Frozen food could be just as healthy and nutritious as fresh produce, according to a new report.
In some cases fresh food can even have lower nutritional value, the study concluded.
Fresh food can lose nutrients and deteriorate along the supply chain, scientists say, and do not always offer "nutritional superiority".
They say that in some cases fresh food can even have lower nutritional value.
Researchers, from Sheffield Hallam University
They then compared what the nutritional content of "fresh" and frozen food was before, working out what impact using frozen could have.
Now experts say frozen food could be appropriate for school dinners because it creates less waste, is cheaper and more readily available.
Lead researcher Charlotte Harden, of the university's Centre for Food Innovation, said: "We must disregard the mistaken view that 'fresh' food is always better for us than frozen food.
"Frozen food can be nutritionally comparable or in some cases nutritionally superior.
"So we are not surprised by these results, as our findings correlate with many other recently published reports."
Brian Young, director-general of the British Frozen Food Federation, agreed.
"Fast and organised methods of harvest-to-freeze have evolved which minimise loss of nutrients," he said.
"In contrast, 'fresh' food can spend up to a month in the chain of producers, wholesalers and retailers before they reach customers.
"During this time we know that product deterioration takes place - to the extent that they can have lower nutritional value than frozen equivalents."
Beverley Baker, chairman of the Local Authority Caterers Association (LACA), welcomed the report.
"It supports our long held belief that there is no significant difference in nutritional quality between fresh and frozen produce," she said.
"We strongly believe that both have a place in the provision of healthy school meals.
"From a school catering perspective, a combination of both fresh and frozen presents advantages in terms of storage and preparation as well as optimum use of cooking facilities."
By Andrew Hough7:00AM BST 11 Sep 2009
