Have you ever started cleaning your fridge only to discover you have several packages of food about to go bad? Maybe you threw it away. Or, perhaps, you decided to prolong its shelf life by throwing it in the freezer to eat it later.
Food can go bad in the freezer, however, depending on the type of spoilage, it may still be edible. Spoiled food is contaminated with bacteria and can cause food poisoning. However, if stored at the proper temperature, it should not develop bacteria and might just be freezer-burned.
Can you eat freezer-burned food? How do you know if food has gone bad in the freezer? Keep reading to learn more!
6 Ways To Tell If Food Has Gone Bad In the Freezer
Frozen food starts to discolor and lose its texture after it has spoiled. These signs indicate different levels of spoilage and may still be edible in certain cases. However, the food’s flavor, scent, texture, and other features may be lost.
Food stays edible in the freezer for a very long time compared to other storage methods. Frozen foods should be kept at 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 degrees Celcius). This low temperature essentially allows the food to be frozen in time without spoiling or decaying.
Fresh foods store better in the freezer than baked or cooked goods. They don’t suffer from freezer burn like cooked and baked foods.
However, both can stay in the freezer for years as long as they maintain a certain internal temperature. Technically, frozen food can still be eaten if it is not spoiled, but it might not be ideal for consumption.
Therefore, it is important to understand the difference between spoilage and freezer burn. Freezer-burned food is edible but won’t taste or smell good. Spoiled food will likely make you sick due to the presence of bacteria and fungal spores.
Below we’ll break down how to distinguish these signs and whether the food can still be eaten!
1. Discolored Meat
Meat is composed primarily of protein sinews and fat. As the meat breaks down, it starts to lose blood and begins to look grey or brown.
This is especially true for raw meat since cooked meat doesn’t break down the way raw meat does. However, freezer-burned meat looks somewhat different.
Some tell-tale signs of spoilage include the following:
- Sticky surface
- Clotted blood
- Rancid smell
- Brown surface
Some tell-tale signs of freezer burn include the following:
- Ice crystals inside
- Grey coloring
- Dry texture
- Stale scent
Spoiled meat should never be eaten. Although it’s extremely rare for frozen meat to spoil, it’s not impossible. If the freezer lost power, wasn’t cooling properly, or has been exposed to other environmental factors, it should be thrown away.
Freezer burn occurs due to an internal breakdown of food as the result of ice crystals developing inside. This food is still edible but isn’t recommended.
2. Vegetables Appear Dry
When vegetables start to spoil in the freezer, they may start to smell bad or become mushy. However, if vegetables have developed freezer burn, they will exhibit different signs. Like with freezer-burned meat, this doesn’t necessarily mean the food is inedible.
Freezer burn occurs in vegetables due to age and temperature fluctuations. To prevent freezer burn, ensure the freezer remains at a steady 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 degrees Celcius). Not only will this prevent spoilage, as we mentioned above, but it will also prevent freezer burn.
This is because when food is frozen at a low temperature, it creates small ice crystals inside the food. This allows food to maintain its fluid and thaw properly.
Vegetables with freezer burn will taste dry, burned, and smell stale. Although edible, it will be unpleasant.
3. Ice Crystals Built-up Inside the Package
Ice crystals inside of a food package indicate that the food was put in the freezer while it was warm or hot. If the food was warm or hot when it was put in the freezer, then it could cause precipitation inside the package.
Condensation occurs when warm or hot water comes into contact with cold environments. When water is hot, it turns to steam, otherwise known as a gas state.
However, once the water vapor comes into contact with below-freezing temperatures, it returns to liquid. This causes a lot of moisture to leave the food and condensate on the package. Eventually, this water freezes and turns into large ice crystals.
This makes the food dry out and become unpleasant. If you see a lot of large ice crystals inside your package, it can still be eaten, but the quality will be rather low.
4. Smells Stale
Sometimes your frozen food will smell stale due to the presence of bacteria or because it’s dry. It can be difficult to determine the cause of this smell, but the best way to figure it out is to check the freezer’s temperature.
If the freezer’s temperature fluctuates, it can cause bacteria to grow. This can create a rancid yet stale smell inside your freezer and food.
The scent could be benign if you feel confident that your food has not experienced temperature fluctuations. It could be caused by one or more of the following:
- Putting hot foods in the freezer
- Improperly sealed foods
- Smelly or strong foods in the refrigerator
This smell could simply result from lots of different foods being stored in a small area. If you want to kill this unpleasant smell, clean your fridge and freezer regularly and use baking soda to absorb the scent.
5. Sticky or Slimy When Defrosted
If you defrost your food and it’s sticky or slimy, it could be caused by spoilage and bacteria.
Sometimes we freeze food in a rush to prevent it from spoiling. Maybe we pull the chicken out of the fridge and realize it has a use-by date of tomorrow. This causes us to wrap it up quickly and throw it in the freezer.
There are several issues with this method of freezing:
- Use-by dates aren’t reliable
- Food takes time to freeze thoroughly
- Bacteria can become active again once thawed
If your food has already started to spoil, then freezing it will not change its edibility. Food doesn’t freeze right away and could spoil before it thoroughly freezes.
