Freezing foods and food products is a method of preserving food items by lowering the temperature of the food items to inhibit microorganisms’ growth. This method isn’t an invention of the modern era. It is, in fact, under application for centuries and is always a reliable method to preserve food products at large. In 1842, a patent was issued in Britain for freezing food by immersion in an ice and salt brine. Mechanical refrigeration wasn’t a reality at that time, but refrigeration of food items opted for food preservation and sustainability. In the past, freezing food products was as simple as covering it with a block of freshly carved ice to keep its inner temperature at a low pace. Whit the up-gradation of technology and methods change over the past years, the basic idea remains the same which is to lower the food’s temperature to a suitable degree where germs and bacteria are unable to thrive, and in return, increasing the life of the food and sustaining it for a longer span of time. In 1880, when a cargo of meat shipped from Australia to Britain under accidentally froze condition, provided it with good results and sustainability of the meat. So, the process was at once adopted for long-distance shipments and other storage. In the 20th century, flash freezing was found to be especially effective with certain types of food. Some common methods for freezing food items include Flash Freezing and Active packaging. The modern freezing industry started in 1928 with the improvement of double-belt contact freezers by a technologist named Clarence Birdseye. After the upheaval in the quick freezing process and equipment, the industry turned out to be progressively adaptable, particularly with the utilization of multi-plate freezers. The previous strategies accomplished fruitful freezing of fish and poultry, but with the new quick freezing framework, packaged foods could be frozen between two metal belts as they traveled through a freezing tunnel. This improvement was an incredible advantage in the large-scale freezing business concerning fruits and vegetables. Besides, quick freezing of consumer-size packages helped frozen vegetables to be adapted quickly in the late 1930s. In 1925, Clearance Birdseye invented a device to imply flash freezing that used a pressurized brine and water solution to freeze vegetables for transport. Before this invention, consumers have no other option than just purchasing vegetables produced locally, but with this invention, they could now freeze and transport the vegetable and fruits throughout the country. Birdseye’s invention was an instant success and was ultimately sold to the company now known as General Foods. It is safe, effective and inexpensive as the basic features enough to attract food manufacturers and producers. In addition to strengthening the ways of improvement of the effectiveness of freezing, scientists have discovered a new process known as active packaging. This method involves using a variety of new technologies to sense and eliminate harmful bacteria present in the food. This way foods productivity and sustainability could be raised and it could be preserved for a long time.

By Smith