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The frozen food sector is now a major part of the foodsupply in most countries yet less than 125 years ago it did notexist. This paper summarizes the development of this sector,highlighting key technological, product and food sciencedrivenadvances. The existence of frozen foods in prehistorictimes is known but relied on the cold climate and so werelimited in impact. More than 150 years ago, unfrozen refrigeratedpreservation using natural ice was most common. Whilesorbets were documented as early as 3000 BC in China andsalted ice allowed small scale creation of frozen products in the17th century, it was only the development of mechanical refrigerationsystems in the mid 19th century that allowed largescaleproduction and transport of frozen foods. The earlyfrozen food trade was limited to freezing, transport and storagein bulk, and these foods were usually sold unfrozen into traditionalfresh markets. However, the trade contributed toeconomic development of many European colonies, assistedurbanization, improved nutrition via lower cost protein,reduced seasonality of food supply and was an attractive alternativeto drying, salting, smoking and canning. Between theWorld Wars saw the development of frozen consumer productsled by Clarence Birdseye, who identified the benefits of fastfreezing and raised the profile of frozen food with a focus onquality, packaging and convenience. There was commensuratedevelopment of blast freezing technology and retail displays,but the trade was constrained by the lack of freezers in thehome. The expansion of domestic refrigeration after WW2 sawrapid growth and diversification of the frozen food sector andfurther changes from bulk ingredients to complete meals andready-to-eat products by the 1970s as domestic microwaveovens also became more common. During recent years, withthe cold chain becoming ubiquitous in many countries, theincreased sophistication and differentiation of frozen foodproducts with an emphasis on healthy, convenient, added valueproducts that are as close to fresh in quality as possiblehas occurred. The future of the frozen food sector promisesfurther growth and improvement in food quality and environmentalimpact, particularly as the sector integrates digitaltechnologies with traditional systems.