Fruit/veg staying soft in freezer - a problem?

bitsandpieces

I've got some frozen cherries (bought frozen) in my freezer, and some mashed veg I put in yesterday. When I took out the cherries today, they were pretty soft (rather than frozen solid) and the mash hasn't frozen solid yet. I've checked with a fridge/freezer thermometer and the temperature is about -5C, though.

Any idea what's going on here? Is this something to worry about?

jackieblack

Not sure, but my freezer is -18C
So -5 may not be cold enough ?

arbrighton

No way cold enough in your freezer. Standard freezer temp is -18 as Jackie says

bitsandpieces

Thanks. Annoying time of year for the freezer to go on the blink!

Is this a problem for safety, or just likely to mean food quality deteriorates faster?

arbrighton

it's not going to be properly frozen, so it's more of an extra cold fridge than a freezer. Depends what you have in there?

bitsandpieces

Yeah - not so worried about fruit/veg/bread in there. I may pass on the (thankfully not much) meat in there, though...