To freeze stuff that says it's not suitable for freezing?

[NotJustACigar]

Why do so many different foods say "not suitable for freezing" yet they're absolutely fine when frozen and defrosted? Recent things include a sticky toffee pudding from M&S, chicken wings in sauce, pasta dishes, etc. AIBU to freeze them anyway if I'm not going to use them before they go off? Do you do this and have you had any issues?

It kind of depends what the thing is.
Some sauces won’t survive, and very soft fruit won’t either.

I'd freeze the chicken wings and pudding but I find cooked pasta is mushy after it's been frozen so I'd leave that

I do this and haven't had issues!

Because jt may not come out in a right consistency and people would compalin.
Also, some things may have been actually already frozen and defrosted.
I freeze all kinds too😁

Sometimes it's because they have been frozen before somewhere along the food chain - you shouldn't re-freeze previously thawed food. Mostly because of textures but also bacteria issues.

As pp said it may have been frozen and defrosted once already which means re freezing is a real food hygiene risk

jt may not come out in a right consistency and people would compalin
Complain even
I agree - a bit like when you get "dry clean only" labels on cotton T shirts. I am careful about fish that's been previously frozen though.

The ingredients maybe pre frozen like seafood, hence not being able to freeze it again.

Dang! The typos will kill me once😂

I've frozen cooked pasta and it's fine. I pour boiling water from the kettle over it and leave for 5 mins without the saucepan being heated, then strain and put a tea towel over the strainer for 2 mins then serve with sauce. I wouldn"t eat it on a salad or on it's own because I don't like pasta that much.

I was thinking this today, when I cleared out the fridge.

I’d like to see manufacturers put honest warning labels on stuff — so you’d have either

A) inadvisable to freeze, cos it will taste shit

B) really, really do not freeze, unless you want to spend the next 24 hrs shitting yourself inside out.

Would save a lot of food waste.

A lot of the time it just means the quality will be affected by freezing, not that it will spoil.

It's likely that a part of the product has already been frozen for storage somewhere in the supply chain - quite possibly the chicken is supplied to the sauce factory frozen, for example. Even for generally fresh products, some might be stored frozen at the factory to help keep the supply chain running. Pretty much all frozen foods come with the warning not to re-freeze, as the moisture generated by the thawing process can refreeze on the surface of the product and make it look unattractive at least.

I freeze everything 😅

@BillMasheen

I was thinking this today, when I cleared out the fridge.

I’d like to see manufacturers put honest warning labels on stuff — so you’d have either

A) inadvisable to freeze, cos it will taste shit

B) really, really do not freeze, unless you want to spend the next 24 hrs shitting yourself inside out.

Would save a lot of food waste.

I do this all the time, often I don't even realise, eg with yellow sticker items we won't eat that night (ready meals for example) - no idea of the rhyme or reason but they always seem fine.

If once defrosted and/or cooked they smelled or looked dubious then of course I would bin.