To not freeze as soon as possible after purchase?

[ebadame]

"Ideally freeze as soon as possible after purchase but always by 'use by' date shown"

AIBU to not understand why it is ideal to freeze ASAP? What is the difference between it being stored in the supermarket fridge vs my fridge? I bought a load of reduced stuff to freeze today so it got me thinking.

No different. I ignore and freeze on the use by if we've not eaten it.

Why do they say it is ideal then?

Because the sooner you freeze it, the less chance of it going off.
Have you never had an item of food go bad before the use by date?

This. Plus you need to factor in time tk freeze and time to thaw.

No, never.

Ahhh I didn't think of that bit. So it needs to freeze before midnight

They need to account for the people who's fridges aren't cold enough or they bought it at lunchtime and left it in the car all afternoon.

If you know that none of this applies to you, of course it's fine to keep the food in the fridge until the use by date.

Lucky! I had some chicken go off before thr date, the smell was rancid! 🤢

If I buy reduced priced food, I'll freeze it ASAP if I'm not eating it that day.

Because time doesn’t cease to exist when an item is in the supermarket fridge.

Well stuff doesn’t magically go off at midnight if it was ok the evening before, but I guess it’s just to cover themselves that you’re encouraged to freeze it sooner rather than later.

Because while you can see it tucked up in the supermarket chiller at an optimal temperature , you don’t know where else or for how long it has been hanging about in lorries, on trollies, or in warehouses at whatever temperature. And while I am sure most supermarkets are strict about food safety we all know that any safety regulations are only as effective as the person charged with enforcing them.

The food doesn’t know when you bought it. You could buy it on the sell by date and freeze it, or buy it a week before and freeze it on the sell by date. Makes no difference.

Yes I follow. Thank you

Think about a loaf of bread. Would you rather eat a slice from a loaf that has 5 days until its use by, or is already on its use by?
When you freeze something you are in effect freezing it in time.
That loaf of bread will last longer after it’s defrosted if it was fresher when it was frozen.
If it was on its last day when frozen you have to use it as soon as it’s defrosted.