Comments on: FrozenFoodFilter

Question: FrozenFoodFilter

lilboo — Sun, 21 May 2006 16:48:18 -0800

Can I eat this?

I just found some frozen scallops in the back of my refrigerator, and I imagine they have been there for about two years. Is it still good, or should I just toss it?

By: Airhen

Airhen — Sun, 21 May 2006 16:52:23 -0800

Toss it.
(I say this as someone who eats a decent share of expired food.)

By: Botunda

Botunda — Sun, 21 May 2006 16:53:21 -0800

Well my rule of thumb is if it's frozen it should be fine. Just cook the up and if they smell funky then toss them and order some chinese food to sooth your pain.

By: fire&wings

fire&wings — Sun, 21 May 2006 16:55:30 -0800

Cook them, then decide.

By: invitapriore

invitapriore — Sun, 21 May 2006 17:03:41 -0800

I suppose the good thing about this question is that you don't have to be in any particular hurry for a satisfactory answer to be found.

Me, I wouldn't eat it. It's most likely safe, but being in your freezer for that long means it has probably lost a good amount of flavor.

By: smackfu

smackfu — Sun, 21 May 2006 17:18:37 -0800

Or the texture will be horrible.

By: b33j

b33j — Sun, 21 May 2006 17:26:29 -0800

I wouldn't eat it. Freezing doesn't protect food forever, seafood for less than 12 months.

By: grapefruitmoon

grapefruitmoon — Sun, 21 May 2006 17:45:32 -0800

I'd toss it. Even if it doesn't make you sick, it's not going to be very tasty. I've found that the longer something is left in the freezer, the less good it tastes when reheated.

By: Tryptophan-5ht

Tryptophan-5ht — Sun, 21 May 2006 17:45:49 -0800

i found some frozen mussels that were 8 months old. cooked em up and ate a few. I didn't get sick, but they tasted horrible. I threw out the rest.

i vote - cook em up. proceed with caution.

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Sun, 21 May 2006 17:55:58 -0800

I vote "toss them," not because you stand chance of getting sick, but because they are going to be as chewy as shoe leather.

By: fshgrl

fshgrl — Sun, 21 May 2006 18:14:10 -0800

If they've really been in your refrigrator then definitely not as they'll have likley thawed and refrozen a number of times.

By: zgott300

zgott300 — Sun, 21 May 2006 18:18:41 -0800

I'd toss them. Think of it this way, what are they worth, maybe $5.00 Now, if you ate them and got sick you'd gladly pay $5.00 for some miracle medicine to make you better. So take the medicine now and buy a new bag.

By: tomble

tomble — Sun, 21 May 2006 18:22:22 -0800

I've always found that food in the freezer is okay as long as you know the freezer has been on constantly, but the quality of the food would probably be awful.

By: bystander

bystander — Sun, 21 May 2006 19:20:22 -0800

Despite what some answers have said, there is no reason to assume the food would be dangerous. Indeed b33j provides a link (at odds with her comment) that states specifically:
" Eventually, even well-frozen food will deteriorate and become unpalatable whilst still remaining safe to eat."
So, it may taste a bit average.
fshgrl correctly suggests if it has been thawed and refrozen (any power outages?) it should go, but there is no reason for this to happen if the freezer has operated normally.

By: juv3nal

juv3nal — Sun, 21 May 2006 19:58:36 -0800

Part of confusion is that the question mentions them being found in the refridgerator whereas fshgrl's answer supposes a distinction between freezer and refridgerator. I don't know anyone who keeps their fridge cold enough to keep anything frozen, so I think it's safe to assume they were found in the freezer?

By: aberrant

aberrant — Sun, 21 May 2006 20:15:37 -0800

"When in doubt, throw it out."

By: kuujjuarapik

kuujjuarapik — Sun, 21 May 2006 20:52:30 -0800

Scallops are almost always IQF (Individually Quick Frozen), which leads them to have more of a surface area to get freezer burn, which reduces the amount of water on the surface of frozen food. But frozen scallops are very generally "soaked" in a solution of water and STP (Sodium Tripolyhosphate) which causes them to swell with water to 20-40% of their original weight ($$profit!!!!$$$). But the freezer burn would take some of that water back out, so you could wind up with chewy-on-the-outside tender-on-the-inside stuff.
If you are very sure that the freezer was never unplugged or you lost power for a few hours, they're probably not going to kill you. But they are certainly not going to be very tasty.

Eat them if you are broke and starving, otherwise throw them away.

By: ColdChef

ColdChef — Sun, 21 May 2006 20:53:35 -0800

Toss it.

By: Afroblanco

Afroblanco — Sun, 21 May 2006 22:08:34 -0800

Ya gotta think about it this way :

A new bag of scallops : $9 a pound
Being sick from food poisoning : fluids escaping rapidly through two orifices at once
Cost/benifit analyses : Priceless.

By: Mr. Gunn

Mr. Gunn — Sun, 21 May 2006 22:23:31 -0800

Almost all residential freezers are also front-free freezers. They accomplish this by introducing short burst heating cycles to melt the frost but not heat things up enough to melt the frozen food. However, small things, such as IQF scallops, can partially thaw and you'd never know. They're certainly no good anymore.

By: evil holiday magic

evil holiday magic — Sun, 21 May 2006 22:41:25 -0800

Do they reek of freezer burn?

By: b33j

b33j — Mon, 22 May 2006 01:42:32 -0800

Not really at odds. I wouldn't eat it because the food is not as tasty as it could be (because freezing doesn't prevent deterioration.) However, the diner probably will not die from this. IANAD or food scientist however.

By: zaelic

zaelic — Mon, 22 May 2006 02:23:11 -0800

Once I pulled out a package of smoked salmon from the freezer for dinner with a good friend from Milan. Now, nobody likes good food like the Milanese, right? His reaction was "That fish is two years old. You want to eat a fish that died two years ago?"

Point taken.

By: nanojath

nanojath — Mon, 22 May 2006 09:43:45 -0800

Here is a Mayo Clinic guide to frozen meat, poultry and seafood use, including frozen storage guidelines. They suggest a 6 month max on frozen seafood.

By: deborah

deborah — Mon, 22 May 2006 19:28:28 -0800

A new bag of scallops : $9 a pound
Being sick from food poisoning : fluids escaping rapidly through two orifices at once
Cost/benifit analyses : Priceless.

We have a winner!