Frozen food safety- misconceptions

meg72

lollipopsarah wrote: »

Haha I found a duck in my freezer a while ago, well out of date, but I thawed it slowly and it cooked up lovely.
Bit wary of fish though - dunno why.
I echo the above, thaw it/sniff it.
Then if in doubt - chuck it out.
xx

Wish I had found a duck in mine, just lots of unidentified packets, really must label but never do. Good job I like a suprise now and then.

meritaten

the reason I often find single portions of meat such as chops, steaks, chicken breasts etc - is that there are only two of us and I cannot NOT take advantage of large pack offers! if two chicken breasts cost £3.00 and there is an offer on of 5 chicken breasts for £6.00 then I am going to buy that one! and stash the 'odd' one in the freezer! it eventually gets used!!!!!

eleanor73

My Dad was a brilliant shopper when we were skint and he used to buy whole animals off various shady types and I swear he still has some of those bits of meat in the freezer now!!! He also used to find the best yellow labels at Waitrose-I remember him bringing home a duck for 14p. Anyway he fed me some lamb the other day that I know had been in the freezer for 3 years. It was fine (actually very tasty) and no one was ill.

meg72

I think the best advice I was ever given was If its not off when in goes in the freezer it will not be off when it comes out. The quality may not be as good, i.e. bit dry or freezer burn but it will not be off.

eilidh_s

If you find something in the back of the freezer (like I did yesterday, goats cheese and pepper pasta sauce whoopsied a couple of years ago, whoopsie myself) then take it out, defrost it, and if smells bad or looks off, don't eat it.

My brother put a finger in the sauce and said it felt weird (?) but once it was heated properly it turned out OK and so far none of us has died. Just have a quick, easy alternative. In fact, if make the boring, quick, easy alternative readily known, then when they get the real food they will appreciate it all the more!

DundeeDoll

We call them UFOs unidentified frying objects :rotfl:
Agree with Meg72 it's the quality that deteriorates so i now have a better rotation system going. When buying multiple packs of meat i flat freeze them then bag so i can remove them individually.

lil_mama

Hi everyone,

I was hoping someone could help me, I have a pack of diced lamb in the freezer, I bought it for about 10p last Christmas eve from te$co it was reduced as use by date was that same day, thing is I haven't used it, stuck it straight in freezer same day and there it has stayed.
I also have two lamb shanks that have been in my freezer for 1-2 years, I took them out of the box to save room (they are still in their plastic packaging though) but without instructions wasn't sure how to cook them that's why I haven't used them.

my question is how long can you keep food in the freezer for? will these shanks and diced lamb be ok to eat still? sorry if this is a stupid question but I just really don't know how long you can keep frozen food for past its used by date.

thanks

Chris25

I think it's about 10-12 months for lamb shanks and I think less for diced meat.

If you took out the shanks today, you can still cook them but the texture won't be as good after all this time. There's a recipe here http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/slow_cooker_braised_lamb_01950 & probably more on recipe index here http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=8736367#post8736367 you'll need to scroll down to meat or lamb, I think.

You could print off a freezer guide (must be loads online) & tape to the side of your freezer. Something like this http://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/freezer-storage-times.html

Incidentally, you can cook previously frozen uncooked meat & then re-freeze - but in these cases, i wouldn't advise it



***ah, just re=read your post - you took shanks out of box, not freezer - and I also see in the freezer storage guide I've linked, it says 9 months for lamb!***

krlyr

To be honest, I'd use them. The meat will be fine, you may experience some loss of texture and flavour from being frozen so long. Maybe pick a recipe to reflect this - something that will add flavour and help add some moisture to the meat, e.g. a casserole type dish, or something slowcooked.

anotheruser

Frozen things ensures an almost unlimited life.
However the longer it stays frozen, the more it will degrade and thus may not taste quite right.