Food In Freezer-Duration?

[GrtArtiste]

In the Off Topic area I recently detailed some mistakes I made while dealing with my old freezer. Though it is working fine at the moment, I've been considering getting rid of it and made inquiries among family to see if anyone wants it. My brother might be interested, but his wife definitely does NOT want a separate freezer. They have quick and easy access to the grocery stores (I don't), she prefers everything as fresh as possible and doesn't want an increase in the electric bill. Most interesting to me, however, was her insistence (because she read this somewhere-probably the Internet) that I should not be eating anything that exceeded more than 6 months freezer storage, especially meat.

I understand the possible decrease in overall quality, but her implication is that it is unhealthy and maybe even unsafe to eat older food that has been frozen. Previously, I have had 1/4 of a cow stored in that unit and that much beef took a long time to use up. As far as I know it didn't harm me. Is her claim any good or not? What has your experience been?

 

[wpod]

Living out of the store !

 

[JayhawkRoy]

From healthline:
According to the FDA , you can keep cuts, like roasts, frozen for anywhere from 4 to 12 months and steaks for 6 to 12 months. Ground beef should be frozen for no more than three to four months. Once cooked, you can also safely freeze those beefy leftovers.

I try to follow that guidance, with reasonably good results.

 

[totegoat]

Today, most food items have an expiration date. If it tastes good, eat it, if it doesn't, toss it.

 

[Duffyjr]

From healthline:
According to the FDA , you can keep cuts, like roasts, frozen for anywhere from 4 to 12 months and steaks for 6 to 12 months. Ground beef should be frozen for no more than three to four months. Once cooked, you can also safely freeze those beefy leftovers.

I try to follow that guidance, with reasonably good results.

That is also for quality only, foods stored at 0 or below can last indefinitely. I recently found about 10 lbs of ground beef in my deep freeze that fell through the 2 liter bottles of water I use for filler that are over a year old and I can't tell the difference. I do plan on using it up faster than normal but as far as it being unsafe to eat is ridiculous.

Cold Food Storage Chart

Follow these guidelines from FoodSafety.gov for storing food in the refrigerator and freezer to keep it tasty and safe to eat.

www.foodsafety.gov

 

[Hall]

Today, most food items have an expiration date.

When you freeze a product, that expiration date is effectively suspended. When you thaw it out, you're presumably going to prepare/eat it within a day or two and there will be no safety issues.

I had to reiterate this to our daughter at the grocery store when she first moved away to college. A woman overheard me and asked "is that really true?". I can only imagine that if she did freeze an item and when she took it out saw the expiration was past, she threw the item out.

 

[Dave9]

I seldom have meats in the freezer over 6 mos but it happens now and then, no issue besides some freezer burn taste and texture. Non-meats, like vegetables I grow in the garden, I still have some from 2020, it's not unusual at all for them to stay in longer than a year before all used up.

 

[Cujet]

According to the USDA, frozen meat kept at 0°F or lower will always technically be safe to eat. This low temperature prevents the growth of microorganisms and microbes like bacteria and mold.

But that doesn’t mean it will taste good forever. While freezer burn doesn’t make frozen meat unsafe, it can make the texture dry and leathery. To identify freezer burn, look for ice crystals on the surface of the meat, or for a shriveled or discolored appearance.

I have meats that have been in the freezer for years at 10 below. They were vacuum sealed and taste pretty darn good. Prob best for soups or stew and not as a high end grill meat. But vacuum sealing prevents freezer burn and greatly extends the useful life.

 

[Hall]

According to the USDA, frozen meat kept at 0°F or lower will always technically be safe to eat. This low temperature prevents the growth of microorganisms and microbes like bacteria and mold.

That's my understanding as well but someone above posted different time frames from the FDA. I think I've even seen a meat processor like Butterball or someone say the same thing, but they don't recommend freezing over "X" years because the quality/taste may/will be affected like you say.

 

[vavavroom]

The packaging matters when freezing food. Modified atmosphere packaging slows oxidation and inhibits pathogen proliferation and thus extends frozen shelflife. The flavor of the food will still be affected. I try to use and replace frozen foods before they are more than a few months old. Frozen Siberian mammoth steaks anyone?

 

[WylieCoyote]

My experience is that food is safe indefinitely if it remains frozen (my mother-in-law's deep freeze with years' old meat in it can testify) but quality and flavor suffers if freezer burn sets in. Expect "off" flavor if you find heavy frost inside the package, especially in ground beef.

 

[pbm]

We just bought a freezer because we are concerned about 'suppy chain' issues.
I'd say 1 year in a freezer for meat is fine.

 

[totegoat]

Wife dates meat she wraps for the freezer.

 

[PandaBear]

I think most food has a best by date other than baby formula which has an expiration. Most of the time food in freezer taste horrible before they are dangerous to eat.... tried 3 year old frozen veggies and 2 year old meat, 2 year old ice cream, etc, didn't get sick but taste pretty bad. Most people other than me would have thrown it out.

The only other thing that I see expiration date on is Yakult (basically a lactobacillus dairy drink, i.e. what you use to make sour dough bread but in a dairy liquid with sugar and orange oil seasoning) because there's life culture in it.

 

[ekrampitzjr]

In proper packaging designed to be frozen, lots of items will last indefinitely. If you bought it already frozen in a box or bag and it was still frozen when you got it home, you're set. Last year I ate and enjoyed commercially made eggplant parmesan that had been frozen for eight years, and a package of cured all-beef hot dogs that had been frozen nearly as long. But if the hot dogs had not been cured with nitrite, I might not have chanced eating them.

If you are cutting and trimming your own meat to freeze, wrap it tightly in proper freezer paper. Aluminum foil is useless for this. Get the proper paper. Write with a felt marker on the paper what is inside and the date of freezing in full, including the year. You don't want a bunch of mystery packages in your freezer and you can't tell what's in them and how long they've been there. Been there, done that.

An exception is ground beef bought fresh (that was refrigerated but not frozen) that you freeze. It picks up a slight sourish flavor after a few months in the freezer, although it's still safe to eat, but you will notice the difference. If you run across this, a small amount of Tabasco or other hot sauce added while cooking will counteract the off flavor. You need just a little hot sauce for this, not enough to notice the heat.

If the flavor is more strongly sour than I describe, throw it out. You won't want to trust or eat it. It's best to buy ground beef already frozen in proper packaging.

I do not recommend freezing meal leftovers. They will not keep well. Ask me how I know. You'll end up throwing them out anyway once you discover this. Instead, figure on eating the leftovers within a day or two after the original meal.

 

[Hall]

If you are cutting and trimming your own meat to freeze, wrap it tightly in proper freezer paper. Get the proper paper. Write with a felt marker on the paper what is inside

Those that have bought or gotten sides of beef, etc from a butcher/processor will know that they wrap the meat in paper, but they use a LOT of paper. Much more than I'd think to use but they're no doubt doing this from experience or to be better safe than sorry.