Using Frozen Foods in the School Canteen
Frozen fruit and vegetables are a good alternative for use when fresh foods are unavailable or poor in quality and when appropriate storage facilities exist.
- The nutritional quality of frozen vegetables is similar to that of fresh foods, and in some cases may be better.
- The nutrient content of fresh foods is constantly declining whereas frozen vegetables do not deteriorate any further after freezing.
- This means you can store frozen vegetables for much longer than fresh vegetables without a loss in quality.
- Studies show that the vitamin C level in frozen foods is maintained during the frozen period.
Using frozen foods:
- Where possible frozen vegetables should be used from frozen and not thawed before use.
- Most frozen vegetables have been partly cooked before being frozen and should not take long to cook because they only need to be heated through.
Storage:
Frozen foods need to be kept around -15ºC to -12ºC to keep their quality.
NOTE: Foods should not be re-frozen once thawed as this increases the
chance of the food being contaminated by harmful bacteria. Also, food that is thawed,
re-frozen and later thawed again loses quality.