How long does food stay fresh in the freezer?


The storage times listed below are approximate months of storage for some food products assuming the food has been prepared and packaged correctly and stored in the freezer at or below 0°F. For best quality use the shorter storage times. After these times, the food should still be safe, just lower in quality.

Guidelines: 

  • Fruits and Vegetables 7 – 12 months
  • Poultry 6 – 8 months
  • Fish 3 – 6 months
  • Ground Meat 3 – 4 months
     

Was the food packaged properly?

Cool all foods and syrups before packaging to speed up the rate of freezing and help retain the natural color, flavor, and texture of the food.
Packaging materials must be moisture-vapor resistant; durable and leak proof; protect foods from off-flavors and odors; and easy to seal.
Good packaging choices for freezing foods include rigid containers made of plastic, glass or aluminum; semi-rigid aluminum foil pans; plastic bags; and flexible wraps including plastic, foil and laminated paper. For best moisture-vapor resistance, be sure to choose bags, wraps and boxes made especially for food freezing.
Allow enough headspace so food can expand without breaking package seals.
Label each package; include the name of the product, any added ingredients, packaging date, the number of servings of amount, and form of food.
Use freezer tape, or pens and labels made especially for freezer use.


5 responses to “How long does food stay fresh in the freezer?”

  1. filza says:

    I have a question, what is the safe way to defreeze meat or ground beef?????
    place it in water for 1 hour or 2 OR use Microwave to defreeze.????

  2. Sally says:

    It depends, honestly the best way I was always told is to defrost in the freezer.

    I disagree with some of these guidlines.

    I know my dad has fished since the day he was born (pretty much)
    and he keeps fish up to a year in deep freeze.

    Same thing with cuts of cow etc.

  3. Erica says:

    I have pieces of a whole cow in my basment freezer, they have been there for more then 4 months and they taste just as good. Also the way we defrost at my house is just sitting on a plate a few hrs before, or in the fridge.

  4. Atara says:

    If you notice, it says “ground beef”, not cuts of beef. Ground beef will go bad more quickly because it has more surface area exposed.

    There’s a much better chart here:
    http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FactSheets/Focus_On_Freezing/index.asp#19

  5. willowsprite says:

    The safest way to defrost anything is to put it in the fridge. Larger pieces can take a long time this way, though, so plan ahead.


















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