Freezing Food.

[NoshowJones]

We have an outside freezer, someone has left the lid open and the food is completely defrosted, the freezer is mostly empty and the food, one packet of green garden peas two packets of fish, two packets of pork sausages, and pack of French Fries, have completely defrosted, can any of that food be defrosted again and be safe to eat? Thanks.

[worgeordie]

No , don't take the risk , give the sausages  and fish to the Soi dogs and cats.

regards Worgeordie

[Lacessit]

No, definitely unsafe.

Any bacterial contamination of the food is in suspended animation while frozen. Once thawed, the bacteria get to work producing toxins which cause gastroenteritis. Protein is particularly susceptible.

Is it worth risking serious illness for a few hundred baht?

 

Edited November 2, 2022 by Lacessit

[ThailandRyan]

Keep the bags of peas, refreeze them and 6se them as a cold pack for bruises or sore body parts. Throw the rest to the animals.

[NoshowJones]

Thanks everybody.

[steven100]

Find out who left the top open on the freezer and throw them to the soi dogs ......  then the food.

[HighPriority]

if i found the snags slightly frozen or actually cold as opposed to room temp id cook the hell out of them and eat them.

[Ralf001]

I'd go for option B and throw that measly amount of food in the bin.

[Dmaxdan]

Were the packages of food still cold to the touch when you first discovered your freezer being open?

Because if they were then there is no reason why you couldn't have cooked and eaten the sausages and fish fingers rather than just disposing of them.

As others have stated, refreezing is a big no no but we defrost, cook and eat food from the freezer all the time.

 

 

[steven100]

7 minutes ago, Dmaxdan said:

refreezing is a big no no but we defrost, cook and eat food from the freezer all the time.

yes ..... I don't think you can thaw and re-freeze anything from memory,  not meat or vegetable or anything. 

[ezzra]

2 hours ago, worgeordie said:

No , don't take the risk , give the sausages  and fish to the Soi dogs and cats.

regards Worgeordie

You would give rotten food to the soi's dogs and cats because you care for them or want to poison them?...

[KhunLA]

Depends how long defrosted, and if vacuum sealed.  Cook to proper temp, or more, and should be safe to eat.  Your nose will tell you instantly when you open the meats.

 

Freezing (again) kills most things also, why many countries require sushi meats to be frozen along the way to the plate.

 

DO cook before giving to soi animals, unless not a fan of.

Edited November 2, 2022 by KhunLA

[Guderian]

There's a good tip for when you go on holiday. Freeze a glass of water then put a coin on top of the ice and leave them in the freezer. When you come back from holiday, if the coin is still on top of the ice then you know there was no extensive power cut and everything is fine with your freezer. If, however, the coin is now at the bottom of the glass then you know that there was a sufficiently long power outage to defrost everything in the freezer and none of the food will be safe to eat, throw it all out. In the OP's case here, the coin would have been at the bottom of the glass, so chuck out everything.

[worgeordie]

1 hour ago, ezzra said:

You would give rotten food to the soi's dogs and cats because you care for them or want to poison them?...

I don't think the fish and sausages would be rotten yet ,he only found out,

that's why he is asking OK to refreeze or not , I don't think he would be asking

that if the food was rotten  ........do you....

regards worgeordie

[rwill]

Put a lock on the freezer.

[swm59nj]

You should not refreeze or eat defrosted food left out in the heat for a long period of time.  You said your freezer and food was outside. You should not refreeze totally defrosted food anyway.  
And cooking the heck out of it is not going to make it safe to eat.  

[KannikaP]

I was taught at cookery school that if something defrosts, it is ok to refreeze AFTER you cook it well.

[Harveyboy]

17 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

I was taught at cookery school that if something defrosts, it is ok to refreeze AFTER you cook it well.

same here..if anyone had shopped at Macro ect all the meat is frozen and defrosted..then you see restaurant/shop/ families buying 20.. 30 kilo of meat trolleys full.you can't tell me it's l cooked one day and definitely wouldn't last long ....having a second separate large  fridge unlikely especially for  some families..it's refrozen...all my wife's family bloomin dozens who live near us my wife said all refreeze I've been doing the same here for 10 years after all what can I catch to do me harm that I didn't catch from the local skirt around the camp at Catterick Aldershot  ha

[Mickeymaus]

2 hours ago, Guderian said:

There's a good tip for when you go on holiday. Freeze a glass of water then put a coin on top of the ice and leave them in the freezer. When you come back from holiday, if the coin is still on top of the ice then you know there was no extensive power cut and everything is fine with your freezer. If, however, the coin is now at the bottom of the glass then you know that there was a sufficiently long power outage to defrost everything in the freezer and none of the food will be safe to eat, throw it all out. In the OP's case here, the coin would have been at the bottom of the glass, so chuck out everything.

