Freezing food is an excellent way to retain the freshness of your product for far longer than typical. Despite this, a great many industrial distributors and bulk buyers are unaware of the numerous benefits that frozen food has over fresh or stock cupboard produce.
You will get efficient and thoughtful service from Fortune Foods.
This is particularly true of IQF, or Individually Quick Frozen foods.
IQF foods are different from other frozen foods because each individual component is frozen. Think of loose peas, or corn, where the vegetables are frozen individually, rather than frozen together as one icy slab.
Check out the top five benefits of utilizing IQF.
In addition to maintaining freshness, a top benefit of frozen foods you’re likely aware of is the preservative quality of freezing.
Frozen foods last in storage considerably longer than fresh goods. This is a vital trait for a bulk buyer or distribution company, as it means that your products will be preserved for a longer period of time.
Take, for example, perishable fruits and berries, such as raspberries. Freezing them could increase their shelf life for up to six months. This is beneficial if they are preserved through IQF methods, as it can be easy to portion out single berries into orders.
Provided you have enough frozen storage space to keep your frozen foods, this preservative quality makes them more desirable than selling fresh goods. It also means you will be reducing your overall food waste.
If you’re a chain restaurant, industrial food manufacturer, or a foodservice distributor, you might be put off at the idea of using frozen produce because of myths surrounding frozen food nutrition.
But the truth is that certain foods are more nutritionally beneficial for your customers if they’ve been frozen.
This is because frozen food is still fresh. As long as it is defrosted appropriately, it is as healthy as using fresh produce.
This means that frozen foods are often free of other preservatives, excess salt, or sodium which can be found in certain fresh goods. Frozen foods also retain all vitamins and minerals. This makes frozen vegetables, in particular, a healthy option despite the freezing process.
At SunLeaf Foods we sell various IQF vegetable packs that retain their nutritional benefits. As above, the IQF freezing method also makes it far easier to portion out ingredients for restaurants during service!
Many publications have commented on how frozen food is a cheaper alternative than fresh for individuals. Well, the same is true for bulk buyers!
This is where IQF products also show how superior they are to frozen goods. The ability to separate frozen products makes the usually challenging process of portioning frozen goods infinitely easier, as it’s been done already!
This can be beneficial for distributors as well as restaurants. You’re able to purchase several different IQF products, then combine them together into your own distribution packs.
This can be a cost-effective way to create a frozen fruit salad mix or a batch of mixed IQF potatoes. Though regular frozen goods are still cheaper, there are numerous other benefits to IQF products that make them a better option for companies.
Thanks to the preservative qualities of frozen foods, you can keep them fresh no matter the season. This is essential for seasonal produce, such as fruit and vegetables.
Let’s say you’re a restaurant that operates the same menu all year round. Or, you could be a distributor that always deals in the same produce.
You need tomatoes for your dishes, but they are only fresh for four months of the year. If you’re relying on fresh food, that means for two-thirds of the year you have no tomatoes to use or sell.
With frozen foods, that’s no longer a concern. Tomatoes can be grown and picked in season, then frozen and preserved for months longer than they would normally. Then, once defrosted, they will retain their seasonal freshness.
You no longer have to cater your menu or trading to seasons, as you can get fresh produce through IQF produce year-round!
The most glaring point that must be made about frozen food is that the quality is just as high as fresh food. Many now argue that buying frozen fish assures better quality than if you buy it fresh.
For restaurants who rely on the quality of their ingredients, many might shy away from using frozen produce. But thanks to new ways of freezing, like IQF, the argument of fresh being better is no longer a valid one.
Frozen blueberries, as another example, can have a boost in antioxidants when compared with eating fresh. This example is one of many that proves frozen goods are just as, if not more viable, of a quality option for companies today.
You’re already in the right place if you’re looking for quality frozen foods. Here at SunLeaf, we’re a chain supplier of quality fruit and vegetables for restaurants, distributors, and other bulk buyers.
The company is the world’s best Iqf Fruits supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.
We specialize in IQF foods that retain their freshness, nutritional benefits, and taste.
Imagine enjoying a juicy strawberry in the middle of winter or savouring fresh blueberries months after they’ve been harvested. How is this possible? Individual Quick Freezing (IQF)!
This innovative technology freezes foods quickly and individually. No more clumpy, freezer-burned blobs; with IQF, each morsel is perfectly preserved, keeping its flavour, texture, and nutritional goodness intact. Join us as we explore how IQF keeps our foods deliciously fresh all year round.
