Frozen Food: Growth of an Industry

After the development of commercial methods of freezing food quickly, there remained the problem of convincing the American public to buy frozen foods. Before Birdseye, freezing was primarily used as a means of preventing food that had already begun to deteriorate from getting any worse. In the public consciousness, therefore, frozen foods were associated with poor quality and spoilage. To counter this perception, marketers had to create new perceptions. The first step was dissociation. General Foods dubbed the new products “frosted” foods and sold them under the brand name Birds Eye, claiming only the freshest of foods were frozen and then offered for sale. Quick-freezing, however, was more than a marketing gimmick. It was a revolutionary method for extending the shelf life of any number of foods. The growth of bacteria, which multiplies exponentially and hastens the spoilage of meat stored at 40°F and warmer, is slowed at lower temperatures, especially those below freezing. However, freezing as it had been practiced before Birdseye was too slow to prevent the loss of nutritious proteins, vitamins, and salts. Ice crystals that formed during slow-freezing caused a chemical reaction that resulted in drier and tougher meat. Slow-freezing also led to oxidation of fats, which turns meat rancid. The degree to which each of these negative effects could be reduced, as Birdseye discovered and then demonstrated, was determined by the rate at which a given food was frozen: the quicker the freezing, the less damage was done.