Good idea. But better buy something like this at Lazada for 300 to 400 Baht. I couldn't live without it. Can C/F, will show min/max temperature and you can even set alarms. It has a magnet so that it can be attached outside the freezer. Batteries last forever. Put the sensor units in plastic bags to avoid that they will get wet. 

 

[Russell17au]

The lid of the freezer was left open but the freezer was not turned off so there would be cold air in the bottom of the freezer which would slow the defrosting process. The OP has not told us how long the freezer had been left open or if the contents of the freezer had reached the outside temperature. If the contents of the freezer have not reached the outside temperature but has defrosted then it would be safe to cook it and eat it as you do have to thaw anything from a freezer to cook it. Also if it has not reached the outside temperature then it is safe to cook it and then freeze the cooked food.

[LosLobo]

4 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Depends how long defrosted, and if vacuum sealed.  Cook to proper temp, or more, and should be safe to eat.  Your nose will tell you instantly when you open the meats.

 

Freezing (again) kills most things also, why many countries require sushi meats to be frozen along the way to the plate.

 

DO cook before giving to soi animals, unless not a fan of.

Vacuum sealed or not, most perishable foods still need refrigeration. Cooking food does not destroy the toxins produced by bacteria. Your nose will not necessarily tell you if food is safe. Freezing kills multi-cellular oganisms like parasites not bacteria, viruses, toxins and some spores.

 

Edited November 2, 2022 by LosLobo

[NoshowJones]

3 hours ago, worgeordie said:

I don't think the fish and sausages would be rotten yet ,he only found out,

that's why he is asking OK to refreeze or not , I don't think he would be asking

that if the food was rotten  ........do you....

regards worgeordie

I have since found out that the wife's daughter had defrosted the freezer, but the food was completely thawed, so if I cook it then smell it and it is OK then it is safe to eat it?

My wife says it will be fine to eat.

[champers]

3 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

My wife says it will be fine to eat.

Let her crack on then.

[NoshowJones]

2 hours ago, KannikaP said:

I was taught at cookery school that if something defrosts, it is ok to refreeze AFTER you cook it well.

The food has been refreezed again so if it is cooked say in a slow cooker, it should be OK? the food is less than 1000Bt worth but I would need to travel to the nearest Makro to replace it which is about 60 Ks away.

[puchooay]

So long as the temperature of the thawed food did not exceed +4 degrees, it's OK to re freeze. If it was still cold to touch but you are unsure of temperature, cook it and have a party.

[Mac Mickmanus]

14 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Keep the bags of peas, refreeze them and 6se them as a cold pack for bruises or sore body parts. Throw the rest to the animals.

Then in a few weeks time, wonder where that pack of frozen peas went to out the freezer 

[Mac Mickmanus]

15 hours ago, possum1931 said:

can any of that food be defrosted again and be safe to eat?

You will be able to find the correct definitive answer by searching online .

   You will get professional advice there 

[thaibeachlovers]

15 hours ago, possum1931 said:

one packet of green garden peas two packets of fish, two packets of pork sausages, and pack of French Fries,

 

 

https://www.foodnetwork.com/healthyeats/healthy-tips/can-i-refreeze-meat-or-fish-that-has-thawed

Can You Refreeze Meat, Fish or Poultry That Has Thawed?

[thaibeachlovers]

8 hours ago, possum1931 said:

The food has been refreezed again so if it is cooked say in a slow cooker, it should be OK? the food is less than 1000Bt worth but I would need to travel to the nearest Makro to replace it which is about 60 Ks away.

Is it worth it if you did get sick?

 

I've eaten meat that was in the fridge too long, but overcooked it to be sure and not very nice to eat. Never eaten food that thawed from frozen outside a fridge, ie got warm before cooking.

 

I'd eat the peas and chips though.

[unblocktheplanet]

Advice on chest freezers. They work best when absolutely packed full, unlike refrigerator freezers.

 

Models can be standard or frost-free. We get ice build-up in our standard. But I've been told frost-free dries out the food you store, even in vacuum bags.

 

Your freezer might be smelling a little funky after this episode. We did many washes & rinses with baking soda & vinegar. Don't use bleach! Even that approach won't get rid of the stink entirely.

 

Get some bundles of the herb bai toey at Makro. Change them every couple of days, freezer closed, turned off. Then get your freezer cold & add a bunch of bai toey with your food. Works for fridge smalls, too.