Food Safety System

nutrition arctic Information Freezing and feed sanctuary oods in the impeder are they in force(p)? Every year, thousands of callers to the USDA amount and poultry Hotline pick up questions nigh the effectivety of items stored in their home deep-freezes. The perplexity seems to be based on the fact that few people realise how freezing protects aliment. Here is some information on how to freeze pabulum dependablely and how long to keep it. F What Can You Freeze? You mountain freeze al around every solid solid forage. Some exceptions are stinkerned food or eggs in shells. However, once the food ( such as a ham) is out of the can, you whitethorn freeze it.Being able to freeze food and being pleased with the woodland after unblocking are two several(predicate) things. Some foods s suggest turn int freeze well. Examples are mayonnaise, baste sauce, and lettuce. Raw totality and bird maintain their timber longer than their warped counterparts because wet is l ost during grooming. Is frigid nourishment Safe? provender stored constantly at 0 F or on a lower floor will al shipway be reliable. Only the part suffers with lengthy deep deep-freeze warehousing. Freezing keeps food safe by slowing the movement of molecules, causing microbes to enter a hibernating(prenominal) stage.Freezing preserves food for extended periods because it prevents the growth of microorganisms that cause both food spoilage and foodborne illness. Freezing to 0 F or below inactivates any microbes bacteria, yeasts, and molds set out in food. Once flux, however, these microbes can again become active, multiplying infra the right conditions to levels that can lead to foodborne illness. Since they will then(prenominal) grow at close to the same rate as microorganisms on fresh food, you mustiness handle unfreeze items as you would any perishable food. Trichina and early(a)wise parasites can be destroyed by sub-zero freezing temperatures.However, very austere government-supervised conditions must be met. Home freezing can non be relied upon to destroy trichina. consummate(a) preparation, however, will destroy all parasites. Does Freezing Destroy Bacteria and Parasites? impudence and Quality Freshness and quality at the time of freezing impact the condition of nipping foods. If wintry at peak quality, thawed foods fall out tasting better than foods frozen near the end of their useful life. So freeze items you wont use quickly shorter rather than later. Store all foods at 0 F or below to celebrate vitamin content, people of colour, flavor, and texture.The freezing process itself does non destroy nutrients. In bosom and poultry products, there is little change in nutrient judge during freezer storage. Nutrient Retention The fare Safety and Inspection table serv scratch (FSIS) is the public health agency in the U. S. Department of Agriculture creditworthy for ensuring that the nations commercial supply of meat, poult ry, and egg products is safe, altogethersome, and correctly tagged and packaged. USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) USDA Photo PhotoDisc sustenance Safety Whileand InspectionCamping & Boating Food Safety Hiking, ServiceUnited States Department of Agriculture Freezing and Food Safety Enzymes Enzyme activity can lead to the deterioration of food quality. Enzymes present in animals, vegetables, and fruit promote chemical reactions before and after harvest, such as ripening. Freezing only slows the enzyme activity that takes place in foods. It does not halt them. Enzyme activity does not harm frozen meats or lean and is neutralized by the acids in frozen fruits. But most vegetables that freeze well are low acid and require brief, partial cooking to prevent deterioration. This is called blanching. For successful freezing, blanch or partially cook vegetables in boiling water or in a microwave oven. whence rapidly chill the vegetables prior to freezing and st orage. Consult a cookery book for timing. Packaging Proper packaging helps maintain quality and prevent freezer burn. It is safe to freeze meat or poultry directly in its original packaging, however this type of wrap is permeable to air and quality may diminish over time. For prolonged storage, overwrap these packages as you would any food for long-term storage. It is not necessary to rinse meat and poultry.Freeze unopened senselessness packages as is. If you notice that a package has accidentally been torn or has opened while food is in the freezer, the food is quiesce safe to use merely overwrap or rewrap it. Freezer burn does not manufacture food unsafe merely dry in spots. It appears as grayish- cook, tough spots and is caused by air coming in feeling with the climb of the food. Cut freezer-burned portions away either before or after cooking the food. Heavily freezer-burned foods may have to be discarded for quality reasons. food touching changes can occur in frozen foo ds.The bright red color of meat as purchased usually turns dark or pale brown depending on its