Or, it could have a large amount of bacteria already on its surface. Once thawed, this food could cause food poisoning since freezing doesn’t necessarily kill bacteria.
6. You Smell Bleach or Other Cleaner Scents
Frozen food that smells like harsh cleaners and chemicals should not be consumed. This is most likely caused by cross-contamination.
This could have occurred before freezing your food or while your food was in the freezer. If you clean your fridge or freezer with chemicals, these chemicals can leech through plastic bags and wrap.
To avoid this, either clean your appliances with non-lethal chemicals or empty your fridge and freezer before cleaning. The second option is the one we recommend since it’s the best way to prevent accidental cross-contamination.
Ensure you thoroughly wipe up and remove these chemicals once the cleaning is finished.
What Happens If You Eat Frozen Food That Has Gone Bad?
Eating frozen food that’s gone bad could cause food poisoning and digestive discomfort. Most of the time, freezer-burned food is harmless and can be consumed. However, if the food has spoiled, it could lead to unpleasant and harmful ailments.
Generally, eating expired or off-colored frozen food is safer than eating fresh foods that show signs of spoilage. This is because frozen food doesn’t grow bacteria due to the low temperatures.
The only way food can spoil to the extent of causing food poisoning include the following:
- Freezing expired food
- Freezing foods left out overnight
- Freezing foods kept at 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) or above
- Poor food handling
In other words, frozen food only spoils due to issues before freezing them. Or by using poor food handling techniques or thawing methods. Otherwise, frozen food will last for years without developing foodborne illnesses.
How to Properly Thaw Frozen Foods
You can thaw frozen foods safely using one of the following methods:
- Thaw in the refrigerator
- Thaw in cold water
- Thaw in the microwave
The safest way to thaw frozen, raw meat is by keeping it in the refrigerator. It’s not safe to consume meat that has undergone significant temperature changes. This is why putting your meat in the fridge to thaw overnight is the safest way to thaw meat for consumption.
However, cooked meats can be safely thawed in the microwave. However, you should avoid microwaving frozen cooked meats and refreezing them more than once.
This is because meat is likely to develop bacteria whenever it is brought to a high temperature. The more you do this, the more bacteria it grows and the more likely you are to become sick.
Vegetables are more flexible. The most important part of handling vegetables is proper washing and proper hand washing. Vegetables are especially susceptible to cross-contamination since they grow in manure and are handled by hundreds of people before you purchase them.
Before freezing your vegetables, soak them in hot soapy water. After they’ve soaked, rinse them thoroughly. Next, you can freeze them directly or blanch them before freezing them (this depends on the food you’re freezing).
You can thaw vegetables with warm water, in the microwave, fridge, or stove.
How Long Can You Store Different Foods In the Freezer?
You should keep food in the freezer for six months to two years. The time frame varies based on how the food is prepared and the type of food it is. Vegetables devalue the fastest but can be prolonged if you properly blanch them before freezing them.
Although foods don’t spoil in the freezer, they can decrease in value. Therefore, it’s wise to properly store them and eat them within six months for the best results.
This is just a rule of thumb, however. Below is a chart to help you determine when to eat each type of food:
| Beef | Minimum for best quality: six months | Maximum storage time: 2 years |
| Chicken | Minimum for best quality:4-6 months | Maximum storage time: 1-2 years |
| Pork | Minimum for best quality:6 months to a year | Maximum storage time: 2-3 years |
| Fish | Minimum for best quality:2-4 months | Maximum storage time: 1 year |
| Vegetables (blanched) | Minimum for best quality:6 months to a year | Maximum storage time: 2-3 years |
| Fruit | Minimum for best quality:2-4 months | Maximum storage time: 1 year |
| Bread | Minimum for best quality:2-4 months | Maximum storage time: 6 months |
| Milk | Minimum for best quality:2-4 months | Maximum storage time: 6 months |
Should You Eat Freezer-Burnt Food or Throw It Out?
It is best not to eat freezer-burned foods. Freezer-burn ruins the taste of the food and will probably be so unpleasant that you won’t want to eat it. However, it is perfectly edible as long as it has been kept at a consistent 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 degrees Celsius).
Freezer-burned foods are not the same as spoiled foods. Spoiled foods have started to decay or have been exposed to warm temperatures that caused them to develop bacteria.
However, freezer-burned foods are just unpleasant. They won’t necessarily cause food poisoning or digestive issues. However, if it smells spoiled, rancid, or feels slimy when it’s thawed, you should not eat it.
This is evidence of decay and spoilage, which could be caused by bacteria. If you eat this, it could make you very sick.
Although, if you’re sure your food has not spoiled, it’s perfectly safe to consume. However, it will likely taste unpleasant.
The ice crystals will leave the food tasting watery and feeling grainy. If you try to cook vegetables that are freezer-burned, they’ll likely taste dry and bland. Freezer-burned meat will taste bland and feel chewy.
Read more: How Do I Make My Freezer Colder?