Nomad Foods underlines call to reset freezer temperatures and joins Move to -15°C, committing to reduce carbon emissions in frozen food
26th Jun 2024
Eighteen month study, conducted by Campden BRI, reveals that a 3 degrees Celsius increase in frozen food storage temperatures could reduce freezer energy consumption by +10% with no need to reformulate any products1
Europe’s leading frozen food company becomes the first manufacturer to join Move to -15°C, an industry-wide coalition dedicated to cutting carbon emissions in frozen food supply chains globally
WOKING, England – June 26th, 2024 – Nomad Foods, the company behind some of Europe’s iconic frozen food brands including Birds Eye, Findus, iglo, Ledo and Frikom has today announced the results of its eighteen month industry-leading study, exploring if frozen food storage temperatures can be increased, leading to significant carbon emission reductions and cost savings, without impacting product safety or quality.
The results, with leading food science and technology organisation Campden BRI, build upon the previously announced twelve month results and add further weight to the suggestion that storing frozen food at -15oC, instead of the industry standard -18oC (zero degrees Fahrenheit), can reduce freezer energy consumption by 10-11%, without any noticeable impact on the safety, texture, taste or nutritional value of a product.
Nine savoury frozen products are included in the study; poultry, coated fish, natural fish, vegetables, plant-based foods and pizza. Four temperatures (ranging from -18oC up to -9oC) and eight key areas including food safety, texture, nutrition, energy use and packaging impact were tested. Results after eighteen months showed no significant change to the products at -15oC versus -18oC, unless those products had passed their Best Before Date, where a drop in Vitamin C for some vegetable products could then be seen.
Options for the study to be peer reviewed are now being explored.
Nomad Foods is also the first food manufacturer to sign up to Move to -15oC, an industry coalition launched at COP28 and dedicated to cutting carbon emissions in the frozen food supply chain. Recognising that a shift in frozen storage temperatures requires industry-wide collaboration, Nomad Foods’ Chief Executive Officer Stéfan Descheemaeker is now calling on other frozen manufacturers to join the movement.
“We already know that frozen food compares very well against alternative preservation methods in terms of carbon footprint. The latest results of our study with Campden BRI underlines the critical role frozen food has in reducing the impact of the wider food industry on climate change."
“However, we can’t do this alone, which is why we are calling on other frozen food manufacturers to join us and the Move to -15oC coalition to ensure the full breadth of products within the frozen category are tested at higher temperatures."
“As we celebrate 100 years since flash freezing was invented by Clarence Birdseye, I think he would be very proud to see the innovations being driven in the frozen food category to tackle the world’s greatest challenge of climate change.”
Nomad Foods published an industry leading life cycle analysis of its leading frozen food products in 2022 which showed that frozen food performs very well against alternatives in terms of carbon footprint, partly due to much lower levels of food waste.2
Notes to editors
1. The objective of the Nomad Foods/Campden BRI pilot study was to identify the potential to increase the temperature that frozen food is stored at on a large scale, without reformulating products. The eighteen month pilot was conducted between November 2022 and May 2024 with results measured for storage at -18oC, -15oC, -12oC and up to -9o
The pilot focused on eight key areas across 13 individual tests:
Microbiological
Sensory
Texture analysis
Oxidative Rancidity
Drip loss
Nutrition
Energy usage
Packaging impact
Nine frozen products were tested
Crumb coated chicken
2 types of fish fingers (wild caught pollock and farmed Basa)
Salmon fillets
Garden peas
Leaf spinach
Mixed vegetables
Plant based meatballs
Margherita pizza
2. In 2022 Nomad Foods published results of an industry leading peer-reviewed Life Cycle Assessment study comparing a range of frozen foods to their alternatives. Further details on the study and 100 page technical report are available online.