Freezing food
Freezing food doesn’t kill bacteria, they “go to sleep” and don’t multiply but they’re still there. The technical term is they’re “dormant”.
Key points to know about frozen storage:
- Freeze food as quickly as possible.
- Wrap food thoroughly to prevent contamination and drying out (known as freezer burn).
- Clearly label the food.
- Freeze hot food once it has been properly and safely cooled down.
- It is recommended that most frozen food items are stored at -18°C or colder.
- Don’t overfill freezers as this may affect the temperature of the unit and the food inside. Many freezers will have a maximum fill line, so look out for this.
- Check temperatures regularly.
- Clean and defrost freezer units regularly.
- When defrosting freezers, make sure food items are transferred to another unit and not transferred back until the unit has reached the required temperature again.
- Raw and cooked foods should be separated, ideally in separate freezers, but if not, on separate shelves, with raw foods at the bottom.
Defrosting food
Foods must be properly defrosted before cooking, unless the manufacturer’s instructions advise to cook them frozen. The reason for this is because if foods are not thoroughly defrosted, the core cooking temperature may not be achieved and some pathogenic bacteria could survive and cause food poisoning.
High risk foods must not be defrosted at room temperature because bacteria may start multiplying on the surface of the food.
Once food has fully defrosted it should either be used straight away or stored under refrigeration and used within 24 hours.
Here’s a few ways to defrost food:
- in the microwave on the defrost setting
- in a refrigerator unit/ defrosting cabinet
- in waterproof containers, submerged in clean, cold water
Raw foods should be defrosted away from cooked/ ready to eat foods. For example; raw meat should be placed into a suitable container at the bottom of the unit.
