Share1924 – 2024: Celebrating 100 years of the frozen food industry
In 1924, Clarence Birdseye patented the first apparatus for freezing and packaging fish.
As a convenient and pocket-friendly way to consume nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables as well as reduce food waste at the consumer level, frozen food products are highly in demand. (see IIR news on the global frozen food market)
This year, we are reminded that it all started over a 100 years ago, when US scientist Clarence Birdseye discovered the revolutionary concept of “quick freezing”. [1] While working as a field naturalist, he noticed that fish and game froze rapidly when exposed to the icy wind of winter – with temperatures often below –40 °C – and that their sensorial quality was much higher than when these same products were frozen more slowly in the higher-temperature spring wind.
After years of experimenting on quick-freezing, Clarence Birdseye patented the first apparatus for freezing and packaging fish in 1924, the year he also co-founded the General Seafood Corporation. Nowadays, freezing is the main method of preserving fishery and aquaculture products for food purposes worldwide. [2]
Every four years at its Congress, the IIR offers a series of Young Researchers’ Awards, including the Clarence Birdseye Award for outstanding research in the cold chain and refrigerated food science and engineering. (see 2023 laureate)
The British Frozen Food Federation will be “Celebrating 100 years of frozen” all year. Find out more on their website.
The IIR has recently led and co-authored the “Three degrees of change” report, which aims to investigate the energy wins associated with a 3-degree temperature increase for frozen food storage (from -18°C to -15°C), without compromising food safety and quality. While it is scientifically proven that storage below -12°C guarantees food safety, the IIR calls for more scientific research to explore the impact on food quality and the practical storage life.
Find out more here.
Sources
[1] IIR Young Researchers Awards: the scientists after whom these prizes are named. Brief histories of their lives. 2. https://iifiir.org/en/fridoc/iir-young-researchers-awards-the-scientists-after-whom-these-prizes-120389
[2] FAO. 2022. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022. Towards Blue Transformation. Rome, FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc0461en
[3] Clarence Birdseye and Frozen Food. http://www.patentlyinteresting.com/august-12.html
[4] Method of preserving piscatorial products. https://patents.google.com/patent/US1511824A/en