Beef Safe if Freezer Has Not Worked Properly for About a Week
We tend to get calls nearly freezers going out any time during the twelvemonth; merely most often during winter storms. I was surprised recently when I discovered that my virtually 40-year-old freezer quit while my husband and I were away on holiday. We had nearly a quarter of a beef, several frozen pizzas, a whole chicken, and a pork tenderloin in the freezer. It was a stupor as I'd never had this happen earlier. It is possible to claim food losses on home owner's insurance but nosotros chose not to make a claim. At the time I discovered the freezer had quit, plenty time had lapsed that all the meat was totally thawed and was cool but not cold.
When you lot observe that the freezer is non working, it is important to determine why it is no longer working. Some of our callers find that the freezer was accidently unplugged, or a fuse has blown, or someone has left the freezer door open. It is non uncommon during an water ice storm to have the power off for several days. It the trouble tin exist fixed—plugging the freezer string back into the outlet, or tripping the circuit billow, cheque to see if the freezer contents are yet completely frozen or partially frozen. If the contents take at least some ice crystals remaining it volition be prophylactic to refreeze the item. Ice cream would be an exception to that dominion every bit the thawed ice cream will refreeze with much larger crystals resulting in a nutrient that would not exist enjoyable.
If the freezer outage is due to a power outage you will want to exercise what y'all can to keep all the food from thawing. When callers have this problem, we take a few questions that we typically ask. If the outage is not expected to exist more 12-24 hours, the freezer tin exist covered with a blanket or bags of water ice tin can exist added to assist keep the temperature downwards inside the freezer. Avoid opening the freezer to keep it cold inside longer. If a longer outage is expected, the caller can take the food to a see locker if available, or purchase some dry out ice to go along the contents cold for a longer flow.
Here is some advice from the National Eye for Home Food Preservation on what to exercise with thawed foods. Some thawed foods can be re-frozen. However, the texture will non be as good. Other foods may demand to be discarded.
- Meat and Poultry: Re-freeze if the freezer temperature stays twoscore°F or below and if color and olfactory property are good. Check each package, and discard any if signs of spoilage such equally an off color or off odor are present. Discard any packages that are above twoscore°F (or at room temperature).
- Vegetables: Re-freeze but if ice crystals are still nowadays or if the freezer temperature is twoscore°F or below. Discard whatsoever packages that evidence signs of spoilage or that have reached room temperature.
- Fruits: Re-freeze if they show no signs of spoilage. Thawed fruits may be used in cooking or making jellies, jams, or preserves. Fruits survive thawing with the least damage to quality.
- Shellfish and Cooked Foods: Re-freeze but if ice crystals are still present or the freezer is 40°F or below. If the temperature is in a higher place twoscore°F, throw these foods out.
- Ice Cream: If partially thawed, throw information technology out. The texture of ice cream is not adequate later thawing. If its temperature rises above twoscore°F, it could exist unsafe.
- Creamed Foods, Puddings and Foam Pies: Re-freeze merely if freezer temperature is 40°F or below. Discard if the temperature is above 40°F.
- Breads, Nuts, Doughnuts, Cookies and Cakes: These foods re-freeze meliorate than most. They tin be safely re-frozen if they prove no signs of mold growth.
All of the food in my freezer was totally thawed and beginning to not have a very pleasant aroma. I'chiliad now spending some of my gratuitous fourth dimension shopping for a new freezer. If the new one lasts equally long equally my sometime one, I should not accept to replace it.
Source: https://blogs.extension.iastate.edu/answerline/2017/08/28/oh-no-my-freezer-is-out/
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