Why IQF?
IQF provides consistent farm fresh flavor year-round with 100% yield.
What is IQF?
IQF stands for “individually quick-frozen,” a technology developed in the early 20th century that flash-freezes separate food particles using sub-zero circulating air. This process largely preserves color, texture, nutrients and flavor—resulting in frozen, free-flowing ingredients that are easy to handle with extended shelf life. IQF products are widely used across retail, foodservice and food manufacturing industries.
As a pioneer of IQF, SupHerb Farms has been individually quick-freezing IQF herbs, IQF specialty vegetables and herb-vegetable blends since 1992. We have perfected a technique of IQF freezing that delivers exceptional quality, free-flowing product, farm fresh flavor, vibrant color and outstanding texture.
How the IQF Freezing Process Works – Herbs and Vegetables
- Fresh herbs and vegetables are harvested at peak ripeness.
- Produce is cleaned and prepared for processing.
- Ingredient pieces are ejected onto a belt inside a sub-zero freezing tunnel.
- Individual herb and vegetable pieces rapidly pass through extremely cold, circulating air.
- Ingredient pieces freeze individually, with minimal clumping.
- Product is packaged and stored as free-flowing, ready-to-use IQF ingredients.
Benefits of IQF Herbs and Vegetables
- Preserves fresh color and flavor year-round
- Eliminates time-consuming prep time—no washing, chopping or trimming
- Ensures foodservice recipe and manufacturer formula consistency
- Delivers 100% yield with zero waste
- Extends shelf-life to 2-4 years vs. the 3-10 day shelf-life of fresh
- Maintains vitamins, minerals and antioxidants
Save time, money and labor while enhancing your products and dishes with farm fresh flavor.
Individual Quick-Frozen (IQF) ingredients are achieved by harvesting fresh herbs or vegetables at peak ripeness, then rapidly passing through sub-zero air. This flash-freezing process gently preserves volatile flavor oils and results in free-flowing, easy-to-handle product with extended shelf-life.
Farm Fresh Flavor Year-Round
IQF has become the industry standard, which has changed consumers’ perception of frozen food. It is now valued for what it is – farm fresh flavor year-round.
The IQF process freezes our herbs and vegetables without creating large ice crystals that can rupture cell walls and damage the authentic structure. This maintains the product’s integrity, preserving the natural taste as well as the nutritional content, including all the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
The result is an all-natural product featuring 100% yield and no waste with year-round availability. IQF Culinary Herbs and Specialty Vegetables are ready-to-serve and offer consistent farm fresh flavor with no preparation time.
| Factor | Fresh Herbs and Vegetables | Dry Herbs and Vegetables |
IQF (SupHerb Farms) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shelf Life | Chopped: Use within Hours Whole: Several Days | Up to 2 years | 2-4 Years |
| Flavor | Extremely high in flavor (when fresh) | Very little flavor | High in flavor (volatile oils locked in with IQF process) |
| Yield | 25-50% trim loss | 100% usable yield | 100% usable yield |
| Color Vibrancy | Extremely high in color | Very little color | High in color (locked in with IQF process) |
| Food Safety | Fresh produce can introduce micro risks | Low-Micro | SQF facility, GFSI Certified |
| Labor Impact | Extremely High (wash, trim, chop) | None | None (ready to use) |
| Back-of-House Safety | Dangerous (high workman comp claims) | Back-of-House Safe | Back-of-House Safe (removes knives from unskilled workers’ hands) |
| Consistency | High Variability (by season and supplier) | Consistent | Consistent (rigorous QA protocols to ensure lot consistency) |
| Availability | Volatile (changes monthly) | Year-round | Year-round |
| Handling | Requires Skill (time-consuming manual portioning required) | Very Easy | Easy (free-flowing; requires proper frozen handling) |
| Nutritional | Degrades immediately | Significant loss in | Largely preserved |
| Value | after harvest | drying process | With IQF process |
FAQs
What does IQF stand for?
IQF stands for Individually Quick-Frozen. This method flash-freezes individual pieces of herbs and vegetables separately, preventing large ice crystals, preserving quality, and ensuring a free-flowing product rather than a solid block.
Is IQF the same as flash freezing?
IQF is a type of flash freezing. While flash freezing refers broadly to any rapid freezing method at sub-zero temperatures, IQF is a specific method that freezes each piece individually (using circulating air), so the resulting product remains free-flowing after packaging rather than clumping together.
Are IQF herbs as good as fresh?
SupHerb Farms’ IQF herbs are as close to fresh as possible—delivering authentic flavor without the challenges of fresh supply. Harvested at peak ripeness and frozen within hours, our process locks in volatile oils, vibrant color, and nutrition for consistent, farm fresh flavor year-round. Unlike fresh herbs, IQF offers convenience, 100% yield, and reliable performance with no prep, no waste, and year-round availability.
