It is easy and convenient to pick up frozen, ready-to-cook vegetables, dunking them into the wok and rustling up an instantaneous meal over the drudgery of picking, peeling, slicing and chopping them but then a thought do comes to your mind is that are you risking family’s health. Read on to get more on the frozen food.

NUTRIENTS
Nutritionists reiterate that frozen foods longevity is enhanced due to sterilization by heat and not by dunking them in chemicals. Rapid-freezing, one of the most popular methods of freezing allows food to be preserved without use of chemicals. Some preservatives like salt/ sugar may be added to prevent undesirable chemical reactions from taking place in packaged foods that may alter their color, texture and flavour.

While some nutrients are lost in frozen foods, many others are preserved. Food starts losing its nutritional value as soon as it is harvested and by the time it reaches the shelves, it has gone through a long journey of heat or cold storage that causes a natural deterioration, anyway. Frozen foods may not use too much of salt. It is their canned variants that are the real culprits. Food preserved in brine, such as olives or beans are high in sodium. In that case, it will be best to avoid them or wash the veggies with water before consuming them. For beans or canned food in sauces, dilute the sauce before cooking.

LIFE & ECONOMY
Frozen foods often have a longer shelf life. Frozen broccoli can stay fresh in the freezer for almost 8 months. Fresh broccoli would not last even 8 days. Frozen foods are more economical than fresh produce because consumers do not pay for stalks, pits, skins, rinds or damaged food but only for the net content they buy. In fresh produce, nearly 40% of the stuff is discarded.

HYGINE
Freezing is a safe method of food preservation as most pathogens or disease-causing agents are deactivated at such low temperatures.

If you must buy frozen, it is advisable to buy trusted brands to ensure quality. Avoid picking up stuff from local shops. It is easy to distinguish between brands by the flavor of the food. If you are picking up frozen food, check the packet for ice crystals. Ice crystals indicate that the food has been thawed and refrozen and it is best to avoid picking up that packet. Defrosting or thawing brings food back to room temperature in which botulism (infections caused by bacteria) thrives.  If you're not careful, it could trigger stomach problems. Rather than boiling, microwave frozen food to retain its nutritional value. Most frozen foods should be used within 3 to 6 months.

THE PROCESS
Food is commercially frozen by flash freezing. Water in the food is subjected to temperatures below freezing point. For instance peas are cleaned blanched in a vat of boiling water. They are then passed to a gravity sorter to remove inferior peas. Next, they go into water with a specified salt content. Tender peas float, while peas with high starch content sink. These sinkers are the ones that are packaged. Frozen or not frozen eat healthy and stay healthy.