Shopping for chilled foods
Don’t buy in your lunch hour!
Unless you have a Fridge Freezer at work to keep the food cold in
the afternoon. Leaving food in your car or at room temperature for a
prolonged period of time could raise food temperature to the level at
which harmful bacteria grow.
Keep chilled foods together
When you are going around the supermarket and when you are travelling
home, if you keep all the chilled foods together they will help to keep
each other cold.
Use a cool bag
Special insulated bags can be bought from most supermarkets and
hardware shops. These keep food cold for longer, but are only for getting
chilled foods home, not storing it.
Unwrap as soon as you get home
Always unpack and place chilled foods in the Fridge Freezer before storing
dry food-stuffs.
Tips for keeping food perfect in the
Fridge Freezer
Take extra care with meat and fish
Cooked meats should always be stored on a shelf above raw meats to
avoid bacterial transfer. Keep raw meats on a plate which is large enough
to collect juices and cover it with cling film or foil.
Leave space around food
This will allow cold air to circulate around the Fridge Freezer.
Wrap up food
To prevent transfer of flavours and drying out, food should be separately
packed or covered. Fruit and vegetables need not be wrapped.
Let pre-cooked food cool properly
Always let pre-cooked food cool down before you put it in the
Fridge Freezer. This will stop the internal temperature of the Fridge Freezer
from rising.
USING YOUR FRIDGE FREEZER
4
Shut the door
To prevent cold air escaping, limit the number of times you open the
door. When returning from shopping, sort foods to be kept in your Fridge
Freezer while the door is closed.
Shopping for frozen foods
Your Fridge Freezer is
When you are buying frozen food, look at the Storage
packaging. You will be able to store each item of frozen food for the
period shown against the 4 star rating. This is usually the period stated as
‘Best Before’, on the front of the packaging.
Check the freezer temperature
Check the temperature of the frozen food cabinet in the shop where you
buy your frozen foods. It should show a temperature lower than -18°C.
Choose packs carefully
Take a quick look at the frozen food package and make sure it is in perfect
condition.
Purchase frozen food last
Always buy frozen products last on your shopping trip or visit to the
supermarket.
Keep frozen foods together
When you are going around the supermarket and when you are travelling
home, if you keep all the frozen foods together they will help to keep
each other cold.
Store food straight away
Don’t buy frozen food unless you can freeze it straight away. Special
insulated bags can be bought from most supermarkets and hardware
shops. These keep frozen food cold for longer.
Thawing frozen food
For some foods, thawing before cooking is unnecessary. Vegetables and
pasta can be added directly to boiling water or steam cooked.
Frozen sauces and soups can be put into a saucepan and heated gently
until thawed.
4 star
Guidelines on the
Preparations for freezing
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Leave cooked food to cool completely.
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Chill food in the Fridge before freezing if possible.
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Consider how you want to cook the food before freezing it.
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Don’t freeze food in metal containers as you may want to microwave
it straight from the freezer.
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Use special freezer bags available from supermarkets, freezer
film,
polythene bags, plastic containers, aluminium foil (heavy grade
only,
if in doubt, double wrap). Don’t use aluminium foil for acidic foods
(such as citrus fruits). Don’t use thin cling film or glass. Don’t
use
used food containers (unless cleaned thoroughly first).
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Exclude as much air from the container as possible. You could
buy a special vacuum pump which sucks
excessive air out of the packaging.
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Leave a small amount of ‘air space’ when
freezing liquids, to allow for expansion.
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You can use the space in the Fridge
Freezer most efficiently if you freeze
liquids (or solids with liquids, such as
stew) in square blocks. This is known
as ‘preforming’. Pour the liquid into a
polythene bag which is inside a square
sided container. Freeze it like this, then
remove it from the container and seal
the bag.
