6
Food Storage
To obtain the best performance from your freezer
•
Do not store warm food or evaporating liquids.
•
Avoid buying frozen food if you cannot store it
straight away. The use of an insulated container is
advisable. When you arrive home place the frozen
food in the freezer immediately.
•
Do not push food together too much, try to allow
air to circulate around each item.
•
Do not store food uncovered.
•
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.
•
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 indicate
that the product has not been kept at a suitable
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 times indicated by the
manufacturer.
Energy Saving Advice
•
Do not install the appliance close to sources of
heat, such as a boiler or radiator.
•
Locate the appliance in a cool well ventilated
room and make sure that the air openings of the
appliance are not obstructed.
•
Avoid unnecessary frosting in the cabinet by
packing all foodstuffs into airtight packages
before placing them in the freezer.
•
Food which is to be frozen (when cool) should be
placed in the fridge before being transferred to
the freezer.
•
Try to avoid keeping the door open for long
periods or opening the door too frequently as
warm air will enter the cabinet and cause the
compressor to switch on unnecessarily often.
•
Ensure there are no obstructions preventing the
door from closing properly.
In the Event of a Power Failure
If there is a power failure during the storage of frozen
foods, keep the door closed. If the temperature within
your freezer should rise, do not refreeze 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 refrozen 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 refrozen providing
there are still ice crystals remaining within them.
Small Joints:
Should be cooked and can then be
refrozen as cooked dishes.
Chicken:
Should also be cooked and refrozen as a
fresh dish.
HINTS AND TIPS
Freezing Calendar
The symbols show different types of frozen goods.
The numbers indicate storage times in months for the appropriate types of frozen goods. Whether the upper or lower
value of the indicated storage time is valid depends on the quality of the foods and pre-treating before freezing.
