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Important
In the event of a power failure causing the
temperature within your freezer to rise, do
not re-freeze the food without checking its
condition.
The following guidelines should assist you:
Ice-cream: once thawed should be discarded.
Fruits & Vegetables: if soft should be cooked
and used up.
Breads & Cakes: can be re-frozen without
danger.
Shellfish: should be refrigerated and used up
quickly.
Cooked Dishes: i.e. casseroles should be
refrigerated and used up.
Large Pieces of Meat: can be re-frozen pro-
viding there are still ice crystals remaining
within them.
Small Joints: should be cooked and can then
be re-frozen as cooked dishes.
Chicken: should also be cooked and re-frozen
as a cooked dish.
HEALTH AND SAFETY GUIDELINES
Because of consumer demand, preservatives have been removed from many pre-prepared foods. This
together with the changes in shopping habits to a once-a-week shop, mean that safe handling and
storage of food is even more important than ever.
The following tips should help you to ensure that the food in your home is in as perfect condition as
possible.
Keep the freezer door closed as much as possi-
ble.
Do not push food together too much, try to allow
air to circulate around each item.
Cool cooked food as quickly as possible but do
NOT place in the freezer until cool. (Leave food
in a cool place in order that it can then be placed
in the freezer as soon as possible).
Do not store food uncovered.
The best way to defrost food is to put it in the
refrigerator to thaw slowly.
Ensure that food placed in the freezer is dated
and labelled and used in date order to ensure
that food is consumed at its best.
It is important that food is used before its "best
before" date.
Always wash your hands with soapy water and
dry them with a clean towel before handling food.
Keep work surfaces clean and avoid cross cont-
amination by not using the same work surface or
knife, without washing them thoroughly in
between.
The foods to be frozen must be fresh and of the
best quality.
Thawing
Frozen food, prior to being used, can be thawed in
the fridge or at room temperature depending on the
time available. Small food items may even be
cooked from frozen; in this case cooking will take
longer.
Any frozen food which is allowed to thaw accidentally
should either be eaten as soon as possible or thrown
away. Alternatively, if the food is uncooked and has
not been completely defrosted it can be cooked and
then refrozen.
Defrosted cooked food must never be refrozen.
Ice making
Fill the ice tray with water to the top of each ice cube
compartment, and place it in the freezer. To release
the ice cubes, twist the tray along its length. Never
use a sharp instrument to remove ice from the tray.
The size of each pack should be small enough to
ensure that it is used in one go. Small packs
freeze more quickly and uniformly and give better
results.
Frozen food, once thawed, must not be refrozen.
Lean food keeps better and longer than fatty
food, salt reduces the storage time.
Wrap the food in polythene or aluminium freezing
bags or foil so that they adhere to the food and
provide an airtight seal.
Packaging which is swollen or has traces of
refrozen water droplets on the pack could indi-
cate that the product has not been kept at a suit-
able temperature and that it may have lost its
original quality. Partially thawed food must not be
refrozen, it must be consumed within 24 hours.
Never exceed the storage time indicated.
Never place bottles or cans of fizzy drink in the
freezer as they may explode. Containers with a
lid must not be filled to the brim.
Do not open the door or place extra fresh food in
the freezer next to food which is already frozen
as this could cause the temperature of the frozen
food to rise and its quality and storage life to
reduce.
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