Safety and Quality of Frozen Foods

Presented by: Urbashi Maharjan

Roll no: 31
BBA Section ‘B’
Fifth Semester
Introduction
• Frozen and packaged foods are on high demands in daily life due to the
modern busy life style.
• The packaged foods are on high demands as the packaged food can be
stored for the longer duration and those also require the shorter
cooking time.
• A food that has been subjected to rapid freezing and is kept frozen until
used is called “Frozen Food.” Now, “TV dinner,” a concept of complete
meal right out of the freezer, has become popular as a convenience
food in America (Foster, 2011).
• According to recent statistics, the market size is estimated to reach USD
314.7 billion in 2024, with a projected growth to USD 500.8 billion by
2033, showcasing a promising future trajectory at a CAGR of 5.3%.
• Frozen foods are critically dependent for their safe preservation on
stringent hygiene and careful maintenance of the cold chain.
• i.e. an organized system governing the conditions under which frozen
foods are stored and handled by the producer, distributor and retailer,
and which ensure that temperatures maintained during storage,
distribution and sale are those consistent with the maintenance of
quality and safety.
• The frozen or packaged foods generally fall into various categories
such as meat, fruits and vegetables, sea foods, ready meals and
soups, etc.
• Conventional, radio frequency, and microwave processing are the
various types of mechanisms for the frozen or packaged food
processing.
• Over a period of years, microwave-assisted processing of frozen
materials has received significant attention.
• Generally, frozen foods retain their vitamins and minerals and there is
no change to the carbohydrate, protein or fat content.
• In some cases, frozen foods have more vitamins and minerals
compared to fresh because fresh foods lose vitamins and minerals
over time while freezing preserves nutrients.
Objectives of the study
•To assess the nutritional value of frozen foods.
•To study how frozen storage affects the quality of frozen foods.
Research Question
• What nutrients do frozen foods have?
• How does freezing affect the quality of food?
Major finding
QUALITY OF FROZEN FOODS
• The quality of frozen foods includes Nutritional Value, Texture and
Flavor, Appearance, Taste and Consistency.
• Attrey, (2017) described that to keep food at its best quality, harvest it
at the right time and store it safely. Lower temperatures slow down
spoilage and microbial growth.
• Store frozen fruits and vegetables at -18°C (0°F) or lower to maintain
quality. For meat, keeping temperatures below -18°C (0°F) prevents
spoilage and rancidity, while higher temperatures reduce shelf life .
• Alsailawi et al. (2020) review the
changes in food quality during frozen
storage, focusing on significant physical
and chemical alterations.
• They found that refrigerated storage is an easy way to preserve
food short-term, with kinetic reactions helping to create quality
prediction models.
• The study highlighted the need to evaluate how temperature
affects individual food products.
• Freezing keeps food almost as fresh as the original, but freezing and
thawing can change quality and safety.
• Fruits and vegetables are mostly water, which gives them structure.
Pure water freezes at 0°C, but salts and sugars lower the freezing point.
• Starch is often used to improve freeze
/thaw stability, helping manage moisture
and enhance texture (Foster, 2011).
• The shelf life of food is how long it stays safe to eat and keeps its
quality. Frozen foods also deteriorate over time.
• Microbes don't usually grow at freezing temperatures unless the food
is stored improperly.
• Enzymes can change flavors in fruits and vegetables and spoil meat
and poultry, which is a major concern for frozen foods.
• Freezing can damage cells, causing drip and mushiness when thawed.
Discoloration can happen due to browning, bleaching, and freezer
burn.
EFFECT ON NUTRIENT VALUE OF FROZEN FOODS
• VITAMIN C :
Vitamin C is usually lost in a higher concentration than any other vitamin.
Vitamin C may be lost (about 10%) during blanching, and some more
during cooling and washing stages. The vitamin loss is not likely to occur
due to freezing.
• Vitamin B1 (thiamin):
About 25% of vitamin B1 may be lost, since thiamin is easily soluble in
water and is destroyed by heat during blanching and during moisture
loss.
• VITAMIN B2 (RIBOFLAVIN)
About 4–18% of vitamin B2 may be lost in green vegetables, during the
preparation for freezing rather than the actual freezing process itself.
• VITAMIN A (CAROTENE)
There is little loss of carotene during preparation for freezing and
freezing of most vegetables. Most of the vitamin loss is incurred during
the extended storage period.
Conclusion
• Frozen foods are the most popular choice in developed world and these
need to be propagated by developing adequate cold chain in poorer
countries also by helping them with resources and infrastructure.
• Nepal is also influenced with frozen product and some famous brand for
frozen food in Nepal are Aambo Mo:Mo, Cravebit, Darjeeling Ko Swad,
Eatts etc.
• During freezing and frozen storage, some physical, chemical, and
nutritional changes may occur. As such, quality and safety of frozen foods
must be kept in mind at all stages of freezing, frozen storage, and
thawing.
• Freezing usually retains initial quality of products. To avoid loss of quality
and to keep the frozen foods safe, basics of food preservation must be
understood and applied during freezing and storage.
Reference
Alsailawi, H. A., Mudhafar, M. and Abdofrasool, M. M. (2020). Effect of
Frozen Storage on the Quality of Frozen Foods—A Review, Journal
of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering 14(3)
Attrey, D. P. (2017). Safety and quality of frozen foods. Food Safety in
the 21st Century, 527–539. doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-801773-
9.00044-3
Foster, R.J. (Contributing Editor), 2011. Stabilizing frozen products.
Natural Product Insider, October 17, 2011. Available from:
http://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/
articles/2011/10/stabilizing-frozen-products.aspx; DL 15-12-15