Karen McQuade, the recently elected president of the British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF), has called for its members to engage in the debate about raising the standard temperature for frozen food.
Addressing the Federation’s annual lunch earlier this week, McQuade said that there is a compelling environmental case for raising the standard – which has been set at -18 degrees since the frozen food industry was born 100 years ago.
McQuade said, “Our freezers have been set to -18 for a century, is now the time to consider turning the temperature up? We can reduce emissions and save energy by moving to a higher temperature, but it’s not a simple switch.
“Raising the temperature for frozen food storage to -15 could reduce energy consumption and cut global emissions by 17.7 million metric tonnes annually, the equivalent of removing 3.8 million cars from the road.”
The BFFF has been involved with research into the question of increasing the standard temperature since 2009, and earlier this year it joined the international coalition ‘The Move to -15°C’.
Back in August, Morrisons became the first UK supermarket to depart from the long-held industry standard on freezer temperatures as part of moves to cut energy costs and reduce carbon emissions. In a 10-store trial, the retailer increased the temperature of its freezers to -15°C from -18°C. The test stores were spread across the country, from Scotland to the south of England, to see how the concept works in areas with different weather patterns and supply routes.
McQuade stated that it’s now time for the industry to engage in a frank discussion about whether the current standard is still fit for purpose and what potential changes could be made to improve sustainability.
“The first step is to fill in the gaps in scientific research supporting the temperature shift. Research is already underway. Earlier this year, Nomad Foods conducted an 18 month study which found no significant changes in food quality or safety within the categories tested at -15”, she said. “However more research is needed to understand the impact on delicate food categories.
“I hope more than anything that next year I can stand here with news that we have moved closer to a safe and stable new standard temperature globally.”
