The Surprising Mistake You Might Be Making with Frozen Vegetables



Frozen vegetables are a convenient way to consume more produce, but a new study suggests that many people are not using them safely.

The research, published in the Journal of Food Protection, analyzed how people in the United States use and prepare frozen vegetables—and food safety experts say the results show people could be putting their health at risk. 

Here’s what the study found, plus why handling frozen vegetables with care is crucial.

For the study, researchers analyzed survey data from more than 3,000 people on their frozen vegetable preparation and consumption from Sept. 1–24, 2022. The researchers discovered that nearly 9% of people said they’ve eaten raw frozen vegetables, with most tossing these in a blender to make a smoothie or juice.

More than 40% of survey respondents also said they didn’t follow package instructions when preparing their frozen vegetables, even though a third of the participants said they knew that frozen vegetables could be contaminated with germs.

“These findings show that some consumers may not be cooking frozen vegetables before eating them [and] consumers might not be reading instructions on packaging,” the researchers concluded. “Both findings highlight the critical importance of preventive controls in the production of frozen vegetables prior to reaching the consumer.”

While frozen vegetables seem innocent, they can carry pathogens that may make people seriously ill. 

“Frozen vegetables are like any other raw produce product—there is always the potential for contamination by an environmental pathogen,” Janet Buffer, MPH, senior institute manager for the Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security at George Washington University, told Health.

In 2016, for example, nine people were hospitalized and three people died in association with an outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes in frozen vegetables produced by CRF Frozen Foods of Pasco, Washington. 

Listeria monocytogenes may cause a bacterial illness called listeriosis, which comes in two forms: intestinal and invasive. Intestinal listeriosis often causes diarrhea and vomiting, while the invasive form can lead to flu-like symptoms, confusion, seizures, and even death. 

In a more recent example, frozen carrots and select frozen vegetable medleys were recalled in December amid concern over possible E. coli O121:H19 exposure. E. coli infections can cause severe stomach cramps, diarrhea, fever, nausea, and vomiting and can lead to life-threatening complications in some people.

Buffer stressed that freezing will not destroy certain germs, including hepatitis A and norovirus, which she said is a common misconception. “Freezing simply limits the growth of bacteria,” she explained. “If the harmful bacteria or viruses have contaminated a food product, then they will be ingested when consumed.”

Some people who eat frozen vegetables raw are at a greater risk of getting sick than others, Ellen Shumaker, PhD, director of outreach for the Safe Plates program at North Carolina State University, told Health.

“In younger, healthy populations, people often don’t experience symptoms from Listeria,” she said. “But Listeria can be very serious for elderly people, pregnant women, and folks who are immunocompromised or have a weakened immune system.”

While freezing vegetables won’t kill potential pathogens, heating them can.

“It is very important to follow the preparation instructions on frozen vegetables,” Wade Syers, DSocSci, a statewide Michigan State University Extension Food Safety Specialist, told Health. “Packaging often contains statements about food safety, stating to cook the vegetables to 165°F. Following these directions lowers the risk of foodborne illness.”

Shumaker said it’s also important for people who eat frozen vegetables to know that these foods can carry pathogens.

Buffer stressed that people should be aware that frozen vegetables are not ready-to-eat foods. “Ready-to-eat means a product is prepared and can be consumed without further preparation,” she said. “Frozen vegetables require additional processing before they can be consumed—they need to be cooked.”



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Tom Borman, Contributing editor

New Zealand’s internet safety agencies came out fighting after getting called out for failing to protect Jacinda Ardern from the dark underbelly of social media.

Back in October 2023, Paul Hunt, the now dearly departed (from the Human Rights Commission) and politically correct Chief Human Rights Commissioner, decided to ruffle some feathers by firing off a letter to NZ Tech’s, Graeme Muller, essentially accusing X and Meta of leaving Jacinda Ardern out to dry in a sea of online hatred and violence.

The Human Rights Commission went full throttle, declaring New Zealand’s shiny new online safety code about as useful as a chocolate teapot.

According to an RNZ report from Guyon Espiner, NZ Tech lawyered up and came out swinging, accusing Hunt’s advisors of bias and threatening to sic the Auditor General and Public Service Commission on them.

The Hunt Letter

Paul Hunt

Hunt’s letter, which RNZ obtained via an Official Information request, painted a grim picture. Over 48 hours in September 2023, some X user with a following bigger than most small towns went on a rampage against Ardern.

Hunt said that over 48 hours in September 2023, an X user with more than 400,000 followers made a series of vile and abusive posts harassing Ardern.

“His targeted harassment is gendered, includes explicit and implicit references to sexual assault and rape and, as a harassment campaign led by a high-profile influencer, meets the description of technology-facilitated gender-based violence,” Hunt said in the letter.

“The replies and re-posts are typified by violence, misogyny, and hate.”

Hunt, a former human rights and civil liberties lawyer from London and former Waikato University lecturer, was famously identified for labelling colonisation as “the major issue of our time”.

His letter to the technies referenced a cesspool of abuse regarding Ardern. “Dog, pest, pig… rodent, vile, bitch and witch.” (That’s just the PG version.)

Death threats were tossed around freely as well.

Hunt claimed X and Meta were dragging their feet, violating not just human rights but also their own online safety code.

The Code of Practice for Online Safety and Harms was launched in 2022 by Netsafe and NZTech and signed by tech firms Meta, Google, TikTok, Twitch and X.

Anna Adams Lawfuel

In response the two agencies hired barrister Anna Adams of Bankside Chambers, (pictured), former Chair of Meredith Connell and former prosecutor and regulatory and administrative law expert, who wrote a robustly worded letter to Hunt.

“The commission’s actions in sending the letters appears unreasonable, unlawful, and outside its statutory functions as a Crown entity,” she wrote.

She said the HRC “appears to have allowed itself to be captured by a group of outsiders – the IAG – with an agenda to fix the Code”.

The IAG is the  Independent Accountability Group set up by the HRC to review the code of practice for online safety, and was signed by Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Google (YouTube), Tik Tok, Twitch, and Twitter in 2022.

The ACT Party in particular has attacked the HRC saying it is a “hard-left organisation masquerading as a government department”.




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