Frozen Food and Zero Food Waste Policy

Quite often we get asked for the reason why most of our food products are stored and sold as frozen products.

Despite the fact that Syndian manufacture a range of chilled dips, we prefer to store and sell all our other products as frozen, which include the Ready Meals, Burgers, Sausages, Patties and Bites. In other words, all products excluding the dips are sold and stored as frozen products.

The reasons for this are:

1. Freezing minimizes food waste: A significant reason and I would say it is the main reason for choosing freezing over chilling, is simply for waste reduction- dare I even say elimination. In today’s commercial environment this becomes a major issue. The world’s food waste equals to 1.3 billion tons of food products per annum; about 40% of that waste is in the stage of retail and consumption. In other words, retailers dumping unsold food due to spoilage and end of shelf life, and consumers including domestic and commercial users who dump spoiled and short dated food products. The total amount of waste which equates to between one third and one half of the total food produced globally is going to waste. Freezing reduces those issues significantly and in many cases eliminates it. The cost of food waste cannot be measured by ethical and economical consideration only, but rather the devastating impact over the environment and the price we all pay for such a high footprint.

2. Freezing maintains the integrity of most food products: Certain products have a tendency to not freeze well; for example a wet product like a dip has the tendency to separate, though its integrity from a microbial and nutritional point of view is maintained, the separation might be un- appealing for many people. On the other hand there are many other products, that actually freeze very well- they maintain their texture, flavour and nutritional values in a superior way- while chilling has the tendency to erode those qualities to the point of spoilage.

3. Freezing means no preservatives and additives in food: To continue my previous point, during chilling, and mainly in long term storage there is erosion of the qualities of the food product including flavours and nutritional values to the point of spoilage. To combat that, manufacturers employ preservatives and other additives to maintain some qualities and retard the spoiling process. This is something that is not required in frozen food products because as the water crystals freeze, it prevents water from being available in the product which usually accelerates the oxidization process. Another significant factor is that freezing allows the consumer to enjoy food products without preservatives and many other additives, which manufacturers need to use in chilled products in order to extend the shelf life of their products.

4. Less spoilage and waste means cheaper products to consumers: Discarding food products forces retailers and manufacturers to work the cost of those discarded products into the ones that they sell. Freezing allows the manufacturer to plan and produce with less risk of discarding unsold stock, and this will have an impact on the total cost of the product and eventually at the point of sale.

Syndian has adopted a Zero Food Waste Policy, on all levels of planning, projection and execution. We are also proud to partner with food providers of those in need in our community such as Food Bank Australia who work tirelessly to provide much needed support to various communities in our society.