World Refrigeration Day 2025: Keeping Fast Food Burgers Fresh

Lawrence Bruneau at the H+K International production and testing facility in Rugby, UK
 

There are millions of burgers sold around the world every single day. And every one of those patties needs to be stored in carefully controlled conditions right up to the moment they are placed on the grill. 

For World Refrigeration Day 2025, we asked Hawco technical manager Lawrence (Loz) Bruneau how the burgers in a fast food restaurant are kept at peak freshness. 

Not Your Average Freezer   

Before joining Hawco earlier this year, Loz was the refrigeration development engineer at H+K International. In the role for 35 years. he was responsible for the design, development and testing of fridge and freezer systems that can now be found in thousands of fast food kitchens around the globe.

In a typical kitchen, the beef patties are taken out of the cold room and stored next to the grill station in a specially designed meat freezer. These compact units usually have two drawers and can hold around 300 patties at a time. Placing the freezer right next to the grill minimises the steps that the grill operator needs to take. However, this can present a challenge if the burgers are to be maintained at a stable temperature of -18°C at all times.   

“It’s not like a normal fridge at home, which gets opened about 10 times a day for a very short period of time,” Loz explains. “In a fast food outlet, the drawer is opened every 1 to 2 minutes, it’s constantly in use.”

H+K International conduct a lot of laboratory testing with its customers to see how its chilled and frozen units operate in a real kitchen environment. Its meat freezers often need to operate closer to -21°C to maintain the desired product temperature and ensure the burgers stay fresh for longer. Sometimes, additional insulation is required to compensate for the heat given off by the grill. Food safety and quality are paramount.

 
Example of a chiller designed by H+K International for fast food service
Over the years, the manufacturer has optimised the design of its meat freezers – using refrigeration components supplied by Hawco.

Each cooling system features high efficiency Secop reciprocating compressors, LU-VE condensers, Karyer evaporators, controllers from LAE Electronic as well as fans, filter driers and capillary tubes. Hawco provide further refrigeration components, including Embraco compressors, for other types of food service equipment such as salad chillers for a prep line, cold bain maries and backcounter chillers.

The supply of components needed for production forms part of an international supply chain. Hawco source its parts for H+K International from suppliers in Germany, Poland, Italy, Turkey and China – and transports them on on demand to H+K International’s European production facility in Rugby, UK.


An Embraco EMT reciprocating compressor installed into a chiller unit
used to cool salad and dairy products as part of food preparation in a fast food restaurant

Refrigeration is Not a Fixed Science

Loz describes his time as a research and development engineer by saying “it’s nice to be able to design something, use your skills, and get that end result.”

“Refrigeration is not a fixed science,” he says. “There are a lot of variables you have to put into the equation. It is an exciting job in that respect. Everyone thinks ‘oh it’s just a freezer that gets cold’ but how it gets cold and how it stays cold is a completely different animal.” 

For example, the move from R404A to R290 as the refrigerant of choice means the amount of refrigerant that can be used in a cabinet is now restricted. While R290 can deliver the same performance, achieving the same output is something of a balancing game.

As Loz says, “The lower refrigerant charge means you have to fine tune the system. You can make your calculations but until you’ve actually fitted it into the unit and done your testing, you don’t know realistically exactly where it needs to be. 

“How you get the best out of that refrigerant depends on how you build your system and how balanced it is. This could mean adjusting the size and length of the capillary tube or the fan speed to get the most of out of the evaporator.”

Loz concludes, “It gives you satisfaction to know that you’ve followed a process through and you’ve been mindful of all the different aspects required to make the unit perform as efficiently as possible.”


Hawco technical manager Loz Bruneau visiting H+K International in Rugby, UK

About H+K International

H+K International started manufacturing stainless-steel kitchen equipment for the food service industry in Canada in 1971 and began working with McDonalds in 1975. Today, it supports 15,000 McDonalds restaurants annually as well as outlets for Burger King, Subway and Popeyes.

It has five manufacturing plants and 15 distribution plants, employing over 2000 people in 24 countries. Hawco is proud to have supported H+K International with specialised components for its refrigeration systems for over 20 years and supporting its research and development to help improve the performance and efficiency of its products.

Hawco is a proud sponsor of World Refrigeration Day