My freezer was left open for an afternnoon then an entire night then all next morning and then I shut it and figure I have to chuck it all away now, is that true???

[Trinityrhino]

I have prawns, chicken, minced beef, pies, burgers and veg in there.

They were all totally squishy when I found the freezer open and realised how long it musty have been open and then I shut it cause was in a hurry and on the way out.

I need to chuck it don't i?

[thegirlwithnoname]

YES
Yes most definatly

[WanderingTrolley]

If it was fridge-cool when you found it, doesn't smell odd and you're feeling brave, you could cook the raw stuff and refreeze it.

I'd bung frozen veg back in the freezer, personally. The prawns I'd ditch, but I'm very suspicious of prawns anyway.

[LIZS]

Veg may be ok but otherwise anything that defrosted can't be refrozen.

[paddingtonbear1]

Yes sorry, I'd say you do need to chuck it

[pirategirl]

i guess the prawns are a deffo. The meat, well. perhaps soem cuold be saved to make up some meals, if it was still very cold?

Then you could refreeze when cooked and cooled, ie mince for chilli, spag bol?

I'm a veggie so not sure, but am getting a bad feelign about the chicken!!

[NineUnlikelyTales]

Throw it all out. Bread is the only thing that is safe to defrost and re-freeze.

[pirategirl]

yeah i wouldnt re freeze anything raw, only meant that Maybe the mince, if still really cold might be worth a try, ?

[paddingtonbear1]

ah yes there was veg as well wasn't there? I reckon you could save that. Not the meat/prawns though, you can't refreeze those.

[fryalot]

You can't refreeze any meat, seafood, fish etc unless you cook it first - but you can cook it and then freeze it (as you have changed what it essentially is, it is now cooked meat and not raw meat) veg will be ok to refreeze.

Anything you don't want to risk re-freezing, you can eat today.

If you are unsure about anything, chuck it away.

Btw: if the food was still actually frozen (as in frozen solid, not a bit icy) then it will all be perfectly fine to refreeze as it is because it didn't actually defrost in the first place.

[harleyd]

cook everything and then refreeze it. except the prawns

[LadyVictoriaOfCake]

when i do this, i chuck out stuff that is beyond help (like ice cream sob!) then plan meals for the next few days based o nwhats defrosted and cant be refrzoen but is still cold, cook any meats etc that can be cooked, if mince is defrosted then make some shepherd pies and freeze for later on.

[serenity]

Been there, done it. Our freezer is in our bedroom and the plug was next to the plug for DDs light. So, a couple of times I accidently switched both off. There was no way I could afford to replace the contents (we shop for a month) so I just refroze it - no prawns though, they're dodgy at the best of times. I just made sure everything was thoughly cooked through when I did cook it.

If you can afford to replace it, do it. If you can't, just be extra careful.

[Trinityrhino]

It has ALL already been refrozen as I just stuffed it shut when I found it open

[Trinityrhino]

and I am a serious emetophobe with an issue about meat at the best of times...

[Trinityrhino]

thats what I thought too

[scienceteacher]

You can't refreeze them, but you can cook what you can and use it that way. Cooked foods can be safely frozen, even if the meat was previously frozen.

[anorak]

The reason you have to be careful is that every time you freeze and thaw food the cell walls of the food breaks down. The more broken down the cell walls are the more vulnerable the food is to tainting by microorganisms.

I would use what I can, quickly, and examine the food before use too. Prawns too risky.

Have you checked your insurance policy? You might find you can make a claim for the spoilt food.

[Trinityrhino]

it has ALL been refrozen already

[LIZS]

In which case chuck it apart from veg if you feel brave.

[Katy44]

Definitely check your contents insurance
I didn't know you could refreeze anything like bread or veg?
Now I think about it I'm not even sure whether you can refreeze water!

[TheArmadillo]

don't use it - not worth risk, but do check your contents insurance as you can be covered for contents of freezer.

My parents claimed for their's once, but contact them before you throw everything away in case they want to check anything.