms, temperature range from 5°C to -40°C, capacity from 10 tonnes to 12,000 tonnes
Freezing systems: air blast freezing tunnels, contact plate freezers, mesh belt and flat plate IQF freezers, re-freezing belts
Flake ice systems for the receiving and preparation stages
Pressure equipment manufacturing: receivers, liquid separators, oil separators, intercoolers and condensers
PLC and SCADA control cabinets, with remote temperature monitoring
Dedicated cold storage doors and a matched set of cold storage materials

Why seafood plants choose Tan Long

Designed, manufactured and installed in-house. The pressure equipment and ancillary equipment are made at the Tan Long plant rather than imported and assembled. That allows them to be built to the exact project specifications instead of forcing the project to fit off-the-shelf equipment.

More than 20 years in industrial refrigeration, with seafood as our main customer group. The technical team understands the specific problem of the industry: the cold chain must not break, quality has to hold all the way to the destination port, and everything has to be provable on paper.

Full command of NH3, CO2 and Freon, so the solution proposed is based on the real problem of the plant rather than being limited by the refrigerant the contractor happens to be used to.

Frequently asked questions about seafood cold stores

What temperature does a seafood cold store need?

The frozen finished goods area is usually at -18°C to -22°C, the raw material receiving area at 0°C to 4°C, and the freezing stage runs at -35°C to -40°C. The specific range depends on the product and on the requirements of the importing market.

Which refrigeration packages does a seafood plant need?

Usually a flake ice system for receiving and preparation, a freezing system (air blast freezing tunnel, contact plate freezer or IQF belt freezer), a cold store for finished goods, and a central refrigeration system serving the whole plant.

Should we choose IQF or a contact plate freezer?

It depends on the product form and the market. IQF for individually frozen products serving retail and further processing; contact plate freezers for block products sold wholesale. Many plants invest in both to serve different product lines.

Why do seafood plants usually use NH3?

Because on a high-capacity system NH3 gives high efficiency and significantly lower electricity cost than Freon. In return, an NH3 system demands stricter safety requirements, operating skill and inspection records.

How does a cold store for export goods differ from an ordinary store?

Beyond the temperature range, an export store has to meet the food safety and hygiene requirements of the importing market, have continuous temperature monitoring and recording for the traceability file, and a layout that prevents cross-contamination.

How long does it take to build a seafood cold store?

It depends on the scale, the temperature range and the site conditions. Tan Long gives a specific schedule after the site survey and once the technical solution for the project is settled.