Why Some People Choose Their Freezer Wrap With Care

You can freeze a precooked ham that has been refrigerated and in its original wrapping. Be sure to overwrap the ham ensuring an air-tight seal (vacuum package, zipper bag with all the air removed, foil, butcher wrap, etc.). Ham has a quality freezer life of about three months so plan to use the ham by the 4th of July. With a lot of the food that you buy or get from family or friends and you would really like to freeze it just make sure that when you do that that you use the right containter. Some people use zipplock, freezer safe containters, or vacuum package. Make sure that what ever you use you are happy with it.

A lot of people that use vacuum package like them because they don't take up as much space as some of the other things that are sold on the market or they don't break from being in the freezer for so long. I am not saying that one kind of packing is good for everyone cause it is not! What I am saying is that you should not just stick to one kind of containter or bag, try them all out and see what you think would be better for your home or for your client to use.

Depending of what kind of food that you would like to freeze you should find something that is air tigh. That way you will know that that product that you like to use is that kind of product that is air-tigh. Most of the name brand containter will say that they are air-tigh and that it will not get freezer burn or any of the other stuff that you could get from leaving you food in a freezer safe cooler. But you will not be sure unless you see for yourself which one you like to use.The kabobs should be fine if they were frozen in an air-tight wrap. Air is the enemy in the freezer as it causes freezer burn and flavor changes.

Normally the recommendation for using raw, defrosted meat is to consume within three to four days of purchase when stored in the grocery store shrink wrap. Since you say it was mostly defrosted on Thursday you would have three to four days after Thursday to safely use the product. Four days was Tuesday.

However, since you have it vacuum sealed, this should add a day or two do the three to four day recommendation. Air is the enemy when holding food in refrigeration/freezer before consumption. Vacuum sealing makes an air tight environment, much more air tight than the grocery store wrap. Therefore, I think you can extend the freshness of meat held in the refrigerator up to five to six days and be safe.

I hope this answered your question. And yes, vacuum sealing does make a difference on extending freshness in food. The removal of air extends the freshenss of foods beyond normal refrigerator/freezer storage guidelines. The freshness guidelines are developed for safety, Stretching the guidelines could result in harmful bacteria growing to a level that could make you ill.

You are right, they do give a range of days so it is not exact science because every situation is not under the same controls (refrigerator temperatures, amount of time out of refrigeration (grocery store to home), length of time from packaging of meat until purchased, etc. There are just too many variables to give an exact answer when you are dealing with consumers. However research has been done for many of these factors and the recommendation from that research is that the risk of bacterial contamination is so low within the guidelines (notice I don't say non-existent, meat is not a sterile food, it comes with bacteria)that the a range of days has been suggested for consumers to help them to judge when food should be considered safe to purchase, refrigerate and prepare.

You might be interested in knowing that within the next year or so you will start to see freshness labels on the front of meat that will turn colors as it ages. This is designed to help consumers know if a meat product is within the safety window for consumption. We've used our noses for thousands of years to determine if food is safe to eat. Unfortunately, the nose can be wrong, in other words the food could smell wonderful, taste great and look great and can still make you ill. However, we find that if you follow the meat holding guidelines your chances of being ill are very, very small, almost non-existent.

As long as food has remained frozen, it is safe to eat. Old, freezer-burned food is SAFE to eat, just not very good to eat. Recommendations for freezer food storage are based on the quality of the product, not the safety of the product. Frozen pork chops have a quality freezer life of six to nine months. After that time, quality changes (flavor, texture, color, etc) begin, causing the pork chops to change in quality. Remember, their are still safe to eat, just not as good to eat.

The key to keeping foods longer than the recommended freezer guidelines is to make sure they are in air-tight packaging. Air is the enemy in freezer storage so the more air-tight the packaging, the longer food can be stored with high quality results.