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Thawing
Deep frozen or 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 cook-
ing will take longer.
Any frozen food which is allowed to thaw accidental-
ly 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.
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 place as cool as possible in order that it can
then be placed in the refrigerator as soon as pos-
sible).
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 conta-
mination 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.
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.
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.
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 airlight 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 hot food, 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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