In 1851, James Harrison, a British journalist who had emigrated to Australia showcased the first commercial ice-making machine. It would take another 73 years until Clarence Birdseye would invent the quick and easy freezing method we know today.
While working for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Newfoundland at 40 °C, he observed that the fish he caught nearly instantaneously froze and tasted fresh when thawed while . Birdseye’s method of food preservation was thus inspired by a hunting trip to Canada in the 1920s. When food is frozen slowly, at temperatures around the freezing point, ice crystals form within the animal or vegetable cells; when the food thaws, cellular fluid escapes from the damaged tissue, giving the food a mushy or dry consistency. Quick freezing causes less harm because crystals have less time to form at lower temperatures.
In order to freeze fish fillets with cooled air at a temperature of 43 °C (45 °F), Birdseye conducted fish-freezing experiments at the Clothel Refrigerating Corporation in 1922 before starting his own business, Birdseye Seafoods Inc. His business filed for bankruptcy in 1924 as a result of a lack of demand for the goods. In the same year, he created a completely new method for quickly freezing food under pressure between two refrigerator surfaces. The method involves packaging fish in cartons beforehand. General Seafood Corporation was established by Birdseye to advance this strategy.
Fast-forward to 2023, and according to a recent market research, the frozen food market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.2% from 2022 to 2029 to reach USD408.05bn by the end of the forecast period. This industry is expanding as a result of rising convenience food demand, expanding global cold-chain market, and evolving customer tastes and preferences. Additionally, this market offers considerable development prospects due to the growing digitalization of the retail sector and the expanding markets in Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa.
More than half of the world’s population now resides in cities, and nearly every nation is urbanizing more and more. According to the United Nations World Urbanization Report, the global urban population has rapidly increased from 439,498,772 in 2015 to 471,031,528 in 2019, indicating that about 55% of the world’s population currently resides in urban areas, with that number predicted to reach 68% by 2050. As a result, customers in metropolitan regions have access to a greater variety of food options than those in rural ones. Additionally, this urbanization tendency greatly raises living standards and earnings, which has a stronger impact on the affordability of frozen food items.
The impact that freezing had on our eating habits is immense, and it’s encouraging to see that each new positive consumer trend is quickly adopted by this fast-paced industry. So let’s celebrate frozen food month and all the benefits that frozen brings!