Freezing guidelines, cont.
The chart below is provided by the USDA and should be used as a guideline only. When in doubt about food safety, it is always bet- ter to throw questionable food out.
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Food or Food Type | Still contains ice crystals and | Thawed. |
feels as cold as if refrigerated | Held above 40° F for over 2 hours | |
MEAT, POULTRY and SEAFOOD |
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Beef, veal, lamb, pork and ground meats | Refreeze | Discard |
Poultry and ground poultry | Refreeze | Discard |
Variety meats | Refreeze | Discard |
(liver, kidney, heart, chitterlings) |
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Fish, shellfish, breaded seafood products | Refreeze, however, there will be | Discard |
DAIRY | some texture and flavor loss. |
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Milk | Refreeze, may lose some texture. | Discard |
Eggs (out of shell) and egg products | Refreeze | Discard |
Ice cream, frozen yogurt | Discard | Discard |
Cheese (soft and | Refreeze, may lose some texture. | Discard |
Hard cheeses | Refreeze | Refreeze |
Shredded cheeses | Refreeze | Discard |
Casseroles containing milk, cream, | Refreeze | Discard |
eggs, soft cheeses |
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Cheesecake | Refreeze | Discard |
FRUITS and VEGETABLES |
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Refreeze | Refreeze, discard if mold, yeasty smell | |
Refreeze | or sliminess develops | |
Discard after held above | ||
Home, commercially packaged or | Refreeze, will change in | 40° F (4° C) for 6 hours |
Discard after held above | ||
blanched | texture and flavor. | 40° F (4° C) for 6 hours or if mold, |
BREADS and PASTRIES |
| yeasty smell or sliminess develops |
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Breads, rolls, muffins, | Refreeze | Refreeze |
cakes (without custard fillings) |
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Cakes, pies, pastries with custard or | Refreeze | Discard |
cheese filling |
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Pie crusts, commercial and homemade | Refreeze, some quality loss | Refreeze, quality loss is considerable. |
bread dough | may occur. |
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OTHER |
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Refreeze | Discard | |
Flour, cornmeal, nuts | Refreeze | Refreeze |
Breakfast items– | Refreeze | Refreeze |
waffles, pancakes, bagels |
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Frozen meal, entrée, specialty items | Refreeze | Discard |
(pizza, sausage and biscuit, |
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meat pie, and convenience foods) |
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