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Original poster

Do not freeze. Bugger.

38 replies

StrongFemaleCharacter · 16/12/2024 23:45

I bought a few discounted smoked salmon with cream cheese canapes at Sainsburys today, and bunged them in the freezer to have with Christmas Day evening nibbles. Just a hunch, but I've just gone and checked the packaging and they say do not freeze. Should I bin them or will they be ok? I was so pleased when I saw them, I thought they would be a lovely treat with the usual sausage rolls!

OP posts:
Onthefarsideoftheworld · 17/12/2024 19:06

Also states the same on the outdoor bred pigs in blankets … previously frozen but re freezing won’t affect quality !!

maverickfox · 17/12/2024 19:09

whatisforteamum · 17/12/2024 18:43

Samarrange it really does matter!!
If you defrost a chicken breast then cook it you can refreeze.
Never refreeze previously defrosted meat or fish.
I wouldn't use canapes as the manufacturer has told you not to refreeze as the salmon was previously defrosted.
You could risk food poisoning especially in vulnerable groups.
I'm a chef and have done a level 3 hygiene course.

This.

whatisforteamum · 17/12/2024 19:15

Onthefarsideoftheworld that is just odd.
I wouldn't serve previously frozen meat.
I would probably email the supplier but that's just me.

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General food
Chewbecca · 17/12/2024 19:18

Cold canapés, no, I wouldn’t freeze twice. Definitely wouldn’t serve them on Christmas Day,

LaPalmaLlama · 17/12/2024 19:22

Onthefarsideoftheworld · 17/12/2024 18:56

M and S pork sage and onion stuffing states on packaging ….
suitable for freezing. .. this product may have been previously frozen and returned to chill temperature. Further freezing will not affect quality.
Can anyone explain how this is ok. .?.

I used to live in HK and practically all "fresh" imported food is like this (imported frozen and defrosted once arrived) , and everyone is fine eating it and refreezing it so I guess the controlled conditions is the key thing- i.e. it's never brought up to room temperature.

Ineffable23 · 17/12/2024 19:27

samarrange · 17/12/2024 00:50

What matters is the total length of time it is unfrozen - which is when bacteria can multiply.

Is the correct answer.

In the early days of freezers, there were apparently people who thought that re-freezing food somehow reversed the clock. So the advice was born, "Never refreeze anything".

But if you buy a chicken breast on Monday that has a sell-by date of next Monday on it, then freeze it on Tuesday, thaw it on Wednesday, decide on Thursday that you didn't want it, freeze it again on Friday, thaw it on Saturday, and cook and eat it on Sunday, it will be perfectly fine. The quality might have suffered a bit (although even then, not much with something as basic as white chicken meat), but it will have fewer bacteria than if you'd left it in the fridge all week.

Years of food advice, each piece probably impeccable on its own, seem to have led to a situation where people are unable to apply any common sense at all. I knew someone who stopped eating eggs when Edwina Currie warned about them. They died 20 years later, having never eaten another egg, because the government never officially gave the all-clear.

Show quote history

This.

And noting that the texture may be not ideal.

whatisforteamum · 17/12/2024 19:44

Ineffable there will always be people who refreeze,reheat leaves food out overnight with no consequences.
Then there are the huge amount of people who get food poisoning each yr.
The OP asked for advice and the vast majority of replies are don't risk it with smk salmon.

Ineffable23 · 17/12/2024 19:58

whatisforteamum · 17/12/2024 19:44

Ineffable there will always be people who refreeze,reheat leaves food out overnight with no consequences.
Then there are the huge amount of people who get food poisoning each yr.
The OP asked for advice and the vast majority of replies are don't risk it with smk salmon.

But logically, what can have happened to the salmon by freezing and defrosting it?

The only things, realistically, that could impact bacterial growth here are:

  1. Opportunities for contamination - no difference, packets not opened.
  2. Time - so it was stored in the fridge up to it's use by date then frozen then defrosted then stored longer.
  3. Temperature - if it was held at room temperature when otherwise it would be in the fridge.

If it's frozen the bacteria won't be multiplying. They won't die either so they'll carry on multiplying when it's defrosted, but freezing can't somehow make something more unsafe than it was in the fridge, unless you defrost it out of the fridge or give it some other opportunity to spend a chunk of time at a temperature when bacteria can multiply.

Obviously people need to be careful and I definitely wouldn't want to be defrosting and refreezing things where they come up to room temperature, but if it stays between fridge and freezer temperature I don't see how the bacteria could multiply at any great rate?

Onthefarsideoftheworld · 17/12/2024 20:18

It’s Marks and Spencer so you would think it should be okay ?

Original poster
StrongFemaleCharacter · 17/12/2024 22:50

They're in the bin. Thanks for all of your advice. I was hoping they'd be ok but the warning is on the label for a reason!

OP posts:
Nolegusta · 18/12/2024 06:14

Onthefarsideoftheworld · 17/12/2024 20:18

It’s Marks and Spencer so you would think it should be okay ?

Why?

ExceededUsefulEconomicLife · 18/12/2024 06:25

StrongFemaleCharacter · 17/12/2024 00:07

Ok so I've just checked the packaging again and it says that the product has previously been frozen and defrosted under controlled conditions - does that make a difference?

This is usually why the warning is there due to storage through the warehouse process. I wouldn't re freeze anything with that warning that had previously been frozen.

Bjorkdidit · 18/12/2024 06:54

StrongFemaleCharacter · 17/12/2024 22:50

They're in the bin. Thanks for all of your advice. I was hoping they'd be ok but the warning is on the label for a reason!

The reason being that they're being ridiculously over cautious and they're happy for you to throw away perfectly safe food and go and buy more.

Perhaps if you've left them at room temperature for hours on end and you're feeding vulnerable people it might not have been a good idea to freeze, defrost and eat but I've done this sort of thing countless times and never had a problem.

Likewise defrosted meat, changed my mind about cooking it and put it back in the freezer for another day.

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