Why Americans Love Frozen Food

Americans love frozen food, but without resilient cold storage supply chain infrastructure, the growth and safety of the massive $265 billion global frozen food market is at risk. Approximately 13% of all food produced globally is lost yearly due to poor cold storage supply chains.

“In the world of cooling refrigeration, we’re still depending upon a more than century-old mechanical incumbent,” Tony Atti, CEO of Phononic, a solid-state cooling company, told CNBC.

Watch the video above to learn more about frozen food demand, global cold supply chain infrastructure, how food is frozen and what’s next for this growing section of the grocery store.

Chapters:
00:00 — Introduction
01:46 — Demand
03:28 — Flash freezing
06:20 — Cold chain
10:06 — Future of frozen

Produced and edited by: Andrea Miller
Animation: Alex Wood, Andrea Schmitz
Supervising Producer: Lindsey Jacobson
Additional Footage: Getty Images, Phononic, Lineage Logistics

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Why Americans Love Frozen Food

[LifeBindeR]

We don't love it. It's just cheap, convenient and lasts longer.

[Tanukitty]

I don’t think we love frozen food, but I think some things such as frozen berries are better than the ones from the produce aisle which are often moldy or overripe.

[maxwellvandenberg]

It's because grocery stores are far away due to terrible zoning and city planning, so many people cannot just walk to the store to get fresh food, and most people do not want to drive to get fresh food every day

[thomasburke]

Remember folks .. there is a difference between frozen MEALS and frozen foods.
Prepared microwave wave frozen MEALS usually have the lowest quality ingredients and are the most processed
Frozen foods are usually fruits and veggies that are picked at thier peak ripeness and can handle the freezing process. Most comerical kitchens actuall use frozen goods to make the meal because fresh is not that fresh.

[mdb]

I love frozen fruits and veggies. One of the greatest inventions of the 20th Century.

[fernandoserrano]

Frozen vegetables are great. You can use them when you need them and they don’t go bad.

[totoroben]

The freezer is also a great tool for meal prep purposes. You can make your own individual portions of meals just as well as a larger company. Microwaves heat liquids up well, but now with air fryers there is another opportunity to have more crispy frozen foods. I would argue that frozen foods are in direct competition of takeout from restaurants for its convenience.

[Rec-clns]

I can tell you from being in the restaurant business for 25 years at one time and especially with fast food up to 75% of what you're eating came in frozen. That's why they have huge "Walk-In" Freezers. Fresh food is very difficult to manage unless you're high volume high end Restaurant. So be aware of the "Special" you're being offered at your favorite restaurant.

[EvanRustMakes]

The presenter keeps saying "CYROgenic" instead of "CRYOgenic" freezing

[sterlingodeaghaidh]

as someone who lives alone, i prefer frozen foods as its very difficult to keep food long enough to eat it, especially when you eat as sparse as I do. I often eat out more than I do eat at home because food is often sold too large for me to be able to make it worthwhile to buy fresh. I keep a frozen meal or two in the freezer for when I dont go out or cant but other than that my fridge is basically empty.

[kiefershanks]

Ah yes, Cairogenic freezing, common amongst the ancient Egyptians.

[antiratrace]

1) it's cheaper
2) we're too overworked to have time to cook fresh food

[markdamascus]

Your business will make you rich but investment makes and you keep you wealthy, we all deserve to be successful and have financial freedom, I pray everyone here becomes successful

[Dee--Jay]

50% of my groceries are frozen food. And frozen foods have came along way and its some healthier options available

[justanotherrandomdisneyfan]

My parents always had frozen food on hand for me to eat after school and other times they were away. Also because it was cheap, could feed a big family, and tasted good.

[SevenStangVids]

frozen processed food is horrible for you. It takes 5 mins to sear a steak. Throw some vegtables in a skillet in the oven for 20 mins and bam done. I see so many excuses in these comments from people that literally just dont want to take one extra step to make something healthy and nutritious. They would rather peel off a plastic cover and set the microwave to 4 minutes. You are what you eat

[misspomerol]

There are a few rare things for example like frozen peas which actually tend to work better in most recipes than fresh peas. There are certain frozen items that does work better in most recipes. I always have frozen peas and frozen potatoes in my freezer even though I tried to eat as fresh and as local as possible just because those two items function better frozen and things like pasta sauces and casseroles and stews. I also like to have an emergency bag of 15 vegetable minestrone so that I always have something to make a soup for dinner if I don’t have time to get to the market. I don’t think the bulk of your diet should be frozen items but it’s good to have on hand for emergency situations and for things like peas which honestly just cook way way better from frozen.

[conradp]

The air fryer has changed frozen food taste for me

[privacyvalued]

Certain frozen foods are actually more nutritious than fresh. Take vegetables like green beans and carrots. Flash frozen vegetables are done so at peak ripeness and are flash frozen within hours of picking them. The fresh produce section has days old vegetables that are generally picked before they are properly ripened. In other words, vegetables in the frozen food section contain more nutrient rich vitamins and minerals than fresh vegetables in the produce section. This does not include TV dinners or vegetables with sauces. Those have tons of sodium and are far less healthy than fresh veggies.

[prathification]

People might think tv dinners but frozen food is so much more. Mostly I buy my veggies frozen because the quality (outside of a few months) is better than fresh. Also, nothing goes bad before you get a chance to use it, kinda like treating your freezer like a second pantry…