Is it a good idea to store Rotten Food in the Freezer?

Well, I need some help.

My wife has begun to pick up one of the worst habits of my Mother-in-Law.

Specifically, she throws all the Old Meat, Vegetables and other Rotten Food into the Freezer until trash day.

Just sitting there on top of all the forzen goods we expect to eat someday.

Why?

"The Trash will start to Stink"

My point of I can take it outside to the Trash-Can (No Raccoon/loose dogs where we live), has fallen on deaf ears.

To the Sages here:

Is it good to have rotten food just sitting in your feezer with all your Edible food?

My guess is no.

If you can point me to a link or something, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Since I know this is one of those "You are Wrong.", until I can direct her to some sort of Scientific Study or we get massive food poisoning.

If it is OK, also let me know so I can eat Ice Cream Again.

Thanks,

Vraille out.

Perhaps you two could compromise by putting a little basket in the freezer for leftovers so they don't get all over the good food.

yeah, i think coming up with a compromise would be a good idea. keeping bad good in with your good food may or may not be a bad thing, but i can't think of it being a good thing at all.

In a properly sealed container, the freezer is probably safe. Of course, in properly sealed containers, the fridge is safe, too. Safer, in that if a container happens to be improperly sealed, the shelving tends to keep one thing from leaking onto another....

A thought for you - actions speak louder than words. If you've volunteered to take the stuff out to the trash can why don't you just take it out to the trash can? Eventually, trash day wil come, and she'll look in the freezer and say, "Honey, where'd all the bad food go?" And you'll answer, "Out to the trash, some days ago. I don't like having it in the freezer."

If your words that you feel it is unacceptable to have bad food in the freezer doesn't sway her, your consistent action should.

Is she putting it in a plastic bag or something like that, or is she just putting it in there by itself?

Personally, we have put things like prawn heads in the freezer until garbage day so that the bin isn't really stinky. No-one has died so far!

Olaf the Stout

Vraille Darkfang said:

Well, I need some help.

My wife has begun to pick up one of the worst habits of my Mother-in-Law.

Specifically, she throws all the Old Meat, Vegetables and other Rotten Food into the Freezer until trash day.

Just sitting there on top of all the forzen goods we expect to eat someday.

Why?

"The Trash will start to Stink"

My point of I can take it outside to the Trash-Can (No Raccoon/loose dogs where we live), has fallen on deaf ears.

To the Sages here:

Is it good to have rotten food just sitting in your feezer with all your Edible food?

My guess is no.

If you can point me to a link or something, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Since I know this is one of those "You are Wrong.", until I can direct her to some sort of Scientific Study or we get massive food poisoning.

If it is OK, also let me know so I can eat Ice Cream Again.

Thanks,

Vraille out.

Click to expand...

*whispers*

Psst. Get out of your marriage while you're still young.



Well, there's one way to find out. Remove the Baking Soda and put a water-filled ice tray under the rotten food. When you have ice, suck on it.

Disclaimer: I claim no responsibility of any injury or death inflicted if someone took my "suggestion" above.

If having old food in the fridge or freezer was inherently unsafe, I'd have been dead years ago.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I hear something banging on the inside of the fridge door. Again.

I suspect somewhere your wife picked up the adage that like extreme heat, extreme cold stops bacteria and viruses from spreading. In fact this is not the case for most bacteria; temperatures of the kind found in your freezer only slows their growth. As Umbran said, in a properly sealed container, that's not going to be a problem. In fact, I like LiKral's idea of a basket as well. The idea is to segregate the bad from the good so that there's absolutely no possibility of contact. Once the two have contact - no matter how minor - there's a chance for carryover. The rotten food needs to be wrapped well, as juices will also contain bacteria, and if they drip, that's also contamination.

Regarding fridge vs. freezer vs. trash - I actually think, if rotten leftovers are really a problem at your home, the freezer is the best place. The fridge is more moist, which bacteria love, and also not cold enough to stop growth appreciably for many things. As for the trash, you may not have animals, but insects (flies especially) will be attracted to the rotting meat, if it's sitting there for days at a time, especially in the summer, so leaving it outside isn't a great idea either.

Another solution, perhaps not really applicable, is to either make sure to buy only the food you'll need so there's less to throw out, or invite people over more often make bigger portions - if you're not the one cooking, obviously offer to help! I know a little spoilage is hard to avoid, but if it's a serious pile of food every week, perhaps that could help.

LightPhoenix said:

Another solution, perhaps not really applicable, is to either make sure to buy only the food you'll need so there's less to throw out, or invite people over more often make bigger portions - if you're not the one cooking, obviously offer to help! I know a little spoilage is hard to avoid, but if it's a serious pile of food every week, perhaps that could help.

Click to expand...

You don't necessarily need to buy less food, but cooking less food at each meal is a more feasible solution... It takes practice, but cooking only as much as your family will eat eliminates the need to store left-overs.

Also... Make certain you eat the leftovers before they go bad. Have leftover night the night before trash day -- nothing will be more than a week old, and none of that should be too bad off. Anything that doesn't get eaten goes straight into the trash, which immediately goes out to the curb to be picked up in the morning.

I love living across the street from a school.. it makes situations like that so much easier..