Freezer been switched off / door left open - will food be ok?

Barneysmom

It's very risky to cook and refreeze pork products that have been frozen already, I don't know why you're more concerned about the beefburgers?
Put the burgers in the fridge and cook them in gravy tomorrow night, they're lovely with a pile of mash and veg

Bitsy_Beans

Barneysmom wrote: »

It's very risky to cook and refreeze pork products that have been frozen already, I don't know why you're more concerned about the beefburgers?
Put the burgers in the fridge and cook them in gravy tomorrow night, they're lovely with a pile of mash and veg

How come?

I only ask because I've cooked sausages and ham joints that have been previously frozen and then frozen the cooked meat.
Not tried it with bacon though.......

Barneysmom

Food poisoning, it's not worth the risk

http://www.ehow.com/facts_5545272_side-thawed-then-refrozen-food.html

Bitsy_Beans

Barneysmom wrote: »

Food poisoning, it's not worth the risk

http://www.ehow.com/facts_5545272_side-thawed-then-refrozen-food.html

Sorry not splitting hairs (honest ) but that article doesn't mention anything about pork in particular so why is that a greater risk than beef?

What I don't understand if it's so bad to freeze cooked meat how come it's OK for ready meals to be cooked and then frozen???

Barneysmom

With the ready meals the meat won't have been frozen beforehand, it'll be fresh meat.

pork and polutry carry more bacteria than meef and lamb, so you have to be careful with it.

JillS_2

You might find that the loss is covered by your household contents insurance. Worth checking.

rosalie-lavender

I have been in the same position as the OP and cooked and refrozen the meat as long as it was raw not already cooked. I have had food poisoning and am extremely careful but I don't see a problem with what she plans to do as long as the food is thoroughly cooked and cooled quickly and it is raw not already cooked. The freezer has only been off overnight not for days. Presumably the door was shut.

I can't find any mention in the article about not cooking and then refreezing meat in fact on this page it mentions refreezing raw meat which is something I wouldn't do.
http://www.ehow.com/way_5295215_safe-refreeze-food.html

I think for the burgers I would be inclined to do as someone suggested and cook them and eat with gravy.

rosieben

There is absolutely no reason why thawed uncooked meat cannot be cooked and refrozen. You cannot refreeze raw meat as Bitsy says, but 'freeze raw, thaw, freeze cooked' is fine and most of us os'ers have been doing this for years with no problems whatsoever

What is important is that meat is fresh when its frozen, thawed properly, cooled and frozen quickly after cooking

some of the research in the article mentioned in post #7 above is a little suspect, according to one of their sources you shouldn't freeze meat at all, which is extreme to say the least.

Apollonia

So the power was off for what? 12 hours?

If the door wasn't opened and the freezer is quite full then the food inside will be fine.

Well, it would have been fine but my reply is probably too late! You will have opened the door and started cooking things by now. Never mind, if it happens again you will know what to do.

http://www.helpwithcooking.com/food-storage/freezer-maintenance.html

In the event of a power cut or if the freezer stops working for some reason the contents of your freezer should keep cold for around 24 hours and still be safe to eat.

The contents of a full freezer will stay colder for longer, up to 48 hours, as long as the freezer door is kept closed at all times, so that no warm air is able to enter.

A half full freezer will keep the contents safe for half the time (24 hours) under the same conditions.

When the power comes back on, you must check the condition of the food packages. If there are ice crystals still present or if an item is partly thawed, then they will still be safe to eat and refreeze.

If food has completely thawed, on the other hand, do not refreeze these items and try to consume them within 3 days. Discard any ice cream that has melted immediately.

If you have advance warning of a power cut there are certain things that you can do to ensure that yourfood stays as cold as possible and can be safely consumed once the power has returned.

Switch the fast freeze button on beforehand, so that the freezer temperature is as cold as possible before the power cut takes place.

Move items such as bread, cakes and ice cream to the coldest part of the freezer (bottom), whilst denser items such as joints of meat, should be moved to the top. Fill any gaps with scrunched up newspaper in order to reduce air circulation.

When the power returns, do not open the freezer door or lid for at least several hours afterwards and until the temperature has dropped down to its regular temperature setting.

BitterAndTwisted

Actually, I'm surprised that a freezer switched off overnight with the door firmly shut would cause everything to become defrosted in the first place. In any case, I'm certain that those defrosted burgers will keep for several days in the fridge. If in doubt, heat them until they're thoroughly cooked all the way through and re-freeze them. I can't see any problem with doing either.