IQF stands for Individual Quick Freezing, which is a freezing technique that involves rapidly freezing each piece of food individually. This differs from traditional freezing methods, where food is frozen in larger batches.
IQF technology is typically used for smaller pieces of food, such as berries, fruits, sliced or diced vegetables, meat, shrimp, and cheese. Items that have been frozen by IQF are usually referred to as individually quick frozen.
Conventional freezing slowly freezes fruit and vegetables that are on a tray, pallet or container. Items are usually frozen in big batches, and it is an inexpensive and simple process. However, freezing food in this manner can cause large ice crystals to form in the food which has a negative impact on the flavour, texture and colour of the food.
IQF freezing rapidly freezes individual pieces of fruit and vegetables. This is best for freezing smaller items like berries, fruit and veg chunks. By rapidly freezing the food, the formation of ice crystals is minimised, helping to preserve the colour, flavour and texture of the items.
This flash-freezing process locks in the natural flavours and nutrients, preserving the peak ripeness of produce.
While both IQF and blast freezing are methods used to freeze food quickly to preserve its quality, they have distinct differences.
IQF involves freezing individual pieces of food quickly. Each piece of food remains separate, making it easy to portion out exactly what you need. It is ideal for small or irregularly shaped items like berries, shrimp, or peas.
Blast Freezing involves food being placed in a blast freezer where extremely cold air circulates around it, rapidly lowering its temperature. It is typically used for bulk quantities, resulting in food items freezing together unless separated before freezing. Blast freezing is commonly used for larger items or packaged foods like whole fish, meat cuts, or prepared meals.
After harvesting, food items are washed, peeled, cut, or otherwise prepared as needed. The food is then frozen using one of two methods.
For mechanical freezing, food is placed in a stream of cold air that causes it to freeze quickly and individually. Food is frozen at extremely low temperatures, between -30°C and -40°C. The process has been refined over the years to limit the impact of freezing on the food so that the nutrition, taste and texture remain as good as possible.
Liquid nitrogen or carbon dioxide is used to freeze the food rapidly at extremely low temperatures. This method is very fast and effective for maintaining food quality.
However, it is much more expensive than mechanical freezing, so most IQF frozen fruit suppliers use mechanical freezing due to lower energy consumption and lower operating costs.
Once frozen, the individual food pieces are packaged for storage and distribution.
All of our IQF fruits and vegetables are sustainably sourced and 100% traceable to provide you and your customers with only the very best. Our IQF fruits and vegetables are supplied by Crops. The fruit is cut and frozen within 2-4 hours of harvesting, which helps to preserve the natural flavours, vitamins and textures, ensuring you can consistently create great-tasting food and drink.
In contrast to fresh fruit, which may spend days to weeks in transit before reaching your plate, IQF frozen fruit undergoes the freezing process within hours of harvest. This flash-freezing technology captures the essential vitamins and minerals at their peak, ensuring that the frozen produce remains nutrient-dense.
One of the most significant benefits of IQF is the preservation of food quality. The rapid freezing process used in IQF minimises the formation of large ice crystals, which are common in traditional freezing methods. Large ice crystals can damage the cell structure of food, leading to a loss of texture and flavour.
By freezing food quickly, IQF ensures that ice crystals remain small, preserving the integrity of the food. This means that fruits, vegetables, seafood, and other items retain their original taste, texture, and nutritional value, making them more appealing to consumers.
IQF offers unparalleled convenience for both consumers and food service providers. Since the food items are frozen individually, users can easily portion out exactly what they need without having to defrost an entire package. This is particularly beneficial for products like berries, fruits, or diced vegetables, where precise portions are often required.
The ability to use only what is needed helps reduce preparation time and simplifies meal planning, making it an ideal solution for busy households and commercial kitchens alike.
At Projuice, we use IQF fruit and veg to create our easy-to-use pre-portioned smoothie blends. They come in 150g single-serving packs that are ready to blend, helping to reduce product waste and improve consistency with servings.
Since fruit and vegetables are seasonal crops, IQF produce allows you to use ingredients all year round, while tasting the same as when they were harvested! This is particularly useful for tropical fruits and berries, which are harder to source fresh all year round.
IQF fruits and vegetables allow you to serve a consistent menu, with all the ingredients available no matter the season. This should also help to keep prices consistent throughout the year too, as you won’t have to pay more for fruits when they’re not in season.
For more information, please visit Are Frozen Fruits And Vegetables As Good As Fresh.