The Issue gained momentum at the 28th World Climate Conference in 2023. Since then, numerous stakeholders have been looking into whether the storage and transport temperature of deep-frozen products can be increased.
What are the arguments for and against this? By Dieter Mailänder, Redaktionsbüro Dieter Mailänder
Anyone who deals with frozen food knows that it must be stored and transported at -18°C. This globally binding value was established in the middle of the last century because it corresponds to 0° Fahrenheit. In the European Community, the -18°C requirement is regulated by a directive on frozen foods that has been binding for all member states since 1990.
Tolerances of three degrees Celsius are only permitted during transport, local distribution, and in the deep-freeze cabinets of food retailers. The directive obliges all countries in the European Community to carry out official checks to ensure that the facilities used comply with it and that the operators adhere to the specified temperature. Countries that do not belong to the EU, such as Switzerland have implemented comparable regulations.
During the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2023 in the United Arab Emirates, a report by the scientists from the University of Birmingham was discussed, which proposes increasing freezer temperatures by three degrees for certain products as a conceivable option for saving energy and thus also for CO2 Encouraged by this statement, key players in the industry have joined forces to form the “Move to -15°” initiative.
-15°C: Storage and Transport Temperature of the Future?
It is being discussed whether the -18°C temperature will remain mandatory in the future or whether the temperature for storage and transport can be raised moderately by three degrees Celsius. One of the driving forces behind this discussion is the food company Nomad Food, which is active throughout Europe.
In addition to nationally established brands, its portfolio includes renowned pan-European frozen brands such as Birds Eyes, Findus, or Iglo. These brands are well established in key European markets such as the UK, Italy, Germany, Sweden, France, and / or Norway. Nomad Foods wants to find out how raising storage and transport temperatures affects frozen foods.
Stakeholders such as the German Frozen Food Institute (dti) are supporting the initiative. To ensure that the project is well-founded, Nomad Foods brought Campden BRI on board, a company specializing in science and technology for the food and drink industry, which has regulatory expertise and a global network. In addition to many operational questions, two overarching questions also need to be answered:
• What potential cost savings can be achieved by raising the temperature?
• How much greenhouse gas can be avoided by doing so?
Calculating cost savings should be relatively simple. One could also calculate them. However, calculating the savings in greenhouse gases is likely to be more difficult as it is based on several assumptions.
To read the entire article, please access your complimentary e-copy of Frozen Food Europe September-October, 2025 issue here.