Frozen Food Safety

Frozen Food Safety.

Be sure to properly package steak, fish, burgers, and chicken if you plan to marinate and ice them.

If you skip this step, you'll be at best - throwing out cold cash. Worst case scenario? It just might make someone in your home sick.

Here's how to increase the odds that the dinner ingredients you pick up this week at the grocery store will still be usable next week when you're finally ready to whip up that meal.

Use bags or containers designed for this purpose, or wrap food in foil or plastic bags.

Always make the fitting as airtight as possible. And be sure to remove the original supermarket wraps. These wraps are designed to breathe.

Date your packages and use the oldest first.

Guidelines for `Icing' Dinner.

Here's how long you can expect the following items to stay `fresh' when properly packaged:

Breads: 2 months

Butter: 9 months

Chicken: 6 months

Fish and shellfish: 6 months

French fries: 6 months

Fruits: 4 months

Ground beef: 2 months

Guacamole: 3 months

Ice cream: 2 months

Pancakes and waffles: 2 months

Breakfast entrees: 3 months

Vegetables: 8 months

Note: Never store your future meals in cans or glass.

Finally, remember to check your ice-box temperature regularly to make sure it's between 0- and 5-degrees F.