Food processing dates back to prehistoric times when various crude methods of slaughtering, fermenting, drying and salting foods were combined with cooking and smoking of meats and vegetables to prolong their shelf life. These methods remained in use right up to the advent of the industrial revolution of the 19th century.

In the early 1800’s, European military needs for processed foods with prolonged shelf-life drove the development of vacuum bottling and canning methods. In 1862, Louis Pasteur discovered pasteurization, a critical advance in food processing ensuring the micro-biological safety of processed foods. In the early 20th century, advances in refrigeration, food coloring and preservatives added to the viability of food processing for every day consumers.

Clarence Birdseye is often credited with the creation of the commercial frozen foods industry with his 1923 invention of a flash-freeze process for preserving fresh foods. He sold his process, patents and trademarks in 1929 to the Goldman-Sachs Trading Corporation and the Postum Company, which became the General Foods Corporation. In 1930, quick-frozen vegetables, fruits, seafood, and meat were sold to the public for the first time.

Today, food processing takes on many forms. It is loosely defined as the set of methods and techniques used by the food processing industry to transform raw ingredients and foods into other forms for human consumption. Food processing companies take clean, harvested crops or slaughtered and butchered animal products and use them to produce attractive, marketable and often long-life food products.

One area of food processing that is particularly important concerns the processing of pre-cooked frozen foods for foodservice in restaurants, cafeterias and institutional eateries such as school districts, hospitals and prisons. The pre-preparation of foods enables the restaurant operator to make the dish faster, with more consistency in taste and presentation. It also allows operators to vary and extend their menus to include a wider selection of certain types of cuisines, or even multiple cuisines on a single menu.

Windsor Foods is a renowned food processor that offers traditional Asian, Italian and Mexican cuisines, as well as world-class Chili and BBQ to the foodservice industry. With 9 Plants and 27 production lines across the US, Windsor Foods is able to produce the highest quality pre-prepared frozen food items for virtually any operation. Custom food preparation, brand labeling and bulk packaging that ranges from a few ounces to 2,000 lbs. is also available.

Contact a Windsor Foods broker today at www.windsorfoods.com/locate.html and let our expert brokers work with you to increase profits with better food preparation, faster table turns and consistent quality on which you can build your name, and your business.