Freezer Queen

Freezer Queen was for decades a U.S. frozen food packaging company.[1] It was a pioneer of the TV dinner industry beginning in 1958. For many years it was an important employer in Buffalo, New York. It was founded by Buffalo businessman Paul Snyder and at one point had more than a thousand employees. In 2004 its Buffalo plant failed a government safety inspection and thereafter was closed by Home Market Foods, by then its corporate parent.[2] The company was previously owned by United Foods.[3]

The plant's closure left many employees out of work.[4] The USDA inspection found such violations as live cockroaches in the gravy tank on multiple occasions. In response, Freezer Queen first requested a new USDA inspector, then suggested that parts of the facility were debris-strewn and not normally cleaned, and finally elected to shut down the facility rather than fix the unsafe and unsanitary conditions.[5]

Thereafter, in its final years, Freezer Queen was merely a brand entity for the line of frozen dinners and entrees it had previously produced. Among those Freezer Queen-branded products were "Gravy with Salisbury Steaks," and "Broccoli with Cheese Sauce." Home Market Foods then transitioned the brand to "Family Buffet," ending Freezer Queen's history.

References

  1. ↑ "About us". Freezer Queen (Wayback Machine). 2008. Retrieved 2012-02-04.
  2. ↑ "Dinner maker Freezer Queen's day is done as corporate parent shuts down factory.". Quick Frozen Foods International. EW Williams Publications. 2006-07-01. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  3. ↑ "United Foods received an offer for Freezer Queen.". Los Angeles Times. 1985-10-22. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  4. ↑ Galante, Joseph (2006-07-10). "Freezer Queen's demise puts 175 workers out in the cold.". The Buffalo News. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  5. ↑ "Higgins Calls for Buffalo Building Inspectors to Fully Investigate Freezer Queen Facility at Outer Harbor". Congressman Brian Higgins. 2006-08-14. Retrieved 2012-01-04.

External links