Expert: Carol Schlitt - 7/4/2007

Question
Our fridge freezer gave up last night, and so I removed all the frozen foods and placed them in cooler bags, managed to get the freezer working again this morning, but a lot of the food has defrosted, still cold, some steaks were still frozen, but most of it had defrosted to a certain degree, I have since put it all back in the freezer and it has frozen again. Is it safe to eat, bearing in mind the kitchen temperature has been approx 23c during the foods time in the bags. Thank-you for your reply. Julie

Answer
Hi Julie,

The general recommendation is if the food still has ice crystals in it, it can be safely refrozen. The first foods to defrost include ice cream, fruits and vegetables. Ice cream does not refreeze well and takes on a gummy texture that is not very appetizing. Fruits and vegetables take on water and if refrozen tend to freeze in a block and also freezer burn is more prominent. Meats that still have ice crystals can be successfully refrozen with the least amount of quality changes.

Most of the time if you keep the door closed to the freezer, foods will remain frozen for 2 days if the freezer is full, 1 day if 1/2 full.

Here's an excellent website to bookmark on what to do when the freezer/refrigerator stops for future reference: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/uga/uga_freezer_stops.pdf

Carol