variety. This may be due to lack of oxygen, freezer burn, or abnormally long storage. Freezing doesnt usually cause color changes in poultry. However, the bones and the meat near them can become dark. prepare darkening results when pigment seeps through and through the porous bones of young poultry into the surrounding tissues when the poultry meat is frozen and thawed. The dulling of color in frozen vegetables and cooked foods is usually the result of excessive drying due to improper packaging or overlengthy storage.Freezer Burn Color Changes Freeze Rapidly Freeze food as fast as possible to maintain its quality. Rapid freezing prevents un necessitateed large ice crystals from forming throughout the product because the molecules dont have time to form into the characteristic six-sided snowflake. Slow freezing creates large, disruptive ice crystals. During thawing, they damage the cells a nd dissolve emulsions. This causes meat to drip and lose juiciness. Emulsions such as mayonnaise or cream will separate and appear curdled. Ideally, a food 2-inches abstruse should freeze completely in about 2 instants.If your home freezer has a quick-freeze shelf, use it. Never pickle packages to be frozen. Instead, spread them out in one layer on various shelves, stacking them only after frozen solid. Freezer Refrigerator Temperatures If a refrigerator freezing compartment cant maintain 0 F or below or if the door is opened frequently, use it for short-term food storage. Eat those foods as soon as possible for surpass(p) quality. Use a free-standing freezer set at 0 F or below for long-term storage of frozen foods. Keep an lash-up thermometer in your freezing compartment or freezer to outfit the temperature.This is important if you acquire a spring outage or mechanical problems. The temperature in the refrigerator should be set at 40 F or below. hold off the refrigerato r temperature with an appliance thermometer. Food Safety Information 2 Freezing and Food Safety Freezer Storage Times Because freezing keeps food safe indefinitely, recommended storage times are for quality only. Refer to the freezer storage chart at the end of this document, which lists optimum freezing times for best quality. If a food is not listed on the chart, you may determine its quality after thawing. First check the odor.Some foods will develop a moody or off odor when frozen too long and should be discarded. Some may not look picture perfect or be of high enough quality to serve alone, but may be edible and can be used to make soups or stews. Safe Thawing Never thaw foods in a garage, basement, car, dishwasher, or plastic gar al-Qaidae bag, out on the kitchen counter, open air, or on the porch. These methods can leave your foods unsafe to eat. There are three safe ways to thaw food in the refrigerator, in cold water, or in the microwave. The last two methods may be the fa stest, however, the food must be cooked immediately after thawing. . Its best to plan ahead for slow, safe thawing in the refrigerator. Small items may defrost overnight most food requires a day or two to completely defrost. heroic items like turkeys may take longer, approximately 1 day for severally 5 pounds of weight. 2. For faster thawing, place food in a flight proof plastic bag and immerse it in cold water. (If the bag leaks, bacteria from the air or surrounding environment could be introduced into the food. Food may absorb water like a sponge, resulting in a watery product. ) Change the water every 30 minutes. after thawing, cook immediately. 3.When microwave-defrosting food, plan to cook it immediately after thawing because some areas of the food may become warm and sustain to cook during microwaving. Refreezing Food thawed in the refrigerator is safe to refreeze without cooking, although there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through thawing. After cooki ng, foods that were previously frozen are safe to refreeze. If previously cooked foods are thawed in the refrigerator, you may refreeze the unused portion. Freeze leftovers within 3-4 days. Do not refreeze any foods left outside the refrigerator longer than 2 hours 1 hour in temperatures above 90 F.If you purchase previously frozen meat, poultry, or fish at a retail store, you can refreeze if it has been handled safely. homework Frozen Foods Raw or cooked meat, poultry, or casseroles can be cooked or reheated from the frozen state. However, it will take approximately one and a fractional times as long to cook. Remember to discard any housecoat or absorbent paper from meat or poultry. When cooking satisfying frozen poultry, remove the giblet pack from the cavity as soon as you can loosen it. Cook the giblet separately. Read the tick off on USDA-inspected frozen meat and poultry products.Some items, such as pre-stuffed whole birds, MUST be cooked from the frozen state to ensure a safely cooked product. LOOK FOR THE USDA OR STATE MARK OF INSPECTION The command mark on the packaging tells you the product was prepared in