IN THE 1920'S, CLARENCE BIRDSEYE INTRODUCED THE FLASH FREEZING TECHNOLOGY FOR FOOD. THIS MARKS THE BIRTH OF THE RETAIL FROZEN FOOD INDUSTRY, AN INDUSTRY THAT HAS CHANGED THE GLOBAL FOOD ECONOMY. THE GLOBAL FROZEN FOOD MARKET EXCEEDS $250 BILLION ANNUALLY, INCLUDING $53B ANNUALLY IN THE U.S. THE LOW TEMPERATURES ASSOCIATED WITH FREEZING REDUCE THE RATE OF CHEMICAL REACTIONS AND THEREBY REDUCE SPOILAGE AND INHIBIT THE GROWTH OF UNDESIRABLE BACTERIA IN THE FOOD. HOWEVER, WHILE OF GREAT ECONOMICAL VALUE, THE CURRENT FOOD FREEZING TECHNOLOGIES SUFFER FROM MAJOR DRAWBACKS. NOT ALL FOOD PRODUCTS CAN BE FROZEN, AND THE QUALITY OF FROZEN FOOD PRODUCTS IS OFTEN LESS THAN THAT OF FRESH FOODS. BIOLOGICAL MATTER IS MADE PRIMARILY OF WATER, AND THE MAIN REASON FREEZING HAS DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS IS THE FORMATION OF DAMAGING ICE CRYSTALS THROUGHOUT THE FROZEN PRODUCT. IN ADDITION, WHILE FREEZING INHIBITS THE GROWTH OF THE PATHOGENS (MICROBES AND PARASITES), IT DOES NOT DESTROY THEM. THEREFORE, FROZEN FOODS MUST BE COOKED IMMEDIATELY AFTER THAWING TO ENSURE SAFETY.OUR PROJECT WILL DEVELOP A NEW FOOD FREEZING TECHNOLOGY, ISOCHORIC (CONSTANT VOLUME) FREEZING, THAT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO REVOLUTIONIZE THE FROZEN FOOD INDUSTRY. IT IS BASED ON THE UNIQUE FUNDAMENTAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE. IMAGINE LEAVING A SODA CAN IN THE FREEZER--AFTER A WHILE, THE CAN BURSTS, BECAUSE THE INTERNAL CONTENTS EXPAND AS THEY FREEZE. BUT WHAT HAPPENS IF, INSTEAD OF A FRAGILE ALUMINUM CAN, THE SODA WAS STORED IN A STOUT STEEL VESSEL THAT COULD RESIST THE EXPANSION?OUR GROUP HAS BEEN STUDYING THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION. ESSENTIALLY, WHEN ICE BEGINS TO EXPAND, IT CREATES A PRESSURE INSIDE THE CONTAINER. IN OUR SODA CAN EXAMPLE, THE PRESSURE THEN BURSTS THE CAN. BUT IF THE PRESSURE CANNOT BREAK THE CONTAINER AND ESCAPE, IT WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD. AND AS IT HAPPENS, ICE IS LESS LIKELY TO FORM AS PRESSURE BUILDS. THIS MEANS THAT IN AN ISOCHORIC CONTAINER (THE STOUT STEEL VESSEL IN OUR EXAMPLE), ONLY A FRACTION OF THE LIQUID INSIDE WILL FREEZE, LEAVING THE REST IN A LIQUID STATE AT HIGH PRESSURE. THIS ICE-LIQUID BALANCE PROVIDES THE FOUNDATION FOR OUR TECHNOLOGY. USING ISOCHORIC PRINCIPLES, WE ARE ABLE TO STORE FOOD IN THE LIQUID PORTION OF A CONTAINER AND HOLD IT AT TEMPERATURES WELL BELOW FREEZING, WITHOUT ANY ICE FORMING AND DAMAGING THE FOOD. IMAGINE IF FOOD STILL LOOKED, FELT, AND TASTED FRESH WHEN YOU PULLED IT FROM THE FREEZER--IN ADDITION TO MYRIAD OTHER BENEFITS, THIS IS POSSIBLE WITH ISOCHORIC FREEZING.THE GOAL OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO ADVANCE THE FIELD OF ISOCHORIC FREEZING, FROM A PRELIMINARY LABORATORY CONCEPT, TO A PROTOTYPE INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY THAT WILL SERVE THE FROZEN FOOD INDUSTRY IN THE U.S. AND AROUND THE WORLD. TO THIS END WE WILL DEVELOP OPTIMAL ISOCHORIC FREEZING PROTOCOLS FOR SAMPLE PRODUCTS SUCH AS LEAFY GREENS, BERRIES, TOMATOES AND TUNA, EVALUATING BOTH THE QUALITY AND NUTRITION OF THE FOODS AND THE CAPACITY OF ISOCHORIC STORAGE TO KILL FOODBORNE PATHOGENS. ADDITIONALLY, OUR GROUP WILL DESIGN AND FABRICATE LARGER-SCALE ISOCHORIC DEVICES BOTH FOR INDUSTRY AND HOME-USE. PICTURE REMOVING FOOD FROM THE FREEZER AND NOT HAVING TO WAIT FOR IT TO THAW!THIS PROPOSAL REPRESENTS A JOINT EFFORT BETWEEN RESEARCHERS FROM THE BIOTHERMAL LABORATORY IN THE UC BERKELEY DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING (WHICH HAS OPERATED IN BERKELEY FOR 27 YEARS) AND THE USDA, AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE, WESTERN REGIONAL RESEARCH CENTER (WRRC) IN ALBANY, CA (WHO WAS DESIGNATED A NATIONAL HISTORIC CHEMICAL LANDMARK BY THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY IN RECOGNITION OF THEIR PIONEERING RESEARCH ON FROZEN FOODS).