In a study conducted by Emma Boyland, The American Council on Science and Health said about 43 percent of the respondents in their study said, they can never be persuaded to buy frozen food again. With more modern technology aiming to further prolong the shelf life of fruits and vegetables, more people are asking, are frozen foods good for you?
Freezing of food is done to preserve its freshness. It is a technology which mankind started using decades ago. But some people turn to "snubbing" frozen food including fruits and vegetables because of the idea that freezing food caused the loss of its nutritional contents. But experts say there's really nothing wrong with the frozen food. We have to mindful, though, that frozen fruits and vegetables are different from processed and then frozen food and should not be mistaken or interchanged.
BBC reported that people are becoming more snobbish of frozen foods. This is despite the fact that many other institutions vouched for the safety of frozen vegetables. "Many cite a US Food and Drug Administration report from 1998 that established frozen was better than fresh. Advocates of frozen say the process prevents nutrient loss occurring in transport. Even those who are for plump for fresh admit that frozen vegetables are still a healthy option."
The British Frozen Food Federation said that in the UK, that it's the same public's view on frozen food. It appears that there's a stereotype on frozen food. Once they realized its frozen, people shift to the fresh ones. "Pretty much every food manufacturer will do blind testing of their product and every blind test that I've known, particularly on fish and other products, will ask the consumer to compare two samples side by side and nearly always they prefer the frozen variety. If you then show them the packaging and you show it was a frozen product or a fresh product, they then nearly always choose the fresh one, even though they have just tasted something that was significantly better."
BFFF also argues that the price might have also caused adversary towards frozen food. Frozen food appears to be cheaper because of fewer expenses in transport and special handling compared to the fresh ones, that's why the frozen ones sell cheaper. And most of the time, people equate price with quality so the cheaper it is, the lower the value.
But studies suggests frozen food especially vegetables are still healthy options. Health Status said that frozen food is a quicker option and it's not necessarily bad for the body. "Fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as lean meats and whole grains, are highly nutritious but if you do not have the time to prepare fresh foods on a daily basis it is a good idea to purchase a deep freeze and utilize frozen foods." But they also say, people who buy frozen food should be picky in choosing frozen food products. "You just need to read labels and be somewhat choosy. You can buy foods such as vegetables and some fruits year round. They are flash frozen right in the fields or very close by, the freshness is preserved and the foods are still filled with nutritional benefits. "
Also, new technologies are being developed to further enhance food freezing systems. Because the process of freezing is the factor that largely affect the health and nutritional value of food. If fruits and vegetables are frozen straight after picking, then buying frozen ones shouldn't be a problem.
As experts have said, "Freezing itself does not harm foods or take away the nutrients; it is how you freeze your foods or what you buy that makes the difference."
