Frozen rising

Frozen fruit and vegetable consumption is rising, says this report from Global Industry Analysts Inc. The news release teases a $4,000 research paper, but here is the gist:

Consumption of frozen fruits and vegetables in daily diets is steadily increasing, driven shifting food preferences, and rising consumer emphasis on health and well-being. Factors such as fast paced lifestyles, more number of workingwomen, round-the-year availability, convenience and the development of innovative freezing technologies are all expected to drive growth in the marketplace, triggering a projected rise in world consumption to 21.5 million tons by 2012. TK: Frozen may have its advantages, but it has one clear disadvantage - it is a second rate product compared with fresh. Consumers will always prefer fresh over frozen, no matter how many new "innovative freezing technologies" are rolled out. End of discussion.