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January 11, 2013
Convenience truly is king in the UK it seems, as new frozen food products are continuously being rolled out with the most simple of instructions attached. “Place in oven at X degrees for Y minutes” or “pierce cover and place in microwave at X power for Y minutes” and suddenly you’ve got hearty dinners of Thai green curry and rice or a piping hot pasta carbonara.
It’s clearly been a good year for frozen food because in the UK frozen food sales have increased by 5.8% up to £5.6bn. Roads are becoming more populated with refrigerated vans throughout the country as delivery of frozen food continues to supply companies in abundance.
The biggest increases were experienced in frozen meat and poultry products. This food sector saw 10.3% value increase and 2.8% volume growth.
Unsurprisingly, frozen ready meals showed the greatest volume uplift of 3.9%, while frozen vegetables and potato products experienced value growth of 6.7% and 8.2% and a volume increase of 3.5% and 2.7% respectively.
The overall increase experienced in the frozen food sector may surprise some as generally the homemade equivalents are seen to be more affordable although more time-consuming, which during these economically unstable times you’d think might still be preferable.
Suppliers will have in most cases had to increase their fleet of refrigerated transport vehicles as frozen food sales experiences consistent growth year on year and the last calculation up until 25 November 2012 has followed this trend.
May 25, 2012
There’s nothing quite like packing that tent into your boot and heading out into the wilderness for a weekend away. There are a few options when it comes to meal times out in the woods. Popping some frozen food meals into a cooler bag is the most common method but you could always opt for the more primal, eat-what-you-catch option. Taking frozen food away with you, however, can be a tricky business but you can always find ways to keep it fresh and prolong its life for those slightly lengthier trips. Here are a few tips to get the most out of your frozen food when you’re not being followed by a freezer van and you only have your trusted cooler bag at your disposal.
Freeze!
Make sure to pack your food a in the freezer a good three to four days before you embark on your trip. Partially frozen food will reduce the its frozen life span.
Hold Me
The most practical storage for frozen food products would be in a cooler made of fiberglass or steel. Here practical refers to the sustained temperature of the frozen food, but these containers do fall on the weighty side, so it’s only viable if your motor vehicle is parked nearby.
The Right Ice
The larger the surface area of the item keeping the frozen food in its preferred state, the more effective it is, for example a large block of ice will be more effective than a big bag full of cubes.
Pack it In
The order in which you pack the frozen food is also important. Raw meat should always be packed at the bottom of your back to eliminate the risk of blood and juice filtering down onto the other foods. It is also a good idea to pack the food in the order of which you intend to eat it, as keeping the cooler bag closed without interruption is very important for the preservation of frozen foods. Finally, the block of ice or other cold source should be packed at the top so that the lower temperature filters down.
Just because we’ve immersed ourselves in natural surrounds, that doesn’t necessarily mean that we don’t want to enjoy those culinary comforts we’re used to back home. Chances are we won’t have the option of calling chilled couriers to drop off some quality frozen food on our demand does not mean there aren’t some tips and tricks that allows us to preserve our food in its frozen state for that little bit longer.
May 2, 2012
After a highly successful product trial for its frozen food products, the food-to-go bakery Greggs has released its full frozen food range of nine savoury and sweet products into UK Iceland stores. The new frozen food range will be distributed alongside their current ready-made products to satisfy out and about and cooking at home customers. So far, Greggs will manufacture and make available their much loved steak bakes, chicken bakes, sausage and bean melts, and bacon and cheese wraps. Greggs is confident that their new frozen food product range will enjoy the same success as their bake-at-home four-pack of frozen sausages released last July at ten selected Liverpool Iceland stores.
From a food logistics point of view, Greggs as a bakery and frozen food company makes sense. By partnering with UK frozen food supplier Iceland, Greggs products are being made more accessible to everyone. Furthermore, extensive monitoring by the Greggs’ executive team has shown that fresh, ready-to-eat sales from the bakery have not decreased during the introduction of the new frozen food products. This effectively means that Greggs has tapped into an entirely new take-home-and-cook frozen food market.
Greggs’ frozen food delivery to suppliers could not have come at a better time, from both a business and customer perspective. Bakeries and customers alike in Britain have responded to the government’s proposed ‘pastry tax’ with much resistance. The government plans to add a 20% VAT on products that are heated in bakeries, to bring them in line with other hot takeaway foods. Considering the economic downfall and decreased high street foot traffic, this move could hit the takeaway bakery hard. Many customers will be unwilling to spend an extra 20p on a product that used to cost them a single pound. Thus, Greggs’ frozen food products offer an attractive alternative to one of Britain’s most popular on-the-go bakery.
