|
Some food-safety pamphlets and websites say fresh meats and fish, raw or cooked, can be safely frozen for two to four months, whole uncooked poultry for 12 months, some processed foods for one to two months. But the guidelines are for consistent storage at very low temperatures, and conditions vary among home freezers.
Home freezers are constantly opened and closed, causing temperature fluctuations. So if yours is a busy kitchen, it might be best to keep fresh food and cooked leftovers frozen no more than a week or so before eating.
Cooked leftovers, once frozen or refrigerated, should be reheated only once, then discarded. Raw foods, once frozen, should be thawed only once, and not refrozen. If you need to use only part of a chunk of food, divide it up into smaller portions before first freezing, so you can later thaw and use a portion at a time. Multiple reheating and thawing grows lots of bacteria which could make you ill.
During power failures, keep the cold air in by not opening the fridge doors at all. In Singapore, most power failures are fixed quickly, so the food is safe for an hour or two as long as you don’t open the appliance doors – and if all the fridge’s seals and insulation are in tip-top shape.
Popular wisdom says that food in a sealed refrigerator without power is safe for 24 hours, but this is heavily affected by factors like the age and condition of the appliance, the external temperature, and how packed your freezer is (the more full, the better).
Once the power returns, check all the food. Discard or immediately cook and eat any raw items that have thawed or melted. Use your nose to guide you, especially with potentially dangerous-when-off foods such as meats, seafood, eggs and dairy products. | 
SHOP
