BFFF president calls for frozen food temperature standards debate

Addressing the Federation’s annual lunch, the recently elected McQuade argued there was a ‘compelling’ environmental case for raising the standard, which has been set at -18 degrees since the genesis of the frozen food industry more than 100 years ago.

“Our freezers have been set to -18 for a century, is now the time to consider turning the temperature up?”​ McQuade asked. “We can reduce emissions and save energy by moving to a higher temperature, but it’s not a simple switch.​

“Raising the temperature for frozen food storage to -15 could reduce energy consumption and cut global emissions by 17.7 million metric tonnes annually, the equivalent of removing 3.8 million cars from the road.”​

Temperature coalition

Her call to action over frozen food temperatures comes as the group joins the international coalition The Move to -15°C. It followed 15 years of research by the BFFF into the question of increasing the standard temperature.

McQuade urged the industry to engage in a frank discussion about whether the standard was still fit for purpose and what potential changes could be made to improve sustainability.

“The first step is to fill in the gaps in scientific research supporting the temperature shift. Research is already underway.” ​She added. “Earlier this year, Nomad Foods conducted an 18-month study​​​ which found no significant changes in food quality or safety within the categories tested at -15. However more research is needed to understand the impact on delicate food categories.​

Move to new standard

“I hope more than anything that next year I can stand here with news that we have moved closer to a safe and stable new standard temperature globally.”​

The new president also highlighted the challenges the industry faced in terms of changing consumer attitudes and addressing a widespread lack of freezer space in homes, and the role the sector can play in helping reduce food waste.

Meanwhile, Morrisons was the first UK retailer to take action with the Move to -15°C Coalition by raising the temperature of some of its freezers.​​

The UK supermarket chain has taken the step in 10 stores, going from the industry standard -18°C to -15°C in a bid to reduce its carbon emissions, save energy and cut costs, with plans to roll out the decrease to other stores in the future.