美国国家公共电台 NPR Frozen Food Fan? As Sales Rise, Studies Show Frozen Produce Is As Healthy As Fresh

 

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Frozen food is having a moment. After years in a slump¹, sales of frozen and prepared foods are on the rise. They are often cheaper than fresh and can be more convenient. As NPR's Allison Aubrey reports, another upside of frozen food may come as a surprise.

ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE²: Like a lot of us, Olivia Mitchell (ph) has had some preconceived notions about frozen food. She prefers to buy fresh produce.

OLIVIA MITCHELL: I think so. I mean, fresh and local is, you know, what they say is - tends to be healthier.

AUBREY: But with two young children and a busy schedule, she's come to appreciate the frozen food aisle³.

MITCHELL: I buy frozen peas and okra.

AUBREY: With a quick zap in the microwave, you can get them from the freezer to the dinner table in a flash. And Mitchell says less goes to waste.

MITCHELL: I think frozen is great because sometimes with fresh food, it goes bad.

AUBREY: After it sits too long in the fridge. All these factors explain the renewed interest in frozen, says Phil Lempert. He's editor of supermarketguru.com. The uptick is recent, he says. But he thinks it will continue.

PHIL LEMPERT: It's affordability⁴. It's convenience. It's not having a lot of waste. People are more concerned about waste than ever before.

AUBREY: And so what about the assumption that fresh produce is healthiest? Well, it turns out that frozen produce can pack a punch when it comes to nutrition. When you freeze fruits and vegetables, it locks in nutrients⁶. And several studies show this helps retain high levels of vitamins. Plant scientist Hazel MacTavish-West, who works as a consultant⁷ to the food industry, says freezing is a great preservation⁸ method. Take a bag of blueberries or peas.

HAZEL MACTAVISH-WEST: So you could store them in the freezer for a year, and the nutrient⁵ level pretty much stays the same.

AUBREY: By comparison, fresh produce continues to lose nutrients due to handling and oxidation.

MACTAVISH-WEST: You could take fresh vegetables, and you put them in the fridge maybe for up to a week. They'll just continue to decline in most cases.

AUBREY: To nail down how fresh compares to frozen, food scientist Diane Barrett and a group of colleagues at UC Davis evaluated a bunch of fruits and vegetables. With funding from the Frozen Food Foundation, they measured the nutrients in samples of fresh and frozen carrots, broccoli⁹, spinach¹⁰, peas and berries.

DIANE BARRETT: Overall, the frozen was as good as fresh. And in some cases, some of the frozen fruits and vegetables were better than fresh.

AUBREY: For instance, most of the frozen produce had higher levels of vitamin E.

BARRETT: That was really the most shocking thing.

AUBREY: Barrett says frozen produce does lose some nutrients during processing when it's blanched¹¹ or steamed. But she says part of the reason the nutrition holds up well in frozen fruits and vegetables has to do with how quickly they're frozen after harvest.

BARRETT: Typically the freezing facilities are very close to the place where the vegetable is grown. So within hours, that vegetable is frozen.

AUBREY: Of course fresh produce is loaded with nutrients, too. And many people are big believers in the buy-local movement. But Barrett says frozen holds its own, and it could be one more factor to help make the frozen aisle a little more attractive. Allison Aubrey, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF LES POMMES DE MA DOUCHE'S "TROMPETTES DE LA RENOMMEE")

1 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

4 affordability   

可购性

参考例句：

• Performance-Based Logistics Affordability: Can We Afford Categorical Conversion to Performance-Based Acquisition? 基于性能的后期的可承受性：能否担负得起向基于性能的采办的无条件的转变？
• There would be no crisis of affordability, as't for food or clothing. 就想食物与服装一样，因为供给没有危机。

5 nutrient   

adj.营养的，滋养的；n.营养物，营养品

参考例句：

• Magnesium is the nutrient element in plant growth.镁是植物生长的营养要素。
• The roots transmit moisture and nutrient to the trunk and branches.根将水分和养料输送到干和枝。

6 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

8 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

9 broccoli   

n.绿菜花，花椰菜

参考例句：

• She grew all the broccoli plants from seed.这些花椰菜都是她用种子培育出来的。
• They think broccoli is only green and cauliflower is only white.他们认为西兰花只有绿色的，而菜花都是白色的。

10 spinach   

n.菠菜

参考例句：

• Eating spinach is supposed to make you strong.据说吃菠菜能使人强壮。
• You should eat such vegetables as carrot,celery and spinach.你应该吃胡萝卜、芹菜和菠菜这类的蔬菜。

11 blanched   

v.使变白( blanch的过去式 )；使（植物）不见阳光而变白；酸洗（金属）使有光泽；用沸水烫（杏仁等）以便去皮

参考例句：

• The girl blanched with fear when she saw the bear coming. 那女孩见熊（向她）走来，吓得脸都白了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Their faces blanched in terror. 他们的脸因恐惧而吓得发白。 来自《简明英汉词典》