What is freezer burn?

Hamburger with freezer burn

Have you ever removed an old item from the freezer and found it dry and discolored? Or covered in ice crystals? If so, you've been burned by your freezer.

According to Everyday Mysteries, water migrates to the coldest place they can find. If the shelves and walls of your freezer are colder than your steak, the water leaves the steaks and builds frost elsewhere, drying out the food, leaving space for Oxygen molecules to move in, which discolors the food. Wikipedia calls this sublimation, an odd process of going from a solid (ice) to a gas while skipping the liquid in-between state. Water molecules move about, find themselves near the food surface, freeze, and then sublime into water vapor and refreeze elsewhere.

The recommended way to prevent this is to tightly wrap food in layers. This slows the water migration but can not stop it. There is a time limit for storing foods and eventually you'll have ice crystals on the meat, inside the wrapping, instead of on the walls. Great wrapping (better yet vacuum sealed) will block oxidation and discoloration.

An odd cause of freezer burn is a freezer that is TOO warm, above 0 degrees F. In the 0 to 32 degree range water will freeze and "evaporate" from sublimation as described above. This process is actually encouraged with low presssure to "freeze-dry" items.

Bottom Line

With the exception of freezer burn damage, food can last indefinitely in a freezer. Freezing to 0 °F inactivates any microbes — bacteria, yeasts and molds — present in food. The microbes sleep, but they are not dead! Once thawed, the microbes again become active, multiplying under the right conditions to levels that can lead to foodborne illness. Treat thawed items the same as you would any perishable food.

Strategic Shopping: The best months to buy foods

"We used to build civilizations. Now we build shopping malls."
~Bill Bryson

The SurvivalistBlog.net has an excellent article entitled Strategic Shopping: A Month-by-Month Analysis by M.D. Creekmore.  Here's a summary of the best months for certain food specials and deals:

January

• After Christmas Sales (wrapping paper, tape, bows, winter clothes)
• National Oatmeal Month
• National Beef Month
• National Meat Month
• National Tea Month
• National Soup Month
• Super Bowl (excellent prices on chips, salsa, soda and snacks)

February

• National Canned Food Month
• National Hot Breakfast Month (pancake mix & maple syrup)
• National Snack Food Month
• National Cherry Month
• National Potato Lover’s Month
• Sweet Potato Month
• Celebration of Chocolate Month
• Valentines Day Sales (candy)
• Chinese New Year (soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, noodles, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts)

March

• St. Patrick’s Day (corned beef & cabbage)
• National Red Cross Month (CPR class & first aid items)
• National Noodle Month
• National Frozen Food Month
• National Peanut Month
• National Peanut Butter Lover’s Month
• National Celery Month
• National Flour Month
• Spring Cleaning (cleaning products)

April

• After Easter Sales (candy & ham)
• Daylight Savings Time (batteries, smoke detectors, and carbon monoxide monitors)

May

• Memorial Day Sales (condiments, picnic items, chips, soda)
• National Barbecue Month
• National Hamburger Month
• National Salsa Month
• National Strawberry Month
• National Salad Month

June

• National Dairy Month (butter)
• National Iced Tea Month
• National Seafood Month
• Adopt-a-Cat Month (buy one cat, get one free? :-)  (cat food)

July

• Fourth of July (picnic/party items)
• National Hot Dog Month
• National Baked Bean Month
• National July Belongs to Blueberries Month

August

• Back to School Sales
• National Peach Month
• National Coffee Month

"Summer items begin to go on clearance. Keep an eye out for charcoal, lighter fluid, paper plates and plastic utensils, sunscreen and insect repellent."

September

• Labor Day (last of the picnic/BBQ sales)
• National Chicken Month
• National Honey Month
• National Better Breakfast Month
• National Mushroom Month
• National Rice Month
• National Preparedness Month
• Summer Clearance Sales (clothes)

October

• Halloween
• National Apple Month
• National Tomato Month
• National Pasta Month
• National Dessert Month
• National Seafood Month
• National Pork Month
• National Eat Country Ham Month
• National Chili Month
• Adopt-a-Dog Month (dog food)

November

• Thanksgiving Sales ( Baking goods such as butter, sugar, flour, chocolate chips, etc.)

"The week of Thanksgiving is the best sales week of the year."
Expect cooling weather sales on canned soups, coffee, tea, and hot chocolate.

December

• Christmas Sales (hams)

Bottom Line

A food storage is not just a wise precaution for preparedness, it can also save you money if you buy and stockpile items when prices are low and use them later in the year.

How long is food safe during a power outage?

“I like these cold, gray winter days. Days like these let you savor a bad mood.”
-Bill Watterson (author of Calvin & Hobbes)

My wife & I recently spent several winter days without power due to the Oct 29 snow storm which dropped 4 inches of heavy wet snow on trees still covered with autumn leaves. This causes massive amounts of broken limbs, fallen trees, and power lines knocked down. The damage to power lines was greater than tropical storm Irene a few months back.

