How long can frozen meat, fish and seafood be stored?

Specialist Doctor Dinh Tran Ngoc Mai, Department of Nutrition - Dietetics, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, said that freezing is an effective way to maintain the nutritional value, quality and flavor of many foods. The storage time of frozen meat to ensure that it retains nutrients, retains flavor and does not produce toxins depends on factors such as storage temperature, type of meat, raw or processed form and whether the meat is in whole or minced form.

Normally, whole raw meat, if kept at a stable temperature below -18 degrees, can be stored for 6-12 months, for ground meat, or marinated, cooked meat can be stored for 1-3 months. To ensure no toxins are produced, it is necessary to keep the temperature stable, not refreeze many times, clean and dry, divide into boxes, food bags before putting in the refrigerator, divide raw and cooked meat in separate storage compartments.

Whole raw meat, if kept at a stable temperature of -18 degrees, can be stored for 6-12 months.

Freezing meat has become a popular way to preserve food to prevent the growth of disease-causing bacteria that spoil food. However, the quality and taste of the meat may not be guaranteed.

If meat is frozen at a temperature greater than -18 degrees Celsius, it will easily change its properties and cause serious harm to your health when eaten. The habit of storing frozen meat for a long time will lead to 3 major health risks:

• Accelerate the aging process because the protein and fat of the meat will gradually oxidize and deteriorate.
• Harmful to the digestive system if frozen meat has spoiled due to being stored for too long, causing symptoms of indigestion, nausea, and stomach pain after eating meat.
• Increased risk of cancer due to a large number of bacteria and viruses produced during the freezing process will reduce the body's resistance and immunity.

Nutritionist Nguyen Thu Ha - Head of Nutrition - Dietetics Department, Nam Sai Gon International General Hospital shares the time to preserve meat when frozen below -18 degrees Celsius to ensure the flavor and quality of each type of meat as follows:

For fresh meat (beef, lamb and pork). If cut into steaks, it can be stored for 6 to 12 months; cut into bone-in portions for 4 to 6 months and cut into roasts for 4 to 12 months. For tongue, kidney, liver, heart and intestines, it is recommended to store for only 3 to 4 months to ensure quality.

For cooked meat. Meat that has been cooked, processed into dishes, broths and sauces made from meat should only be used within 2 to 3 months.

For fresh poultry. Whole poultry can be stored for 1 year, poultry cut into parts can be stored for 9 months, and organs should only be stored for 3 to 4 months.

For cooked poultry. Cooked meat dishes can be stored for 4 to 6 months.

With low-fat fresh fish, it can be preserved for 6 to 8 months.

For fresh fish. With low-fat fresh fish, it can be preserved for 6 to 8 months while still ensuring quality. With high-fat fish, the preservation time is shorter, only 2 to 3 months.

For cooked fish. Cooked fish can be kept for 4 to 6 months, while smoked fish can be kept for 2 months.

For some fresh seafood (shrimp, scallops, squid). 3 to 6 months is the period of time that this food still retains its quality when frozen.

For some fresh seafood such as shrimp, scallops, squid...can be frozen for 3-6 months

"Consumers should follow the principles and procedures in food preservation and use food within the recommended time to ensure quality and flavor. Freezing meat for too long will cause many health risks. Therefore, meat should only be preserved by freezing when absolutely necessary and this method should not be abused," Dr. Thu Ha advised.

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