Frozen versus raw: the advantages.

Frozen vegetables offer compelling advantages over raw produce, especially when it comes to nutritional value and flavor. That's because we harvest our crops at the height of their nutritional value and then freeze them quickly, within four to six hours. This locks in vitamins and a natural fresh taste.

In comparison, “fresh” raw fruits and vegetables are often harvested before they reach their peak nutritional value and then ripen "off the vine" while they are transported long distances. Put another way, raw produce often has less nutritional value when it's harvested, and then continues to lose nutritional value during transport, in the produce aisle, and even during refrigeration.

We take vegetables that offer the greatest nutritional value, flavor, color, and ripeness and then use quick freezing to retain these natural qualities. And while nutritional value and flavor are the most important advantages, frozen vegetables offer many more, including:

• Quality and consistency: Frozen produce meets high standards of quality and guarantees unmatched consistency and uniformity.

• Convenience: Frozen fruits and vegetables are easy to prepare and serve.

• Waste-free: Frozen foods allow consumers to prepare only what's needed and to store the rest.

• Availability: Frozen fruits and vegetables are never out of season. Ever.

• Value: Frozen produce is available at stable and projectable prices.