WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 9: FROZEN FOOD

Profile America — Sunday, December 9th.  One of the universal conveniences of modern life was developed by a man who was born on this date in 1886.  Clarence Birdseye was on a scientific expedition to Labrador in the early part of the 20th century when he noticed that freshly caught fish froze solid almost immediately when exposed to ice, wind and low temperature.  But when thawed and eaten, the fish still tasted fresh.  Birdseye went on to develop a system of flash-freezing meat, fish, and vegetables under high pressure.  The first retail frozen food went on sale in 1930, and by 1944, refrigerated railroad boxcars allowed frozen foods to be distributed across the nation.  Today, frozen food is a $25 billion a year industry in the U.S.  Profile America is in its 16th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sources:  Chase's Calendar of Events 2012, p. 583
2007 Economic Census, NAICS 31141

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button). 

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau