Food Safety With Frozen Vegetables?

[Ronnym]

Bought frozen broccoli and green peas months ago and left it in the freezer. Normally when I cook it, I open up the bag and pour in whatever amount I want to eat. Then I sort of wrap the opening of it without using like a clip like one where you use for like an open bag of potato chips. So many times, the hole of the opened plastic bag would still be open. Is that a big issue? Or are you suppose to always pour the rest of it in a zlploc bag? I did that with the ziploc bag later on.

I have a few of these frozen vegetable bags and a few of them are opened from months back. When I look at it, there is a ton of ice crystals. Not only that, there is a ton of ice as well inside it. I have several unopened bags as well. Last time when I opened a bag, and poured it in a pot to cook it... I cook it by boiling it with water... a ton of ice crystals came out but a ton of ice. This is like the ice that shows up in the back of your freezer. I ended up pouring that frozen broccoli away that was in my pot. Is it safe to cook and eat frozen broccoli or peas if you pour it into a pot and there is a ton of ice there? I would be pouring water over it and then boiling it.

Should I toss the opened bags away since it was opened months ago? I should have just poured the rest of it into a ziploc bag but didn't do that. Had I done that, there would not been any ice crystals or ice? The other thing is the unopened bags of broccoli and green peas, there is a ton of ice crystals and ice visible as well. These plastic bags are sort of visible so you could see the frozen vegetables inside. The thing is a few times the power did go out but because my freezer is usually half full at least... well anything in the freezer is good for 24 hours right? The power went out for a few hours at the most. The thing is before this happened, I am pretty certain there was already ice crystals and ice in those unopened bags of broccoli and green peas.

Any issue with just pouring the unopened bag of broccoli and green peas in a pot and then pouring water and boiling it to cook? I don't really want to grab all the ice out of the pot. I am going to just pour all the frozen broccoli or green peas in the pot in one serving though it would be hard with the green peas because there is a lot of it. But would it be fine to pour the rest of the green peas in a Ziploc bag?

I should just toss away the opened bags of broccoli and green peas that were opened months ago right? Or should I throw it all away? I do make my freezer really cold so is that why the ice crystals and ice showed up? I know about ice crystals but lot of ice is what has me confused. How did that happen? Where can I ask this question for advice?

Is it safe to cook and eat frozen broccoli or peas if you pour it into a pot and there is a ton of ice there

Yes.

Ice is just frozen water.
You are at no risk whatsoever @Ronnym .
I've never heard of decanting veg from the original bag into a ziplock. Sounds like a totally meaningless extra job to me!

The only potential issue is with the taste or texture. There is no food safety issue provided you are putting them in boiling water so don’t worry.

There's no risk whatsoever in tipping the veg into boiling water, ice and all! None.

You may be getting ice crystals forming on the packs because the freezer door may have been left open for a bit here and there, that's all. Just stick a clothes peg on the original opened bags and it'll be fine.

Well I never had a ton of ice come out of a frozen vegetable bag like this. Normally it would be a few ice crystals. So just leaving all the ice in the pot is fine when boiling it with water?

Well the plastic bag of frozen broccoli or green peas, when you rip it over like a big bag of potato chips, there is going to be a hole there. I always then just fold it so the opening isn't exposed. However, it's hard for that to happen since it would eventually open by itself or you push something else in the freezer into it and now it opens. I never had transferred the rest of the opened package into a ziploc bag until recently. So you are saying that is not necessary?

Are you saying you could take a big plastic cup and pour the remaining green peas into it and just leave it in the freezer fully exposed like say a can of soda in the freezer? Because since I don't transfer the remaining frozen vegetables into a ziploc bag, well the frozen vegetables is going to be exposed... but obviously not as open like if I pour it into a big plastic open cup so to speak?

Yea I heard the main issue is with the taste and texture. So you are saying don't throw the remaining opening bags away then? I had it opened for months at least. I think I should throw those bags away?

But the unopened bags, no issue with eating it. But should I transfer the rest of the frozen broccoli or peas into a Ziploc bag though if I can't eat the entire bag in one serving? Is that better in that it protects it more since it's sealed? It's hard to eat entire bag of green bags in a serving but broccoli it is possible.

The thing is if I do use a ziploc bag, can I use the same one for the next and remaining bags or not? I assume it doesn't need to be washed right? Or should I use a new ziploc bag each time for each unopened bag of frozen vegetables?

It's just ice. Ice dissolves in boiling water when you cook the veg. There's no risk.

You don’t need to throw the open bags away, carry on using them.

The ice will melt and become boiling water in the pan.
gravy or cheese sauce are what you need if the veg is a little freezer burnt.

You don't need to throw the open bags away, and you don't need to decant into ziplock bags.

Perhaps invest in some clips for the future (but only to stop the veg falling out and making a mess, not for food safety reasons).

I use a clothes peg to reseal the bag

I did notice some of the unopened bags, some of the vegetables do look a little yellow. Is that a concern? These are not expired and I left it in freezer the entire time. There was a power outage that was a few hours but my freezer was half full which meant it is good for 24 hours. I believe it was a little yellow even before that.

It is fine to cook the unopened bags right? But the opened bags that been opened for months and I didn't use any clip to close it... I should throw them out?

Hello my lovely. Your other thread has just popped up as well. Are you getting help for your anxiety?

I promise you that you are at no risk from your can of Red Bull or from your frozen food. Please contact your GP and tell someone at the practice how vulnerable you are feeling.

This ,OP your anxiety is palpable . Please contact your GP .X

Your food sounds safe. I'm concerned that you may have issues with anxiety. Might it be worth seeing your GP?

You sound like you are spiralling. Have you been given any techniques to help calm your intrusive thoughts? If so, now would be the time to use them. I promise you the ice crystals are safe. All that will happen is they’ll cool your boiling water down slightly so it might take a few seconds or a minute longer to cook the veg.

i think you’ve got another thread about a can being contaminated haven’t you? This is not a food safety issued this is a huge anxiety / OCD problem that you need to get some help with.