Blast chilling cools food to below 40°F within 90 minutes, preserving quality by avoiding the 40–140°F danger zone where bacteria grow fastest. The process retains flavor, texture, and safety while extending shelf life of perishable items. Freshly baked rotisserie chicken that normally lasts about four hours can remain good for three days after blast chilling. Unsold edible items are first discounted, and many unsold foods are donated or recycled through food banks and charities. Walmart reported donating 778 million pounds of food in 2023. These practices reduce waste and help mitigate food inflation.
It's inevitable that a massive grocery chain like Walmart often isn't able to sell its entire stock. As we're all becoming aware of how excessive waste is harming the Earth's atmosphere, many are wondering how big companies are battling this problem at the very source. Walmart has many strategies for minimizing waste, but one of its best tricks is extending the shelf life of perishable foods by blast chilling and reselling them.
Blast chillers are special machines that can chill food much faster than a regular fridge or freezer - they take hot food to a temperature lower than 40 degrees Fahrenheit in 90 minutes. Because this process is so fast, it largely bypasses the so-called danger zone (40 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit), which is the temperature range where bacteria grow the fastest. This means the food is rapidly preserved in a safe way, all while retaining its quality, flavor, and texture.
So, when freshly baked rotisserie chicken doesn't get sold at Walmart in a timely manner, instead of tossing it, the store blast chills it to preserve it. This results is a longer shelf life, which means the food can be resold. For example, a freshly baked chicken only has a shelf life of four hours, but the blast-chilled chicken can stay good for three days. This significantly reduces waste, plus the concept of salvaged groceries could be an underrated answer to food inflation.
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