Freezing food

corblimey

Can anyone here give me a definitive answer on something that's been bugging me. I often do big shops, or more freqeuently buy something then buy it again a couple days later. Then every few weeks I clear out my freezer, eating everything in it, and start all over again.

This state of affairs means that I'm sometimes taking out food that is, for example, 4 weeks out of date. It was frozen on the day of purchase which was about 1 week before the it went out date.

So if I just defrost it, and eat it today, would it be okay? Does it make any diff if the food item in question was fresh or frozen in the first place? I would consider if the food was frozen, I should eat it by the best before date no matter what. But if the food was fresh, I should defrost and eat immediately, but it will keep in a freezer according to the recommendations of the guys who actually made the freezer, rather than the food makers?

Is there any official guidelines? I'd like to avoid food poisoning.

Gordon

I usually eat within a day of defrosting.

However read this link

BC

It usually says it on the packet as it depends on the product, some foods can only be frozen for 1 month, others for up to 12 months. You should freeze the food on the day of purchase.

If you have a freezing compartment in a fridge as opposed to a seperate freezer section then the food should only be frozen for up to two weeks.

I'm sure theres more info on www.safefoodonline.com

rubadub

Watch out for fresh food with "not suitable for freezing" labels, this has previously been frozen, and you should not refreeze thawed food. I used to get "fresh" chicken fillets in the butchers, but the tray they were laid out on was so cold that fillets at the bottom were a bit frozen, -not good.

guest31

Hi, local butcher told me not to freeze minced meat, but to buy it on day to be cooked. Had an experience where I had frozen mince meat, defrosted it in the fridge and it smelled and looked totally rank (y'kno that horrible fizzy smell) .. brought it back to where I had bought it, the butcher there told me it was fine but I wasn't cooking with it, so he refunded me. Went elsewhere to buy fresh mince meat - apparently when we defrost minced meat, it sweats, and picks up bacteria in the process - if you are freezing it, do so in tinfoil, not in plastic bag it was bought in and do not thaw outside the fridge. Personally I will never freeze minced meat after that again.

*Page*

You should cook mince from frozen! Most meat let it thaw out a little but cook it straight away.

Most frozen food is ok past its sell by date, but be careful some products may not be suitable for freezing!


The way my mam taught me (restaurant manager for 16 years and chief for 25) was freeze cooked food. Buy your food make the meals and then freeze them! That way they are easy to heat u and they don’t spoil that way!

nlgbbbblth

corblimey wrote:

Can anyone here give me a definitive answer on something that's been bugging me. I often do big shops, or more freqeuently buy something then buy it again a couple days later. Then every few weeks I clear out my freezer, eating everything in it, and start all over again.

This state of affairs means that I'm sometimes taking out food that is, for example, 4 weeks out of date. It was frozen on the day of purchase which was about 1 week before the it went out date.

So if I just defrost it, and eat it today, would it be okay? Does it make any diff if the food item in question was fresh or frozen in the first place? I would consider if the food was frozen, I should eat it by the best before date no matter what. But if the food was fresh, I should defrost and eat immediately, but it will keep in a freezer according to the recommendations of the guys who actually made the freezer, rather than the food makers?

Is there any official guidelines? I'd like to avoid food poisoning.

once it says 'suitable for home freezing' it's ok

don't worry about the best before dates - once it was frozen on date of purchase (which presumably was before the best before date) it makes no odds.

obviously frozen food should not be left in the freezer for ever - try to use within a month or two / depending on what the label recommends.