MSU Extension Safe Food & Water

Freezing food is a great way to extend the life of a product because it causes microbes to enter a dormant stage and prevents the growth of microorganisms that cause both food spoilage and foodborne illness. However, it’s important to properly store food in freezers.

Proper storage will help reduce the chance of cross-contamination between foods, especially during a power outage. Cross-contamination can occur in many different instances; however, the focus of this article is limited to the freezer. Cross-contamination occurs when liquid drips from one food to another and that liquid contains bacteria. To avoid the likelihood of this happening, please take care when storing foods in your freezer. It is recommended to store products in order of cooking temperature — with ready-to-eat food on top and foods with the highest cooking temperature on the bottom.

Use the list below as a guide to help you stack food in your freezer, in the order shown:

• Ready-to-eat foods should be placed at the very top of the freezer (cakes and ice cream).
• Frozen vegetables.
• Cooked meats.
• Raw steaks, pork, seafood, fish and eggs.
• Raw ground meat.
• Raw poultry should be placed at the very bottom of the freezer.

Another helpful tip for storing food in the freezer is to label each item with identifying information, especially if it is removed from the original packaging. On the label be sure to include the date and item name at a minimum. A best practice would be to keep the original label with the product so it could be checked in the event of a food recall.

Try to keep food frozen for shorter periods of time to ensure that the taste and texture are at its best quality. If food becomes freezer burned, it is a quality issue. It does not mean that the food has gone bad, it just means that the taste and texture may have been compromised. The food is still edible and can be properly thawed and safely prepared. One way to improve the quality is to remove the freezer burned portions once the food has thawed.

For more information on food safety and frozen foods please visit Food Safety’s storage times chart.