Challenging The Mystical Mythology behind Frozen Foods

Frozen foods have reached a pinnacle of refinement with the advance of technology.

We have seen great progress in the growth of nutrition and flavor varietals, along with increased convenience. Although this fills a gap in the busy lives of many working professionals, there have been an outburst of mistaken myths proliferating about its safety, and efficacy in meeting nutritional needs.

After all, it is human nature to be skeptical, and ultimately critical of novel ideas; this is considerably more pronounced when it comes to playing with our primary source of nourishment. It’s important that we understand from where these myths bloom, and separate fact from fiction.

5 Frozen Food Myths Debunked

Myth 1 : They are full of chemicals!

All food is composed of chemicals and elements. It’s understandable to fear names that are unfamiliar to us, but it’s outright irresponsible to villainize them. A lot of healthy food additives do not have simple names, so we will see things like “agar agar” or “xanthan gum” and become terrified. For example, perfectly innocent ingredients like water, and salt have scientific names like “dihydrogen monoxide”, and “sodium chloride”. It would not be sensible to fear them if they were written in their technical way.

Myth 2 : Aren’t processed foods evil?

Nearly everything we eat is processed. It’s just important to distinguish harmful processes from healthy ones. For example, pasta, cheese, bread, and wine are far removed from their original form, and that’s a good thing! Wheat has to be picked, separated, milled, centrifuged, bleached, forced to mingle with cultivated yeast, hydrated, shaped, dehydrated, then heat-treated in an aqueous solution to become edible pasta. Similarly, cheese goes through a process of heat and acidulated separation, and bacterial fermentation, processes that are usually achieved with the addition of citric acid at its very base.

Myth 3 : Chemicals are bad for you

There are good and bad chemicals out there; it is intentionality that determines the final product. Great chefs manipulate key chemicals and enzymes in food to come up with revolutionary dishes. On the other hand, cheap filler-based frozen foods, and fast foods can use these chemicals to provide color and texture to otherwise unhealthy/unappetizing food. Chemicals used to manipulate food are thoroughly studied, more so than real fruits and vegetables. Ultimately, it comes down to the quality of the food you buy.

Myth 4 : Frozen foods use unhealthy ingredients

Once again, this falls under intentionality. Quality brands will use ethically grown, locally sourced ingredients that both create great tasting food, and support their local purveyors. This is no different from if you buy factory-farmed goods vs groceries at your farmers market. Quality frozen foods won’t use unhealthy preservatives, as freezing itself is a very good source of preservation.

Myth 5 : I heard these weird-sounding ingredients are toxic

Everything has a well-studied toxicity level. Large consumption of these ingredients can have negative effects on your health, but so can apples, or any other natural food. Drinking too much water can lead to dilutional hyponatremia. Consuming too much carrot juice can lead to carotenemia and so forth. The ingredients used to manipulate ideal food textures and flavors are so minute, they are far from reaching any levels of toxicity. It’s often the quality of the meat, dairy, vegetables, or grains in the product that determine its healthfulness. Everything in moderation.

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Author Bio: Maurizio Racco

Maurizio Racco is an ambassador on healthy living and the founder of füdi and DMR foods, a food distribution company that is based in Ontario. DMR foods provide organic and locally-sourced meals to Canadian families.  Maurizio’s passion for healthy, good food has led him on an incredible journey in discovering flavors that inspire the kitchen.

Follow Maurizio on his Twitter , Instagram and Facebook.