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Can I refreeze frozen food?

Refreezing thawed frozen foods is not advised from either a safety or quality point of view. The main reason is to avoid the risk of improper defrosting methods. Freezing foods stops any bacteria found naturally in foods to grow, until the food is defrosted. Once frozen food is thawed, the bacteria become active again. We recommend that thawed foods should be cooked as soon as possible. Click here for info on how to defrost frozen food safely.

However frozen ingredients can be cooked and then frozen again. Once you have cooked food, you should wait until it has completely cooled to room temperature before placing it in a Tupperware container and then storing it in the freezer. The food will now be stored safely until you decide to warm in up and eat it!

Click here to see more about storing and cooking your frozen food.

 

How long can I leave food in the freezer?

Always refer to the on-pack 'best before' date. The manufacturer's 'best before' date on frozen foods is a quality indicator and is the date until which the product will remain in peak quality (when stored at -18°C or below).

After the 'best before' date a reduction in eating quality may become evident, whilst the product remains safe to eat.

Try to rotate foods; putting newly purchased items at the back of the freezer so older items are used first.
Below is a helpful list of common frozen products and how long you can store them at home.

For a handy list of common frozen foods and how long they can be stored visit our pages on Storing, defrosting and cooking frozen foods safely.

 

What temperature should my freezer be?

Most home freezers should operate at temperatures -18°C or lower. Rule of thumb, if your freezer can't keep ice cream solid, its temperature is above the recommended level.

 

What is the best way of defrosting frozen food?

  • The purpose of thawing frozen foods thoroughly before cooking is to ensure that during cooking the food is heated sufficiently to kill harmful bacteria.
  • There are three safe ways to defrost food:3
  1. In the refrigerator
  2. In cold water
  3. In the microwave*

*Most importantly, follow instructions from manufacturer

  • It's best to plan ahead for slow, safe thawing in the refrigerator. The bottom of the fridge is ideal.
  • For faster defrosting, place food in a leak proof plastic bag and immerse it in cold water. Change water every 30 minutes. After thawing, cook immediately.4
  • For defrostingready meals always follow the instructions.

Click to see our guide on how to store, defrost and cook frozen foods.

How often should I defrost my freezer?

A good way to know that it is time to defrost is when you see around 1/2 inch thickness of ice around the inside of the freezer. Another way is to look out for ice crystals forming on frozen food packages and frozen ready meals. Luckily most freezers today are made to be frost-free and require little or no defrosting. However if you have an older model and you want to keep it running efficiently, use these steps to do so. Taking the time to defrost periodically will save you the headache of having a huge mess later down the road. How to defrost your freezer:

  • Wrap frozen items and frozen ready meals in newspaper and place in a box in a cold area
  • Unplug your freezer and wedge the door open
  • Remove freezer drawers
  • Place towels or any type of absorbent material at the bottom and in front of the freezer to mop up the water as the ice thaws
  • Do not use any sharp implements to remove the ice build up from the freezer, as this will damage the appliance
  • Once all the ice has thawed, clean the freezer and drawers with warm water
  • Wipe the freezer dry and replace the drawers
  • Plug the freezer back into the mains, making sure that the thermostat is set at the correct level
  • Re-pack the freezer

Click to see our section on defrosting your freezer.
Click to see where your frozen food comes from.
Click to discover frozen ready meals.

How many frozen peas does it take to change a light bulb?

Well, on average, a person burns 526 Calories per hour when climbing a ladder. It takes approximately one minute to change a light bulb, which means that you are likely to burn 8.7 Calories doing this activity. As the average pea has 0.286 Calories, theNewIceAge team estimates that it will take 30 frozen peas to change a light bulb. I hope this helps.


Click to see how many more nutients are retained in frozen vegetables when compared with fresh vegetables.

Click to see where your frozen food comes from.

Click to see our Field Operative go behind the scenes of frozen food.