My freezer was switched off for 33 hours by the cleaners - is it ok to refreeze the food?

Sorry to hear of your troubles! Depending on how full of frozen food the freezer is, produce can remain frozen for 24 hours or more. The more full with frozen food the freezer, the longer the contents will remain frozen. As soon after this has happened as possible, remove the food from the freezer and check their temperature close to the surface of each item. If it is warmer than the temperature of a refrigerator (-4°C) discard the products now. If foods have thawed but are still colder than 4°C store them at the bottom of a refrigerator and use within 24 hours. Click here for more info on what to do if your freezer fails. Click here for information on how to look after your freezer and safely store your frozen foods. 

Some frozen foods will survive the temperature fluctuation better than others.The frozen meals and frozen ready meals that you buy in the shops are better prepared tolast longer in your freezer and they aremore robust due to their packaging which is air tight and water tight. The packaging keeps the moisture of the frozen food inside the pack and it keeps the air outside of the package. Frozen meals and frozen ready meals also quite often have the air pocket fushed from the pack and so the vacuum keeps the food fresh. Your home frozen foods do not have this advantage and so, qute often, are prone to freezer burn. 

Thank you for your frozen food question. Click here to see where your frozen food comes from.

The New Ice Age Team