Frozen French fries are officially labelled as fresh vegetables in the USA by Dept of Agriculture

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 17 Jun 2004 - 2:00 PDT

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Batter-coated, frozen French fries are classed as 'fresh vegetables' by the US Department of Agriculture. People are only beginning to realise this as a result of a course case in Texas, USA. If one looks at the semantics here, frozen French fries, coated in batter have, according to US officials, the same status as fresh broccoli and fresh cabbages.

During the court case, a Chicago lawyer was shot down by the judge because the Dept of Agriculture has the last word on such matters, and they have classed frozen French fries (coated in batter) as fresh veggies.

Vegetables in the USA can only fall into two categories - fresh or processed. These frozen French fries are fresh, according to authorities, because they are not transformed in the sense of being cooked.

The French fries lobby in the USA has been pushing hard for about half a century for revisions to the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act.

Comment by the Editor of Medical News Today

I went out and asked 30 housewives at our local supermarket whether they thought frozen French fries coated in batter could be classed as fresh vegetables. Not one classed them as fresh vegetables. In fact, most of them laughed at the question. 18 classed them as junk food because of the coating.