Importance of Knowing Where Your IQF Food is Grown

Do you know where your food comes from? The chances are that when you buy groceries, you don’t spend much time considering where the foods were grown and how they got to the store shelves.

IQF stands for individually quick frozen and refers to foods that are frozen at the peak of their freshness. They are also sometimes called flash-frozen foods. And knowing where they come from can help you plan nutritious meals.

When you track your food, you learn more about how it was grown and where it comes from. That helps you choose foods that are good for your health and that align with your environmental preservation goals.

Want to know more? You’re in the right place. Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about where IQF foods come from and why it matters.

What are IQF Foods?

As mentioned above, IQF foods are frozen soon after they are harvested, helping preserve their nutrients. The method has been around since the 1920s and allows for offering foods with optimal vitamin and mineral content.

Many kinds of foods can be flash-frozen, but the most common are fruits, vegetables, and grains. Herbs and meats are others. It’s done by taking foods from fresh to under 25 degrees Fahrenheit in just a few minutes.

This method creates smaller ice crystals than other methods of freezing foods. This helps preserve the texture and taste of the food when it’s thawed.

Benefits of IQF Foods

You might be wondering what’s so great about IQF foods. They offer several benefits that can enhance your overall nutrient intake, as well as allow you to prepare delicious meals for yourself and your family.

Frozen foods don’t require the use of preservatives, something you’ll find in many canned and boxed food items. This is important for your health since some food preservatives have been linked to health problems.

When you choose frozen foods, you also get foods that have optimal nutritional value. In fact, most frozen fruits and vegetables have the same amounts of vitamins and minerals as the fresh version.

IQF foods are easy to work with, making it simple to incorporate them into your favorite meals. They also allow you to use fruits and vegetables year-round, even when they aren’t in season.

Keep reading to find out all the reasons why you should care where your food comes from.

Smaller Carbon Footprint

When you choose foods that were grown closer to your home, you decrease your carbon footprint. Thats’ because there won’t be as many carbon emissions to transport from the farm to your table.

At the same time, buying foods that are grown locally allows you to spend your money on small businesses and those that directly benefit your community.

Rather than putting your money into a large corporation, you can help the local economy and keep small farms up and running.

Make Informed Decisions

Learning more about where your food is grown helps you make informed decisions about what you’re going to eat. It also allows you to choose the best foods to feed your family.

Decisions like quality, nutritional value, and freshness are easier to make when you know where your food comes from. When you know what the location tells you, it’s easier to choose items that fit your health and eating goals.

This sourcing information is also valuable for schools and other organizations that serve meals to others because it helps them align with government mandates about food quality and nutritional value.

Builds Trust in the Farmers

When you buy produce, meat, or grains from a farm, you have to place your trust in the farmer. That means trusting that you are getting the best quality and most nutritious foods.

However, if you don’t know where your food is coming from, you won’t know who to trust. That includes the farmer who grew the food, the truck drivers who ship the food, and the grocery store that sells the food.

If you’re eating in a restaurant, you also have to trust the chef who prepares your meal and the server who delivers it to your table.

While the food supply in the United States is safe, this means putting your trust in many people you will never meet.

By researching where your food comes from, you can learn about the person growing the food and their methods of getting it from their fields to your table. This reduces the number of people you must trust to deliver quality food.

You Know What You’re Putting in Your Body

One of the most important reasons you should know where your IQF foods come from is that it allows you to know exactly what you’re eating.

When you buy frozen foods from the grocery store without any research into where they are grown, you can’t be 100% sure they are the best choice for your health.

When you choose flash-frozen fruits, vegetables, grains, and meats, you have a better chance of enjoying a meal that is free of preservatives, lower in salt and sugar, and generally healthier.

When compared to canned or boxed items, you will notice that many flash-frozen foods are higher in nutrients and don’t contain a lot of extras, when you’re taking care of your health, the fewer additives, the better.

Where to Buy IQF Foods

Most supermarkets sell IQF foods. The trick is to research their origins before you buy. Look into the brand name and find out where the foods were raised and how they were processed.

In many places, smaller grocery stores stock more local items, making them a great place to look as you get started learning where your food comes from.

Taking the First Step

Now that you know the importance of researching the IQF foods you choose to buy, you can get started. Let us help with our full range of healthy ingredients. Check them out before you go.