DP's parents have given us a load of food but it stinks of smoke

[BertieBotts]

Cigarette smoke, I mean. His dad pretty much chainsmokes in the house and particularly the kitchen. The food is some veg which has been cooked and then frozen in plastic bags. I think it's the bags which smell rather than the food, because I've eaten food there before and it didn't smell smoky, but they gave us something in a plastic bag before and I had to replace it with a new one.

We're not really in a position to just throw the food away as we are literally skint at the moment and have no money to buy more. That veg is the only veg DS is going to get between now and next week, and there's enough, it's just the smell - I'm worried there might be cigaratte chemicals on it and I obviously don't want DS ingesting that.

Do you think it would be okay to just replace the bags with new ones and hope DP doesn't notice and get offended? Or do you think the smoke smell etc will have got into the food? I've cooked DS some tonight as I think a one off won't matter massively, and I'm going to try a bit to see whether it tastes bad too. But I don't know which is worse - a 3 year old eating veg which has been contaminated with cigarette smell for a week, or a 3 year old not eating veg for a week.

[LaurieFairyCake]

It'll be the bags and if the stuff doesn't leak out then smoke chemicals can't get in

try not to worry

[Columbia999]

As Laurie said, they should be ok, just get rid of the bags. I have a similar problem when my mum gives me books she's read. She must sit there puffing into the pages, because they absolutely stink of fags!

[cantpackwontpack]

I have the same problem with my mother. Everything she gives us reeks of ciggie smoke. I left the raincover for the pram there by mistake when dd1 was little and didn't collect it for a week - the smell was overpowering. I washed it and left it on the line outside for a week and there was still a whiff of smoke from it.

My mother recently gave me some ready meals from her freezer and the packaging reeked. The food inside seemed fine though.

I'd say the veg will be fine. Will you be cooking it in boiling water?

[BertieBotts]

Yep def boiling, we don't have a microwave. I tasted a carrot, it was fine, but hugely overcooked. I think I may have cooked it for too long though. I will change the bags, thank you for the reassurance!

DP brought a leather office chair from there when he came to stay a few weeks before he moved in and it's taken months for the smell to gradually seep away, it's still not gone! However they are lovely to think of us so I don't want to be ungrateful. I am quite glad not to have to throw it away as I'd have felt really bad.

[festi]

I can relate this, I have just given up in the last 4 weeks and although I didnt smoke in my house I can smell it really badly. I have had to wash clean clothes etc as even though upstairs in the wardrobe in no contact with smoke they have reeked. My poor dd must have smelled like this all the time

however I do think the food will be ok, can you transfere it to different bags.