Frozen food industry reaches 72nd birthday

The American Frozen Food Institute celebrates the 72nd anniversary of the introduction of frozen foods. The first frozen foods, produced by Clarence Birdseye, were introduced on March 6, 1930. Twenty-six different items, including meat, fish, and oysters, were stocked by 10 stores in Springfield MA. From that start, frozen foods have grown to $30 billion in wholesale grocery and supermarket sales and $40 billion in foodservice sales. Nearly 1,000 new items are introduced annually.