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

MammaCas

I have just found out my DD must have switched my freezer off yesterday, after I filled it with my monthly shop :eek:

Some of the stuff has 'gone soft', but my theory is that it won't have frozen properly yesterday (it is the fresh meat)...so if I put the freezer back on, will it be ok? Or will it be twice frozen? The stuff that was already in there is still frozen solid.....

the thought of throwing away £50 worth of food is making me ill but I don't want food poisoning either....

Thanks in advance

MC x

angchris

i would of thought it would be perfectly ok. if you put raw meat in the freezer yest then it was as good as "just refridgerated" so you really are only now freezing it the first time since you turned it back on.
im not advising this to anyone but i`ve frozen meat twice before and lived to tell the tale. i personally think the dont refreeze meat rule is to save us all from food poisoning etc from some shop keepers that have very dodgy practices at the best of times :rolleyes: but as you know where and how your food has been stored its your decision...but i would keep it as i couldnt afford not to!

uhuru_2

I've just discovered I did the same thing only I can't blame my daughter, I switched off the wrong socket! Mine was off for about 24 hours and I have just switched it back on. I'm sure your food will be fine.

MammaCas

Oh Thanks for the replies, I think it should be ok too but will probably treat it with suspicion when defrosting it!

MC X

stef240377

Usually once a freezer is running (providing it is not an ancient one) the freeze lasts for around 16hrs after this time foods willl start to defrost so you are only looking at a period of 8 hours which if filled to compacity should help keep the foods frozen longer.

Skint_Catt

Hi,

Woke up at 4.30 this morning to find our power out (not unusual in our area even though we're urban). Didn't think to much about it but when I woke up again at 6.20 it was still out. OH went to check whether it was the area or just us and it turned out its just us.

Anyway to cut a long story short, the power could have died anytime between midnight and 4.30am. We've found its one of our freezers (two larder freezers in the garage) tripping the whole house. Been out since 9am (had tripped again byt his time) and won't get back until 5pm. Seriously worried about the food now. How long will it last if we can't get the power on?????

derrick

Should last at least 24 hours without opening, before starting to defrost, but obviously you need to get it sorted, can you not move stuff from faulty freezer to other freezer, neighbours, friends etc?

Skint_Catt

When I get home at 5pm I will be trying to determine which one is faulty (I tried earlier by switching one off but the trip wouldn't stay on, so I switched it and it stayed on while I was there but I don't know if its still on or not - that was 10am) and will take as much as I can to my Mums (10 miles away :eek:) after work.

Just wondered as at least one has potentially been off for 17 hours (by the time I get home)

Farway

One tip is cook any meat fish etc and then at least it will last a bit longer and can be refrozen once cooked

Skint_Catt

I wouldn't be able to cook it all quick enough, thats the trouble, I'd be up all night - there's a lot of both - including joints/whole chickens for Sunday roasts which I couldn't refreeze. I just hope its the older of the two thats not working (the drawers in the new one are bigger) so I'll cram the working one full then take the rest to Mums. Thanks. Still worried, but slightly less so!

Typical isn't it. We have gas heating and cooking so could live without electricity in the house but its the garage thats tripping it even if its the only fuse on :mad: