Food & Drinks

This is how long you can freeze your food before it goes bad

Turns out those charts that tell you how long your food can be frozen for aren't actually right.

We’ve all seen the charts that let us know how long to freeze our food – such as chicken, or red meat, telling us specifically how long until the food is unsafe to eat.

Well, it turns out those charts are wrong.

According to the USDA, all frozen food is safe as long as it was safe to eat at the time it was frozen.

“Because freezing keeps food safe almost indefinitely, recommended storage times are for quality only,” says the USDA.

“Food stored constantly at 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-17.7ºC) will always be safe. Only the quality suffers with lengthy freezer storage.”

The charts that tell us how long to freeze our food are merely referring to food quality rather than safety.

The USDA believe freezing food is the safest method of storage.

“Freezing keeps food safe by slowing the movement of molecules, causing microbes to enter a dormant stage. Freezing preserves food for extended periods because it prevents the growth of microorganisms that cause both food spoilage and foodborne illness.”

These are the USDA’s freezing guidelines.

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