Why 'FROZEN FOOD"?

12 Reasons Why Frozen Foods are Best for your Household

1. Availability
   
   Within hours of picking, fresh fruits and vegetables are processed and quick frozen to prevent any deterioration of flavor, quality, texture or nutrition. And frozen, which remains virtually unchanged in storage, eliminates losses experienced from spoilage and shrinkage. Frozen at the peak of perfection, there is presently no better method of food preservation. Seasonal limitations are a part of the past.

2. Convenience
   
   Frozen foods are truly convenient. The cleaning, picking, dicing, chopping and squeezing has been done. Whatever you choose, it's all prepared, ready to take from your freezer, heat and serve.

3. Economy
   
   Frozen foods are economical. You do not pay for stalks, pits, skins, rinds or damaged food. Edible ounce for edible ounce, frozen food costs are usually less than their fresh counterparts.
   
   According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture study, five of the six vegetables tested, all available either canned, fresh or frozen, were cheapest when purchased frozen. Through price fluctuations, fresh produce can cost 99 cents at the beginning of the season, 39 cents at mid-season and then with no explanation, jump up again. With frozen foods, there are no such widely varying prices.
   
   Frozen prepared foods also compare favorably to their homemade counterparts. The real cost of preparing a food at home must take into account all the ingredients used in preparation. For example, to bake a cake would mean buying flour, sugar, eggs, shortening, spices or flavoring, and whatever else might be needed to make a frosting or topping. These can add up to quite an expensive cake. If you are an infrequent baker and will not use the remaining ingredients, frozen baked goods probably are a better buy.

4. Food Safety
   
   Frozen foods offer explicit cooking directions, leaving no room for error and under-cooked food. And because the preparation (dicing, chopping, etc.) has already been done, all you have to do is heat and serve—less chance for contamination in the preparation process.

5. Freshness
   
   Freezing foods seals in freshness. Foods designed for the freezer are selected at their peak of nutrition and flavor, quickly processed and frozen within hours, before there has been any deterioration in quality.

6. Labeling
   
   Frozen food packages tell you what you're eating. Packages have ingredient and nutrition labeling. If you're health conscious, counting calories or on doctor's orders, frozen foods can help.

7. Longer Storage
   
   Frozen foods have a longer storage time than fresh, offering maximum flexibility. Frozen broccoli, for example, stays fresh in the freezer for up to eight months, whereas fresh broccoli usually must be consumed within a week.

8. No Waste
   
   With frozen foods you have food that is 100 percent edible. You don't pay for waste such as the pits of fruits, the shells, peels and outer leaves of vegetables, bones in fish or the fat on the meat. Studies of 13 vegetables show that as much as 40 percent of a raw vegetable is lost in shelling and peeling before the vegetable is ready for cooking—and that's 40 percent of the produce you've paid for.
   
   According to the U.S. Census Department, more than half the households in the country today consist of only one or two people. Many frozen products have been created especially for these households. There are single-serving side dishes, entrees and desserts. There is no waste since there are no leftovers. Individual servings also make it possible for each member of the family to eat his or her favorite dish, without the time and expense of preparing large quantities of each of the foods.
   
   In addition, frozen foods in poly bags (vegetables, fruits, pasta) offer easy portion control. Just pour out the amount needed and return the rest to the freezer for future use.

9. Nutrition
   
   There's no better known means of preserving food than by freezing. Commercial rapid-freezing processes maintain nutritional quality of products without chemical preservatives. And food quick-frozen and properly stored keep their high nutritional value.

10. Quality
    
    Frozen foods are consistent in quality. Only the best ingredients are used. That's because of stringent industry quality control procedures that begin on the farm.

11. Taste
    
    Frozen foods can pass the most discriminating taste tests. An entree which has been correctly formulated, maintained at 0°F. and heated according to manufacturer's specifications, should taste identical to an on-premise prepared item. The recipes formulated for use in frozen prepared foods are created by some of the world's finest chefs. Immediately following preparation, freezing ensures consistently uniform product quality in each and every serving.

12. Value
    
    Because frozen foods fit the way people live and eat today, they offer incomparable value in a number of ways: dollar savings, nutrition and quality, time savings and energy saving.

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