HomeFreezing food at home
When freezing food at home always check any instructions on food labels or in your freezer’s handbook (if you don’t have this any more, you might be able to find it online) to see how long food should be frozen.
For safety, it's alright to freeze most raw or cooked foods providing you do the following things:
- freeze it before the 'use by' date.
- follow any freezing or thawing instructions on the label.
- thaw it in the fridge so that it doesn't get too warm. Or, if you intend to cook it as soon as it's defrosted, you could defrost it in a microwave.
- try to use it within one to two days after it’s been defrosted. It will go off in the same way as if it were fresh.
- cook food until it's piping hot all the way through.
- once food has been defrosted it should never be refrozen.
When freezing leftover food, don’t put large amounts of warm or hot food directly into the freezer, first cut the food into smaller portions, allow the food to cool, cover it and put it in the freezer within 2 hours.
Remember to use clean dishes and utensils for cooked food.
Always clean plates, utensils, surfaces and hands thoroughly, after they've touched raw or thawing meat, to stop bacteria from spreading.
If you defrost raw meat or fish and then cook it thoroughly, you can freeze it again, but remember never reheat foods more than once.
Keeping your freezer at or below -18°C will help maintain the quality of frozen foods. In order to make sure that the temperature inside your freezer doesn't get too warm, don’t put food in the freezer when it’s still hot. Remember to keep the freezer door closed and only open it when necessary.
You can get more information on the Safefood and Eatwell websites.
