New Delhi, July 31 (IANS): Do you feel apprehensive about using frozen foods thinking they are not nutritious? Now put your doubts to rest about frozen food in cold storage.

Frozen food brand McCain Foods India has elucidated on the IQF technology to help users get over their inhibitions, said a statement.

There are 12 stages before a vegetable or fruit is frozen. First is the reception of the raw produce (actually a misnomer because the product which is perfectly ripe is brought to the factory for freezing). That is because the produce will not ripen any further once it is frozen and therefore it is best to harvest the crop at its ripest.

The other 11 stages are pneumatic cleaning, washing and de-stoning, visual inspection, trimming, shelling, sizing, pitting and skinning, blanching, cooling, sorting, individual quick freezing (IQF), grading, packing and storage.

The IQF method of freezing ensures that the quality of the end product is much superior compared to other methods of food preservation like dehydration, canning or bottling as it as does not lead to any loss of nutrients, flavours, colours, shape or texture. The process also results in a longer shelf life (up to 18 months), reduced thawing loss and no product deformation.