Let It Go: Misconceptions on Frozen Vegetables

Almost everyone, dietitians or not, knows that vegetables and fruits are important. However, despite this fact, many people still aren’t consuming enough. In fact, one half of the American population does not consume enough vegetables and up to 76% does not consume enough fruit. Many factors contribute to this shortcoming from expense of fresh fruits and vegetables to unavailability based on season and location.

Many consumers don’t realize that frozen fruits and vegetables count towards the total vegetable consumption and provide a more readily available way consume these vegetables while maintaining peak nutrient value. The freezing process that is utilized when freezing vegetables has been around since 1928 when Clarence Birdseye (yes that Birdseye, whose namesake now lends itself to a frozen food company) invented a way to quick freeze fruits and vegetables at the peak of their freshness.

A common misconception is that chemicals are used in the freezing process to preserve the freshness of the produce, that is incorrect. Produce is frozen at its peak freshness, which preserves the nutrition content of the vegetables and in many cases can preserve more nutrients compared to their frozen counterparts. Vitamin C is an interesting nutrient to compare between fresh and frozen. In fresh produce vitamin C is susceptible to degradation from enzymes that are naturally in the food. However, frozen produce can keep these enzymes from being active and help maintain the vitamin C amount in the food.

As a dietitian, we shouldn’t be afraid to suggest frozen produce to consumers as viable options to help meet their fruits and vegetable needs. In many cases frozen produce may be more easily accessible to individuals who live in an area described as a “food desert”, as they can purchase the frozen produce and it will remain fresher longer. I believe that any way we can encourage individuals to consume more fruits and vegetables in any form possible. 

PB