Seasonal food safety advice – Coventry City Council (2024)

FAQs

Seasonal food safety advice – Coventry City Council? ›

If you've got any leftovers, you should cool them, then cover and ensure that they go in the fridge or freezer within 1-2 hours. If you have a lot of one type of food, splitting it into smaller portions will help it to cool quickly and means you can freeze and defrost only what you need for future dishes.

As long as the meat has been stored properly and thawed slowly in the refrigerator, it can be refrozen safely multiple times. If done correctly, refreezing meat does not pose any health risks. Although, depending on the type of meat and how many times it's refrozen, the quality of the meat could be negatively affected.

It is ok to freeze turkey a second time if it is cooked (ie: you thaw it out, cook it and then right after you cook it you throw the left overs in the freezer). It is critically important to minimize the time the turkey spends in the danger zone (the time where bacteria grows like there is no tomorrow).

Instead, cool cooked food at room temperature and place in the fridge within one to two hours. To cool food quickly, divide food into smaller portions in containers or freezer bags before putting in the fridge or freezer. Always eat leftovers within two days or freeze if you think this won't be possible.

If your turkey has been properly handled, you can refrigerate and eat it for up to four days. If you are planning to freeze it, it's best to freeze it within one day of cooking for optimal texture and taste. However, leftover turkey can be frozen after three days and it will be fine.

If food is completely thawed, warmed to room temperature or left out of the refrigerator for more than 2 hours, throw the food out for safety's sake. These principles apply to meat, poultry, shellfish, some vegetables and cooked foods. Do not refreeze ice cream and similar frozen desserts.

Refrigerator-thawed, raw or cooked meat is safe to refreeze, though the U.S. Department of Agriculture warns the meat may lose some quality due to moisture loss. You should not refreeze foods that have been outside of the fridge for more than two hours – or one hour in temperatures above 90 degrees.

Frozen Turkey

Turkeys can be kept in the freezer indefinitely. However, cook turkeys within 1 year for the best quality.

You should only refreeze turkey if it's been handled properly at every step along the way. According to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, that means it needs to have been thawed in the refrigerator and it can't have been left out at room temperature for more than two hours at any time.

If you have leftovers that include cooked meat or poultry, those will stay good in the fridge for 3–4 days, and can be kept in the freezer for 2–6 months.

Can you eat chili that was left out overnight? ›

To ensure food safety, it is generally recommended to follow the "2-hour rule" for perishable foods. If chili has been left out for more than 2 hours at room temperature, it is advisable to discard it to avoid the risk of foodborne illness.

Some foods with high water content, like lettuce and soft greens, don't maintain their shape and texture once frozen and thawed, which is why you should never freeze these leafy greens "unless you intend to use them in soups or smoothies," Jeanine Donofrio of Love & Lemons cautions.

The 4Cs of food hygiene

cleaning. cooking. cross contamination. chilling.

USDA recommends using cooked turkey within 3 to 4 days, kept refrigerated (40°F or less). Refrigeration slows but does not stop bacterial growth. Turkey can be frozen for 3 to 4 months. Although safe indefinitely, frozen leftovers can lose moisture and flavor when stored for longer times in the freezer.

If raw frozen turkey is thawed in the refrigerator, the defrosted turkey can last in the fridge for 1–2 days before it needs to be cooked or refrozen. If you're in a hurry to thaw your turkey, there's a faster method you can use.

Refrigerator Thawing

Keep turkey in original wrapper and place on tray. Use turkey within four days after thawing.

It's safe to defrost and refreeze meat again and again, provided you do it properly. However, what will begin to happen with repeated freezing and thawing is that the meat will become dryer and less tasty, says Donald W.

If you froze ground beef and thawed if safely (in the refrigerator), then you can refreeze it. We do not recommend doing this more than once, as it will cause freezer burn and a loss of taste and texture when you cook the meat.

It is safe to refreeze semi-thawed meat. It is safe to refreeze fully thawed meat that is cold to touch i.e. 40 °F or below. It is not safe to refreeze meat that is fully thawed and warm to the touch. Meat left uncovered for more than 2 hours is highly dangerous and should be discarded.

The Bottom Line. You can refreeze chicken that's been thawed, but it must be cooked first if it has been thawed in the microwave or in cold water. But if the chicken has thawed in the refrigerator, then it can be refrozen raw within two days of thawing.