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

birkee

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

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.

Too many variables.
Food in the freezer is dependant on mass for it's thawing time.
i.e. An iceberg won't melt overnight, but a packet of beefburgers will thaw.
100 packets of beefburgers thawing time?
At what point will the contents of a freezer rise above freezing point?
Beefburgers might not thaw, but what about low density stuff like frozen vegetables? Which cools down fastest? A 4" block of iron, or a 4" doughnut? (Heating reflects reverse characteristics of cooling.)

You could end up with a mix of thawed and not thawed items.

BitterAndTwisted

Which is why I said "surprised" not "incredulous" or "refused to accept". Even though the power may have been off I would expect a freezer to be pretty well-insulated which is why the outside is never cold to the touch. Still, with meat one wouldn't want to take any chances whatsoever

mrsJef

Well i go to work and look what happens!! Thanks everyone for contributing, let clear a couple of things up. As I am nearing the end of my food month i only had a few things left in there which is prob it defrosted quite quickly, also the things i am slightly sceptical about cooking & refreezing i have already ear-marked for teat tonight/tomorrow, these were fish in batter & pork steaks. I then have chicken pieces, sausages, sausage meat, bacon & burgers which i need by tonight to decide what to do with. The sausages/sausage meat/bacon I am quite happy to cook off & re-freeze as i have done this before then will use in pasta bakes/carbonara/saus casserole at a later date. The chicken I'm guessing i can cook nd freeze then use for curry? I love the idea of making the burgers into meatballs so will do that then cook off & freeze. Then i can use the fish tonight, pork steaks tomorrow & then begin using up the re-frozen stuff before the big shop at the weekend. In anser to one of the 1st replies i have to say my question is asked for reasons of both MSE and not wasting, I have saved so much money and learnt so much about cooking better meals for my family that it horrified me thinking i might have to throw something away! Thanks again, all tips appreciated, may the cook off begin!

mcjordi

ive refroze defrosted sausages/burgers etc before and nothing has happened to me..

refreeze them i highly doubt you will be bad with them.. or invite friends round for tea if you really want to use them up

fish i would be wary of refreezing..

birkee

mcjordi wrote: »

ive refroze defrosted sausages/burgers etc before and nothing has happened to me..

refreeze them i highly doubt you will be bad with them.. or invite friends round for tea if you really want to use them up

fish i would be wary of refreezing..

And I've crossed the road thousands of times, and never been hit by a car. YET!

rosieben

Interesting thread here

some of the links = see post #1 and post #14 - are very enlightening!

zippychick

ive merged this with a very similar thread so you can see what others have done.

That thread RB linked to is great too

Zip

weenireeni

help! gone to put dinner on and opened freezer to find everything defrosted and covered in 'snow'. worked out its been left open for nearly 48 hours is everything/anything safe to eat? we have things like pizzas, mince, fish fingers etc. hubby says yes, but i'm pregnant so am very wary of eating anything with meat on it!

MaggieBaking

I would guess that what can be cooked from thawed might still be edible if it feels cold.

If it's supposed to be cooked from frozen, or even a little warm then I would bin it all.

But wait for someone else's advice please!!

moo842

Hi there
i woke up at 2.30 this morning to my fridge freezer beeping, the door was ajar, and had probably been open since about 6pm. I have just got home from holiday, so at 2.30 i just shut the door and went to bed, now this morning i don't know whats safe and whats not!
Can anyone advise?