new series

A new series captures what life is like at frozen food retailer Iceland, but are some of us a little bit snooty in our attitude to frozen food?

Google it and you'll see there have been dozens of attempts to establish whether fresh or frozen vegetables are better for you.

Many cite a US Food and Drug Administration report from 1998 that established frozen was better than fresh. Advocates of frozen say the process prevents nutrient loss occurring in transport. Even those who plump for fresh admit that frozen vegetables are still a healthy option.

And yet there's a marked degree of antipathy towards frozen food.

"Iceland is a classic British institution that half the country loves and half the country hates. Half of the population absolutely hate it without ever having, in most cases, been in a shop or bought a product," says Keith Hann, PR consultant for Iceland Foods. "In a word, snobbery."

For some, frozen food conjures up images of Mike Leigh's 1977 drama Abigail's Party, with kitsch dishes such as defrosted prawn cocktail, vol-au-vents and black forest gateau, not forgetting the staple of any 70s dinner party - the Arctic roll.
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Iceland Foods: Life in the Freezer Cabinet was first broadcast on Monday 21 October at 21:00 BST on BBC Two
Catch up later on BBC iPlayer

Brian Young, director general of the British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF), says he senses a chill in the air when it comes to the British public's opinion of