Ensuring Safe Consumption of Frozen Foods: Challenges and Opportunities

Frozen foods are at an important intersection in the food industry’s evolution, especially from the perspective of improved manufacturing practices and meeting consumers’ changing needs. Food safety risks associated with frozen foods have raised significant concerns, among food manufacturers, regulatory agencies, and consumers. Varied consumer practices, particularly in the way consumers follow cooking instructions and diverse new product uses and trends have only heightened interest.

This presentation will cover the gamut of challenges facing the industry, whether aging infrastructure, lack of modernized equipment, challenging regulatory policies or consumer behaviors. Indeed there are opportunities at each stage of the production cycle, innovation in processing and equipment and novel new antimicrobial technologies. The American Frozen Food Institute has developed a comprehensive food safety strategy to address these challenges, and will share how it has set in motion a program to combat food safety risks associated with frozen foods by addressing gaps in science, guiding practical regulatory policy, development of best manufacturing practices and training, investing in consumer research and education, and fostering innovation. AFFI hopes to deliver a compelling case to have companies and technical experts from varied disciplines to develop innovative solutions ensuring frozen foods are made safe for consumption in every stage of the farm to fork continuum.