When the power went out on Saturday we knew it would be gone for awhile - this was a major storm. So our first thought was the fridge. We discussed what to pull from the fridge (before opening it) and then quickly removed items we wanted to use and put them in an insulated cooler. The fridge and freezer were not opened again until power was restored. The cooler was placed outside in the snow to help keep it cold. If we had been more clever we might have emptied the fridge and put everything in the snow. This would have been great overnight but perhaps still unsafe during the heat of day. We also could have used dry ice in the fridge but no one was distributing it locally to us.

The magic temperature with refrigerated food is 40°. The USDA says,

"Always keep meat, poultry, fish, and eggs refrigerated at or below 40°F and frozen food at or below 0°F." ... "The refrigerator will keep food safely cold for about 4 hours if it is unopened. A full freezer will hold the temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full) if the door remains closed."

The USDA website has a table listing when foods are no longer safe. Discard any potentially hazardous food that has been above 41°F for four hours or more, reached a temperature of 45°F or higher for any length of time, or has an unusual color, odor, or texture.

VERY IMPORTANT: More than 250 diseases can be caused by bacteria found in contaminated food. Many bacteria can grow above 40°F and not produce a funny smell or taste. Never taste food to determine if it’s safe.

The following items can tolerate room temperatures for a few days and DO NOT need to be tossed out:

• Butter or margarine
• Hard and processed cheeses
• Fresh uncut fruits and vegetables, Fruit juices
• Dried fruits and coconut
• Opened jars of vinegar-based salad dressings, jelly, relish, taco sauce, barbecue sauce, mustard, ketchup, olives and peanut butter
• Fresh herbs and spices
• Fruit pies, breads, rolls, and muffins. Cakes, except cream cheese frosted or cream-filled
• Flour and nuts

Fortunately the list above describes most of our fridge content.  We should toss our raw eggs and our yogurt. I always thought yogurt would last longer than regular milk but even yogurt has a short shelf life; see http://www.ehow.com/facts_7382133_long-yogurt-stay-good-unrefrigerated_.html

Bottom Line
Perishable food such as meat, poultry, seafood, milk, and eggs that are not kept adequately refrigerated or frozen may cause illness if consumed, even when they are thoroughly cooked.

For a list of foods and which are "safe" or not when warm, check out http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/keeping_food_Safe_during_an_emergency/index.asp
Another good site is http://www.uri.edu/ce/ceec/food/factsheets/powerout.html

See also my blog post:  Living without power

Power Outage

“I have the body of an eighteen year old. I keep it in the fridge.”
- humorist Spike Milligan

When the power goes out, a refrigerator will keep food safely cold for about 4 hours if UNOPENED. A full freezer will hold the temperature for up to two days if the door remains CLOSED (24 hours if the freezer is only half full).

More than 250 diseases can be caused by bacteria found in contaminated food. After a long outage, you can NOT rely on appearance or odor for food safety. Never taste food to determine if it’s safe use a food thermometer instead. Discard all perishable foods (meat, milk, soft cheeses, cooked leftovers) that have been above 40°F for 2 hours. Discard items that have come into contact with raw meat juices. If frozen food still contains ice crystals or is below 40 °F, it is safe to refreeze; otherwise toss it.

You can help preserve your food by moving any item you must use (like milk or soda for the children) into a cooler with ice. Then wrap tape or rope around your fridge and freezer to keep it closed from prying young fingers.

Bottom Line

For a list of foods and which are "safe" or not when warm, check out http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/keeping_food_Safe_during_an_emergency/index.asp

Another good site is http://www.uri.edu/ce/ceec/food/factsheets/powerout.html

If you don't have a food thermometer, then keep two ice cubes in a bag on a freezer shelf. If the ice has completely melted when the power returns, you can be pretty sure the food is not safe to keep.

Are Forzen Meals Safe?

Generally speaking, I think it is fair to say that I am a friend to the creatures of the earth when I am not busy eating them or wearing them. — John Hodgman

From the Consumerist.com, Food Companies: Our Food Probably Isn't Safe Enough For Your Microwave. Good Luck!

As the food supply chain gets longer and harder to control — food companies are Basically giving up and placing the responsibility for food safety on you, the consumer. In fact, one food giant, General Mills, has essentially conceded that cooking their food in a microwave isn't good enough.

According to the New York Times,

General Mills, which recalled about five million frozen pizzas in 2007 after an E. coli outbreak, now advises consumers to avoid microwaves and cook only with conventional ovens. … [The problem is that] the supply chain for ingredients in processed foods - from flavorings to flour to fruits and vegetables - is becoming more complex and global as the drive to keep food costs down intensifies. As a result, almost every element, not just red meat and poultry, is now a potential carrier of pathogens, government and industry officials concede."

In 2007 over 15,000 people became sick eating ConAgra frozen chicken pot pies. ConAgra was never able to determine which of the many ingredients caused the outbreak.

Bottom Line

In our brave new world of global sluppy and distribution, one thing we've lost is the food safety Americas used to enjoy in the 20th century. I'll have to begin seriously again washing apples and treating all foods as "dangerous" until cleaned or cooked thoroughly.