Frozen food “bad reputation”

According to an online survey of 1013 Americans conducted by Braun Research for ConAgra Foods in March, four out of five US consumers believe that frozen foods are highly processed and not as nutritious as fresh foods.
According to an online survey of 1013 Americans conducted by Braun Research for ConAgra Foods in March, four out of five US consumers believe that frozen foods are highly processed and not as nutritious as fresh foods.

Frozen food sales totaled more than USD 40 billion in the US in 2011, but 98% of frozen products have flat or declining sales, according to Mintel Global Market Research.

To change the way consumers think and feel about frozen food, the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) and the Frozen Food Roundtable (FFR), a consortium of major food manufacturers, have signed a USD 50 million deal with two prominent ad agencies. Expected to be launched before the end of the year, the campaign message is that frozen food equals fresh and presents many advantages: fewer preservatives, less food waste and more nutrients.

This assertion is backed up by a recent study carried out by the Institute of Food Research on behalf of Birds Eye, the frozen food manufacturer. According to this study, up to 45% of important nutrients are lost in fresh vegetable by the time they are consumed since it can take up to two weeks for fresh produce to reach the table from being picked.
Produce which is frozen soon after being picked will have more nutrients sealed in, scientists from the Institute of Food Research claimed.