Freezing in the Plant vs. Sending to an External Provider: Which Option Is Best for Your Business?

In the food and pharmaceutical industries, ensuring the quality and safety of temperature-sensitive products depends on one key factor: freezing. But this raises an important question:

Is it better to freeze directly in your production plant or send the product to an external provider?

In this article, we analyze the main operational criteria that make the difference and explain why the safest and most efficient option is usually to freeze in situ.

1. Full process control

When freezing takes place inside the production plant, the company has absolute control over every stage of the process: times, temperature, ventilation, and humidity.

By outsourcing freezing, visibility is lost, and companies must rely on external protocols that may not always align with internal quality standards.

2. Lower risk of breaking the cold chain

Every transport stage adds risk.

During shipment to an external provider, products may be exposed to temperature variations, logistical delays, or mishandling.

Freezing directly in the plant eliminates this risk, ensuring the cold chain remains unbroken from production to final storage.

3. Avoiding additional transport and handling

Sending goods elsewhere means extra logistics steps: loading, unloading, and transportation.

Each additional manipulation increases the chance of issues (breakages, contamination, or delays in returning the product).

With an in-plant freezing tunnel, the product goes directly from the production line to the freezing process, with no interruptions or unnecessary transfers.

4. Speed and responsiveness

Freezing in the same plant allows for an immediate response to production changes, demand peaks, or urgent storage needs.

Depending on an external provider, however, can result in waiting times due to availability, transport, or scheduling constraints.

5. Operational flexibility

A freezing tunnel installed in the plant can adapt to different products, batches, or changes in production strategy.

When outsourcing, the company must adapt to the provider’s availability and conditions, losing flexibility and responsiveness.

Frío Modular: the best decision

While external providers may seem like a practical solution in certain cases, the operational benefits of freezing inside your own plant are clear:

• Greater process control

• Cold chain integrity

• Logistical efficiency

• Flexibility for production changes

At Frío Modular, we provide reconditioned portable freezing tunnels, designed to be integrated quickly into any production facility, without civil works and with immediate availability in Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Madeira, and Azores.

📩 Want to know the best solution for your business? Contact our experts and discover the freezing tunnel that will allow you to freeze without depending on third parties.