Once frozen consume within 30 days

iviv

iviv

iviv

Soldato
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This may be a stupid question... but why? I mean, surely once its frozen, that's it? There's no bacteria that will be working on it or anything, so what reason is there for printing this on food? Specifically I've got a thing of sausages with this on, but I've seen it on other things as well. Is it just manufacturers covering their backs rather then there being anything specifically wrong with it? Or would I be dicing with death? :eek:
 
Been meaning to ask this myself. Found a pack of chicken thighs at the back of the freezer the other day that's, well, months old. Tempted to just go for it.
 
Just found that chicken will safely keep almost indefinitely (as will most things) at a low enough temperature, but that it's quality that suffers. Will defrost, cook one thigh as a control experiment then go for it!

And they never saw him again...
 
Bah and humbug. I have used stuff nearly a year old no issues. Defrost it and then poke it, prod it, look at the colour and sniff it - your nose will soon tell you if there's a problem. But - if in doubt, throw it out.

Your meat will be no more contaminated than it was on the day you froze it - provided your freezer is functioning correctly.
 
Go by the smell. If it smells rancid (we're very good (As human beings) at detecting whether or not our food is off), or tastes "funny" don't eat it. one mouthful will do you no harm.

I never go by the sell by date - I go by taste/smell.
 
I'm the last person to be fussy about use-by dates, but something that's been in the freezer for a long time could have degraded quality-wise. Pretty sure the chicken I have has been there 6+ months. Like I said, will give it a go though!
 
I've eaten stuff that's been in the freezer for years. As has been said, the quality may not be as good, and you'll soon smell if it's not fit to eat.
 
Stuff like bags of chicken thighs can get a bit ropey after a long time as there is air getting to the flesh and they get freezer burn. Stuff that has been vacuum sealed stays fine for ages IMO.
 
Belmit said:
Just found that chicken will safely keep almost indefinitely (as will most things) at a low enough temperature, but that it's quality that suffers. Will defrost, cook one thigh as a control experiment then go for it!

And they never saw him again...
Click to expand...

I defrosted some recently that I had put in the freezer once home from the shop, and it had gone kind of an off-coloured brown. Was undecided whether or not I would try and cook it, but I caught a whiff of it and it smelled like death :p Not sure whether that was just a one time incident but I'm going to try and keep chicken frozen for less time in the future.
 
I suspect aslong as you have a good freezer that holds a very low temperature fine then you have little to worry about.

I'd imagine that warning is more for people who have those fridges with a freezer compartment at the top, often they arent capable of actually freezing something they just make food defrost very slowly
 
Never had any issues with stuff that's been sat in the freezer for a while. longest I think something has been in there is not far off 1 year and it was still fine.
 
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