a USDA or State-inspected plant under controlled conditions. Follow the package directions for thawing, reheating, and storing. Food Safety Information 3 Freezing and Food Safety personnel Outage in Freezers If there is a queen outage, the freezer fails, or if the freezer door has been left unfastened by mistake, the food may still be safe to use if ice crystals run.If the freezer has failed and a maintenance man is on the way, or it appears the power will be on soon, dont open the freezer door. If the freezer door was left ajar and the freezer continued to keep the food cold, the food should stay safe. A freezer full of food will usually keep about 2 days if the door is kept shut a half-full freezer will last about a day. The freezing compartment in a refrigerator may not keep foods frozen as long. If the freezer is not full, quickly grou p packages together so they will retain the cold more effectively. Separate meat and poultry items from ther foods so if they begin to thaw, their juices wont drip onto other foods. When the power is off, you may want to put dry ice, block ice, or bags of ice in the freezer or transfer foods to a friends freezer until power is restored. Use an appliance thermometer to monitor the temperature. To determine the safety of foods when the power goes on, check their condition and temperature. If food is partly frozen, still has ice crystals, or is as cold as if it were in a refrigerator (40 F or below), it is safe to refreeze or use. Its not necessary to cook in the buff foods before refreezing.Discard foods that have been warmer than 40 F for more than 2 hours. Discard any foods that have been contaminated by raw meat juices. Dispose of soft or melted ice cream for qualitys sake. When it is freezing outside and there is snow on the ground, the outdoors seems like a good place to keep fo od until the power comes on. However, frozen food can thaw if it is exposed to the suns rays even when the temperature is very cold. The outside temperature could vary hour by hour and the temperature outside will not protect refrigerated and frozen food. Food may become too warm and foodborne bacteria could grow.Additionally, perishable items could be exposed to unsanitary conditions or to animals. Animals may harbor bacteria or disease never consume food that has come in contact with an animal. Frozen Cans Cans frozen accidentally, such as those left in a car or basement in subzero temperatures, can present health problems. If the cans are merely swollen and you are sure the swelling was caused by freezing the cans may still be usable. Let the can thaw in the refrigerator before opening. If the product doesnt look and/or smell normal, throw it out. DO NOT TASTE ITIf the seams have dilapidate or burst, throw the cans out immediately. Wrap the burst can in plastic and dispose of the food where no one, including animals, can get it. mystify eggs should not be frozen. If an egg accidentally freezes and the shell goofy during freezing, discard the egg. Keep any uncracked eggs frozen until needed then thaw in the refrigerator. These can be hard cooked successfully, but other uses may be limited. Thats because freezing causes the vitellus to become thick and syrupy, so it will not flow like an unfrozen yolk or blend very well with the egg white or other ingredients. Frozen EggsFood Safety Information 4 Freezing and Food Safety FREEZER STORAGE CHART (0 F or below) strike off Freezer storage times are for quality only. Frozen foods remain safe indefinitely. Item Bacon and Sausage Casseroles Egg whites or egg substitutes Frozen Dinners and Entrees Gravy, meat, or poultry Ham, Hot dogs, and Luncheon Meats Meat, raw roasts Meat, uncooked steaks or chops Months 1 to 2 2 to 3 Unopened 12 3 to 4 2 to 3 1 to 2 Item Meat, uncooked ground Meat, cooked Poultry, uncooke d whole Poultry, uncooked parts Poultry, uncooked giblets Poultry, cooked Months 3 to 4 2 to 3 12 9 3 to 4 4 2 to 3 to 12 4 to 12 Soups and Stews Wild game, uncooked 8 to 12 Food Safety Questions? send for the USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline If you have a question about meat, poultry or egg products, call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline toll free at 1-888-MPHotline or 1-888-674-6854, TTY 1-800-256-7072. The hotline is open year-round Monday through Friday from 10 a. m. to 4 p. m. EST (English or Spanish). Listen to timely recorded food safety messages at the same number 24 hours a day. Check out the FSIS Web site at www. sis. usda. gov. Ask Karen FSIS automated reaction system can provide food safety information 24/7 and a live chat during Hotline hours. Send e-mail questions to MPHotline. emailprotected gov FSIS encourages the separate and distribution of this publication for food safety education purposes. However, USDA symbols or logos may not be used separately to imply endorsem ent of a commercial product or service. AskKaren. gov The USDA is an comprise opportunity provider and employer. Revised May 2010