Should processed foods be frozen?
Freezing processed foods is a time-saver for busy housewives, but is this solution safe?
To save time and effort in cooking, many families choose to cook a dish in large quantities and then freeze it to eat later. This method is considered to save time, shopping costs and increase convenience for an increasingly busy life. their lives. However, should processed foods be frozen in terms of nutritional quality and health safety?
Should processed foods be frozen?
According to Dr. Ho Mai Huong (Vietnam Institute of Applied Medicine) on VnExpress, freezing is a way to slow down the spoilage process and keep food safe by using low temperatures to prevent bacteria from growing. . For those who are busy and have little time for cooking, freezing processed foods is a practical measure to help save effort while still ensuring a complete and diverse family meal.
Currently, most foods can be frozen in the refrigerator, including meat, fish and vegetables. However, to preserve food properly and not cause harm to health, processed food should be stored in the refrigerator within 2 hours after cooking or after 1 hour if the temperature outside the refrigerator is low. level above 32 degrees Celsius.
To properly freeze processed food and keep it from deteriorating, you need to note that the freezer should be set at -18 degrees Celsius or lower. When freezing, you need to put food in specialized boxes and cover tightly, or pack it carefully so that bacteria does not invade the food or change the smell of other dishes.
In addition, you should also divide the meals into small portions so that you can eat them as they defrost, avoiding freezing and defrosting multiple times. Defrosted food should be used up and not put back in the freezer to avoid poisoning.
It is also extremely important when freezing processed foods to avoid placing them next to raw foods to avoid cross-contamination.
How long to preserve processed food?
Although all processed foods can be frozen for later use, each type has a different storage time.
- Processed pork: 2 – 3 months
- Poultry: 4 months
- Fish: 2 – 4 months
- Soups and stews: 2 – 3 months.
- Bacon and sausage: 1 – 2 months.
Mistakes when freezing food
When freezing food, you need to avoid the following mistakes:
- Arranging food in the wrong place: A mistake that many people make is arbitrarily freezing food according to their preferences. With the freezer, you should prioritize storing foods such as meat and fish; For the refrigerator, priority should be given to storing vegetables and nuts.
- Inappropriate temperature: Adjust the refrigerator temperature accordingly, the ideal temperature for the freezer compartment is from – 18 degrees Celsius to 0 degrees Celsius.
- Defrost food at room temperature: Defrosting food at room temperature will cause its nutritional content to be lost. Therefore, the best way to defrost food is to put food in the refrigerator overnight. In particular, you should not soak foods directly in water because they will lose nutrients.
