Freezing Entrepreneur

Clarence Birdseye (1886-1956) is known for much more than frozen peas. He was an American inventor, entrepreneur, and naturalist, considered the founder of the modern frozen food industry. 

In 1922, Birdseye conducted fish-freezing experiments and eventually established his own company, Birdseye Seafoods Inc. His experiments found that rapid freezing, at lower temperatures, gives crystals less time to form and thus does less damage than being frozen slowly. His company went bankrupt in 1924 for lack of consumer interest. That same year, he developed an entirely new process for commercially viable quick-freezing: packing fish in cartons, then freezing the contents between two refrigerated surfaces under pressure. Birdseye created General Seafood Corporation to promote this method. By 1929, Birdseye sold his company and patents for $22 million to Goldman Sachs and the Postum Company, which eventually became General Foods Corporation which founded the Birds Eye Frozen Food Company. The "Birds Eye" name remains a leading frozen-food brand. In 1949, Birdseye won the Institute of Food Technologists' Babcock-Hart Award.

Learn more about this inventor here.

Frozen Foods And Mountain Fever

 

Clarence Frank Birdseye II conducted experiments and received patents for the development of greatly improved methods to freeze fish for commercial production. In 1922, he formed a company, Birdseye Seafood, Inc. In 1924, he developed an entirely new process for commercially viable quick-freezing: packing fish in cartons, then freezing the contents between two refrigerated surfaces under pressure. Birdseye created a new company, General Seafood Corporation, to promote this method. Birdseye sold his company in 1929 and his patents for $22 million to Goldman Sachs and the Postum Company, becoming General Foods Corporation, which founded the Birds Eye Frozen Food Company. Today, Birds Eye is an American international brand of frozen foods owned by Conagra Brands in the United States, by Nomad Foods in Europe, and Simplot Australia in Australia.

Clarence Birdseye (1886-1956) was an American inventor, entrepreneur, and naturalist considered the founder of the modern frozen food industry. One of nine children, Birdseye grew up in Brooklyn before heading to Amherst College and began his scientific career with the U.S. government. By the end of his life, Birdseye had patented more than 300 inventions, many of them food-related but he is also is credited with the discovery of how Rocky Mountain Fever is transmitted.