If you don't think food can be "fresh" and "healthy" while still being frozen, you probably also do not believe organic food has more antioxidants and uses fewer pesticides and therefore are not the target market and you can stop reading.
The Packaged Facts market research group wants to make sure its customers are not left behind as wealthy elites care more about food, so they have a silver lining in the otherwise stormy-for-regular-food organic movement and write it up in the (paywalled) "Frozen Foods in the U.S.: Hot Meals, Sides, and Snacks" report.
If it is all organic, and frozen, and has pretty people and bright colors, it is healthier. Image: Shutterstock
Frozen foods are coming in from the cold, it seems. People are fine with preservatives and other ingredients as long as they are 'natural', 'organic', 'fresher' or 'healthy' according to the report. It's all possible - the list of synthetic ingredients allowed in organic food covers pages of guidelines, made possible because organic lobbyists benefiting from being their own special segment of the US Department of Agriculture have created their own definition of organic - and they are sparing no expense in making sure the USDA does not require the same honesty and transparency in organic food as they require in regular food.
I have no complaints about frozen food, of course. But I also have no issue with canned food. I freeze meat I kill and I can it too, I also can lots of other things, like jam. If you think you are buying something 'healthier' at Whole Foods than what I freeze and can myself, you need a lesson in both food preparation and science. Yet is my food organic? I have no idea, just like I don't know if it is kosher. Those are processes that are cultural and have nothing to do with the actual food so I don't think about it.
But to city people, fresh food has reigned supreme and organic has exploded even in a terrible US economy - and as a cultural bonus, they seem to think if it got shipped from Argentina, it doesn't actually count as CO2 emissions, because it is organic food.
That's all fine, but now frozen food wants its reputation back.
"Frozen foods of all kinds have been challenged in recent years as a result of the convergence of several trends, especially, but not exclusively, a growing demand for fresh products or, at least, fresher products in refrigerated rather than frozen form. Nevertheless, frozen food products still have much to offer," Packaged Facts research director David Sprinkle said in their statement. "For instance, frozen products identified as natural or organic are having a more positive experience than frozen foods in general. These organic and natural frozen foods appeal to the consumer who is both cost conscious and health conscious."
The marketing analysis predicts revenue for frozen foods will start to climb, going from $22 billion last year to $23 billion by 2019. That doesn't sound like a lot but it is better than a decline. And it is hard to say what will happen now that Annie's, which makes frozen natural and organic dinners, is owned by General Mills. They could really take off if the marketing brains that put organic on the cultural map can do the same thing with frozen.
H/T The Morning Cup
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