re-freezing food after power off

Nicki

Our fridge freezer has developed a fault and switched itself off for 36 hours, then back on again. As is always the way it did this when it was chock full of food, and the stench had to be smelled to be believed.

I've emptied the fridge and freezer of all meat and dairy products and given them both a good clean out with soapy water and a Milton solution so all now smells nice.

Am I correct in thinking that I don't have to throw out frozen fruit and veg and bread that has thawed and then re-frozen? I plan to use these up very quickly in any case. I couldn't immediately think of any nasties that these products could harbour. In the fridge, can I hang onto things like Tomato Ketchup and jams which they recommed you keep re-frigerated after opening, provided these smell OK. I'm anxious not to have to throw out more than I have too but on the other hand with children in the house don't want to run any unnecesary risks.

Engineer is coming tomorrow and hopefully will be able to fix it. It has been switching itself off and then back on again for a few months now, which is very frustrating as it is not very old, though outside guarantee unfortunately. Last time we got someone out, he said "well it's working now" which was not terribly helpful when you can't rely on it though!

pawpurrs

The ketcup etc will be fine. I should think all the bread and fruit will be ok too. What a bore!

tru

You're not supposed to refreeze anything but I do :rolleyes: The only thing I throw away is poultry and pork. I wouldn't give re-frozen red meat to young kiddies (delicate tummies) but I'd eat it myself.

I never keep sauces or jams in the fridge so they should be OK.

Troo sits back and waits to be shot :rotfl: :rotfl:

mookybargirl

troo wrote:

. I wouldn't give re-frozen red meat to young kiddies (delicate tummies) but I'd eat it myself.

Troo sits back and waits to be shot :rotfl: :rotfl:

Lost my gun!!! Hey, as long as you're not ill then it's up to you. I'm so fussy though, I'll throw out meat with days and days left if it smells even remotely funny.....

The bread etc will all be fine.

tru

mookybargirl wrote:

Lost my gun!!!

LOL, wanna borrow mine?

:rotfl:

I'd chuck it if it smelt funny, if it smells OK I'll eat it

hobbesy_2

As far as the meat goes, you can cook and then refreeze I think

LittleTinker

It is perfectly ok to refreeze anything......including pork and chicken....so long as the food has not been left out at room temperature.

For example, if you take out a packet of 5 chicken pieces to defrost in the fridge, but you only use 4.....the spare one can be refrozen no problem because it has been in the fridge.

The general guidelines on packaging say "Do Not Refreeze". This is purely a health a safety measure because of people's unsafe defrosting procedures.

Bambywamby

Personally I couldnt eat defrosted & refrozen veg as they get that really bad sulphur smell when cooking (essence of wind). However I would eat refrozen meat - your sense of smell is your best guide there but I wouldn't touch refrozen fish with a barge pole.

Nicki

Thanks - the smell from the fridge and freezer suggested that all the meat was a goner (really didn't fancy trying to cook with it anyway) and most of the stuff in there was casseroles and things which I had previously bulk-cooked. I couldn't remember which had been prepared from frozen meat in the first place so didn't want to run the risks. I'll keep my nose on standby for sulphur smell from veg - I'm fussy about frozen veg anyway so if its at all manky I won't want to eat it.

The approved engineer came this morning and replaced the computer chip inside the fridge so hopefully that will solve the problem (why do you need a computer to run a fridge though, my old one didn't have one and it lasted 10 years with no problem, and was still going strong when we upgraded, while this one though bigger is only a youngster)

CFC

LittleTinker wrote:

It is perfectly ok to refreeze anything......including pork and chicken....so long as the food has not been left out at room temperature.

For example, if you take out a packet of 5 chicken pieces to defrost in the fridge, but you only use 4.....the spare one can be refrozen no problem because it has been in the fridge.

The general guidelines on packaging say "Do Not Refreeze". This is purely a health a safety measure because of people's unsafe defrosting procedures.

This isn't quite true. Once food has defrosted, bacteria begin to grow again, even in the fridge. Safest is always to cook and then refreeze any meat which you have defrosted. If it is still frozen in the middle it is generally ok to refreeze without cooking.

What is true is that you may get away with refreezing raw meat for years without coming a cropper....but food poisoning is extremely nasty and so although the risk may be quite small, the impact of the event is very large - hence safety warnings about not refreezing.

weeg

I'm an idiot, I just got back from a week's holiday to find I switched my freezer off as I left! Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Anyway, I'm wondering what is salvageable, and what you think is too risky and should be thrown out, from the following:

ready made pizza
Homemade ready meals - some veggie, some meat
vegetarian soup
raw meat - steak, pork, chicken
bread
ice cream

My instinct is to bin the chicken and non veggie meals, and any meat that was 'reduced to clear' before I froze it.
Refreeze the bread, pizza, soup ice cream.
Can I refreeze the veggie ready meals?
Cook the other meat and eat/ refreeze.

Sound sane? dance of death?

This is complicated by the fact that I am only home for 1 day, and then off for the weekend, so anything that would be good in the fridge for 'a day or 2' won't get eaten.

Help please! The holiday means I'm low on cash for the rest of the month!