What are the adverse effects of the ready-to-eat meals of the Global Frozen Food Market?

Rising disposable income and a younger demography of households, households with working couples and the time crunch due to the developing work culture are some of the reasons why frozen food market has been gaining popularity all over the world.

The global frozen food market is currently on the rise due to the convenience, availability of various cuisine options and the change in perception of the consumers towards frozen food. The changing lifestyle of the people are creating a multitude of opportunities for the big players in the frozen food market.

The frozen food market has always been considered less wholesome and less nutritious than their fresh alternatives, considering the heavy processing, artificial ingredients and additives that are supposed to be used in the process of freezing food.

Although ready-to-eat meals, which require just warming it in a microwave before eating, is the most acceptable form of food preservation. The ideal packaging of this food should withstand thermal processing. Also, it should maintain the shelf-life, texture and nutritive value of the food.

Consumers tend to consume frozen foods because of the demanding work-life culture where people are too exhausted by the end of the day to cook fresh food. According to various experts, it is not the freezing that is harmful but the ingredients used in the process. Frozen foods contain high levels of sodium and hydrogenated palm oil, overconsumption of which may cause adverse health effects. Consumption of excess sodium can lead to high blood pressure, which can further cause cardiovascular diseases. Preservatives such as corn syrup and starch are used to preserve ready-to-eat meals which are made up of glucose and are noted as carcinogenic substances. Starch in the food, used to keep food fresh, can cause diabetes when consumed in large amounts. One of the most common additives found in ready-to-eat meals is monosodium glutamate or MSG, which causes a tingling in the limbs, chest pain, head ache, palpitations and fatigue.

Some of the frozen meals have a very high fat content, which makes these meal very high in calories. Many frozen meals are marketed as nutritious and diet-friendly, which may do more harm than good if consumed on a daily basis.