Can I eat these, probably not but...mystery cherries

September 28, 2022 1:26 PM

I bought a bunch of freeze dried cherries towards the beginning of the pandemic. Dry, sealed portions in vacuum sealed packages with a humidity absorber packet in each one. They...aren't dry, tell me what's going on.

I vacuum-sealed maybe 2 cups in each clear plastic vacuum pack, put a humidity absorber in each (out of a freshly opened package) and put the packages in gamma lid buckets and in a semi dark place. The pack I looked at ( haven't looked at all of them) looks as if the seal had been broken (the vacuum
sucked-in-ness is gone) but it's not, there are no holes in the packaging. When I open the package the smell is very slightly (very slightly) fermented maybe? The fruit is not dry, but it's not sopping wet, no mold smell. If the seal wasn't broken, what the heck is going on here? Where did the wet come from? Where did the lack of vacuum appearance come from? I am assuming I can't eat these? It's really making me mad, I tried so hard to preserve these and they were pretty expensive.

posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee to Grab Bag (11 answers total)

I don't know what's happening, maybe more humidity than humidity absorbers. It's disappointing that they're not freeze-dried any more, but I would still cook with these. Sooner rather than later.
posted by aniola at 2:56 PM on September 28, 2022

If they did ferment, the gas released might account for the lack of vacuum without the seal being broken. That doesn't explain the damp - you're sure they were freeze-dried and not just regular mostly-dried? I've seen freeze-dried berries but all the cherries have been regular (for a sample size of "1 Trader Joe's").

I'd probably eat them (or at least taste-test), but then again my food safety practices are... questionable. (I usually avoid "can I eat this" questions because my answer is typically, sure, why not?)
posted by CyberSlug Labs at 3:01 PM on September 28, 2022 [3 favorites]

I'm going put out a strong "no, you shouldn't eat old fruit that's mysteriously wet and smells fermented, regardless of the reason." Improperly preserved foods can be deadly, and a particular worry with foods preserved in anaerobic environments (including vacuum-sealed food) is botulism.

I suspect that these weren't freeze dried or were improperly freeze dried. Or that there are small holes in the packaging or seal that you can't see. Whatever happened, though: Do you want to eat gross cherries that bad?

(Botulism toxin can be destroyed with proper cooking - if you do this PLEASE look at some safety guidelines for that- but not all toxins that cause foodborne illnesses are.)
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 3:59 PM on September 28, 2022 [22 favorites]

I would NOT eat this
posted by nouvelle-personne at 5:13 PM on September 28, 2022 [2 favorites]

I'm a risky eater and I also would not eat this.
posted by 10ch at 6:45 PM on September 28, 2022

Hard no from me.
posted by heathrowga at 6:48 PM on September 28, 2022

Response by poster: Additional info: upon further inspection, I put oxygen absorbers in these not moisture absorbers. They were this product. They started out freeze dried and now have the consistency of regular dried fruit (not the oiled kind). Does freeze drying kill microbes and mold spores, anyone know?
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 7:35 PM on September 28, 2022

Freeze drying does not completely kill botulism or other pathogens.

But even if it did, it wouldn’t help in this case. When you repackaged them, they would have been in contact with your hands / utensils / air borne pathogens.

Their appearance and moisture content has changed significantly and they don’t smell the same. Nope. Do not eat them.
posted by jenquat at 8:11 PM on September 28, 2022 [5 favorites]

> Does freeze drying kill microbes and mold spores, anyone know?

No. Freeze-drying microbes is actually a way that scientists keep bacteria viable for long-term storage.
posted by ASF Tod und Schwerkraft at 2:15 AM on September 29, 2022 [2 favorites]

Botulism is really serious. It kills. Even those who don't die from botulism exposure are often left with serious long-term health problems. One of the most common sources of foodborne botulism is improperly home-preserved foods. Ready-to-eat foods in low-oxygen environments (like your vacuum-sealed cherries) are the highest risk. Botulism cannot be detected by smell or taste. Even a tiny amount -- we're talking nanograms -- can be lethal.

I know it's frustrating to have to discard food which cost you time and money. But it's really not worth the risk. I urge you to safely dispose of these.
posted by ourobouros at 5:32 AM on September 29, 2022 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Freeze drying foods doesn't quite get rid of all the water in food. What little remains it is absorbed into the carbohydrates, i.e. sugars, in the fruit. So if some microorganism were eating and fermenting the sugars, that could both create ethanol and release the small amount of trapped water, which would explain the wetness and also the inflation of the bags due to carbon dioxide produced by the same fermentation.

So yes, probably some hardy microbe found just enough water to get itself going and has been snacking on the cherries this whole time. Very much a bad idea to try to eat them.
posted by Zalzidrax at 7:10 AM on September 29, 2022