Fruits and vegetables have different growing and harvesting seasons in different regions worldwide. For example, the strawberry season in some regions of Morocco starts slowly in March and ends in June. Passion fruit’s main harvest season in northern Vietnam is from May to December. This means you can’t enjoy the freshness of your favorite fruits and vegetables on some days as they are not yet in season. As the need arises, local farmers tend to produce more to fill the gap. However, fruits and vegetables don’t have a long shelf life, resulting in more food waste. As the demand and need for food sustainability arise in the food and beverages (F&B) industry, IQF Technology has been a great help in aiding these two challenges.
What is IQF?
Individually quick-frozen (IQF) is a method that does not allow large ice crystals to form in fruit and vegetable cells – an excellent technique to lock in nutrients from fresh produce. Also, since each piece is individually frozen, particles do not cohere, and the final product is not frozen into a solid block which is a solution to use frozen produce in any meals or drinks easily. (1) IQF is a process widely used in the frozen food industry that can transform perishable produce into a shelf-stable food with long shelf lives and thereby help in global transportation and distribution of many varieties of fruits and vegetables worldwide.
With this process, it is now possible to experience any fruits and vegetables from all over the world, wherever – an experience that elevates the quality and taste in the F&B industry.
How does it help food sustainability in the Food & Beverages Industry? (2)
Fresh frozen fruits and vegetables are nutritious. Fruits and vegetables are harvested and quickly flash-frozen within hours to lock in key nutrients, vitamins, and minerals like Riboflavin, Vitamins C and E, Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, Copper, Iron, Fiber, and Phenolics.
Frozen foods reduce food waste which translates to reduced costs. Frozen foods don’t spoil in the freezer, so businesses can store more and use all their purchases; unused portions can be kept in the freezer for another day or meal. This reduces food waste and saves resources for the business – forecasting and handling inventories are now more manageable in utilizing fresh frozen produce.
Frozen foods are easy to prepare: They help businesses save time cooking and cleaning so they can spend more time on other activities to serve and satisfy their clients’ needs.
Freshly frozen fruits and vegetables supplier for your business.
Partnering directly with manufacturers is known to be cost-efficient as this eliminates any added costs by dealers. With this, get to know IQFOODS, one of the trusted frozen produce manufacturers in the UAE.
IQFOODS is packed with affordable, healthier choices for your business and clients’ needs. A company that manufactures and stocks a wide array of healthier frozen fruits and vegetables with no preservatives or sugar added, more fiber, and whole grains. To know more about IQFOODS, contact [email protected].
Sources: (1) Freezing article in Britannica written by: Joseph J. Jen, Dean, College of Agriculture, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Editor of Quality Factors of Fruits and Vegetables: Chemistry and Technology. (2)American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI)
