BFFF: keeping frozen food a bit less cold could help in reducing carbon footprint.

The British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF) has begun talks with the government about raising maximum frozen food storage temperature in an attempt to reduce the industry's environmental impact.

Current British food safety regulations state that frozen food must be stored at -18[degrees]C or below. The BFFF is seeking to raise this to -15[degrees]C. BFFF Director General Brian Young opened preliminary discussions with Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Food Minister Lord Jeff Rooker at a recent meeting.

As one of the major energy users, the food industry is coming under increasing pressure to reduce its environmental impact. The BFFF claims that a higher temperature for storage would greatly reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

BFFF President Stephen Waugh has called for radical thinking to effect carbon reductions. "The best example I can give is the absolute necessity to deliver products at -18[degrees]C even though we know that food is safe at -5[degrees]C and that, excepting ice cream, preserving quality is generally achieved around -11[degrees]C," he said.

"How much carbon do we use freezing, storing and delivering product just to avoid ever having a load rejected because of temperature?" Waugh asked. "The prize in reduced carbon usage could be enormous and is well worth pushing for. We need in the short term to ensure we are all working at the right tolerances; in the medium term we need to build solid independent scientific evidence to be able to move regulators' minds, perhaps a degree at a time, and in the longer term change custom and practice and hearts and minds towards slightly warmer temperatures."

The BFFF maintains that although microbial growth stops below -5[degrees]C, it is common for frozen foods to be stored as low as -25[degrees]C.