February 16, 2012
For those thrifty grocery shoppers who love stocking up for the winter (or whenever), March is the perfect opportunity. Apparently March is frozen food month and you can be sure many supermarkets and grocery shops are going to be onboard with savings and specials. Be sure to check out the local newspapers and grocery store websites for coupons that’ll maximise your savings on frozen food products. Let’s take a look as some of the best qualities and history of frozen food dinners.
When asked who invented frozen food meals, most will reply Clarence Birdseye. While many were working and developing frozen food, Clarence Birdseye was the first person to invent the quick freezing technique most frozen food suppliers use today; this has led to the refrigerated vehicle being possible. Birdseye was fishing far north in Canada with the local Inuit people and observed that the fish froze almost immediately after coming out of the water. He further noticed it tasted just as delicious a few months later; this lead to his belief that for food to retain its taste and texture, it had to be rapidly frozen. He was of course absolutely right and it’s with this principle in mind that frozen food delivery is capable of delivering with all the goodness, nutrition and taste of unfrozen foods. Birdseye developed two methods for quick freezing foods which resulted in 168 patents and almost completely relied on the pre-packaging process.
In the UK frozen food is becoming ever popular, in the private home and the food service industry. Frozen food has an infinitely longer shelf life than unfrozen foods and done right, can provide all the nutrition of a home cooked meal. We look forward to the savings and promotions that March frozen food month will no doubt provide to every household.
January 19, 2012
An interesting statistic has just been revealed by the BFFF, the British Frozen Food Federation; a fifth of all food purchased is destined for the bin. In a world racked by countries on the verge of starvation it’s sad to think that so much food is being wasted or ends up in landfills. While the BFFF obviously stand to gain from their recommendation, apparently virtually zero waste would occur is more British consumers opt for frozen food dinners. Statistics revealed 32% of the waste comes from expired bread which when refrigerated extends shelf life considerably; vegetables and potatoes account for 24% while fish and meat make up 13% of the total. All of these products would benefit from frozen food practices. UK frozen foods have an estimated shelf life of 12 months or more depending on the product and method of refrigeration.
When it comes to frozen food companies, chilled logistics benefit the end user in a massive way as anyone who has bought lukewarm milk from a grocery shop will testify. Frozen food products also continue to be popular to restaurant chefs and owners for the same exact reason the BFFF would encourage ordinary British citizens to realise. Less waste means more savings and with the cost of living ever rising, it doesn’t make sense to purchase foods that’ll spoil quickly or eventually be thrown out unsuitable even for the dogs. There is a fallacy surrounding frozen food that it is somehow of less nutritional value than ‘fresh’ products; yet there are scientific studies that not only debunk the myth but reverse it. The method in which one refrigerates their food is of the utmost importance, but with enough education and awareness anyone is capable of efficient freezing techniques.
The frozen food delivery companies should utilise adequate temperature controlled transport but the onus will be on the end user and how they store their food; this cannot be enforced by any governing body. The responsibility of food waste falls firmly on the end user or consumer with the consequence being a higher food bill monthly and perhaps a tinge of guilt knowing others are going hungry. Frozen food suppliers are garnering all manner of support from celebrities and chefs, one of which is Jamie Oliver, for legitimate reasons. It’s not about stealing profit from another company; food waste issues run deeper and are the responsibility of everyone. It makes sense to shop intelligently when thinking about your groceries and frozen food is at least one of the promising solutions to food waste.
The first thing to remember with frozen food suppliers is to read fully the labels they offer. If you’re buying fish, for example, look out for the sign that states ‘previously frozen.’ While temperature controlled transport is more than adequate to prolong shelf life through freezing, you don’t want to have to refreeze anything you don’t need to. You’ll also save cash on food that’s only been frozen once, but be sure to leave the product overnight in the fridge to defrost before preparing. When it comes to labels, look out for what you’re paying for with juice. If a label on your juice reads ‘concentrate’ be sure you’re not paying for water; find the unprepared concentrates and add the water yourself because you’ll likely end up saving 30-50% of the price. Also check the labels of frozen food meals for an expected shelf life and go for the longer term investments.
Your next step is packaging and judging them before purchasing. If at all possible, try order direct produce from frozen food distributors who would be happy to deliver it to your door via a refrigerated vehicle; this will save you a lot of guess work. However when you observe packaging make sure your product is rock hard, avoid ice crystals since this is evidence of thawing and refreezing which can unfortunately happen with lesser experience frozen food delivery. Frozen produce actually tastes better out of season since it was frozen at the peak of their freshness. At the same time, compare pricing; it’s basic but, nine times out of ten, frozen food produce will be cheaper than the fresh produce. As discussed, just because it’s not ‘fresh’ frozen food is no less nutritious if frozen correctly; it just takes a modicum of extra vigilance.