The review has been announced to mark the start of ‘Food Safety Week’ and comes as an FSA poll found a number of misconceptions over frozen food safety.
The poll found that 43% of those interviewed think that food should only be frozen on the day of purchase to be safe, 37% incorrectly said it is dangerous to refreeze meat after it has been cooked, and 36% wrongly believe that food can become unsafe to eat while in the freezer.
Steve Wearne, Director of Policy at the FSA, said: “Every year, we throw away seven million tonnes of food and drink from our homes. Much of this waste is unnecessary, and a better understanding of how to freeze food safely could go a significant way towards tackling the problem.
“Our research shows that many of the fears the public has about freezing food are unfounded and we need to ensure they know the facts. 31% of the people we spoke to said that more information about how to safely freeze food would help them to reduce their food waste – that’s why freezing is the focus of this year’s Food Safety Week.
“The freezer is like a pause button, so you can freeze foods right up to the 'use by' date. While food is kept safe in the freezer, it’s the quality that deteriorates over time, so we recommend eating it within three to six months and checking for any freezing instructions on the packaging. Once defrosted, the pause button is off, so defrost food as and when you need it and eat it within 24 hours of it being fully defrosted.”
The research also found that 90% of people say there are foods they would never freeze. Almost a quarter (23%) of those surveyed would never freeze meat that was cooked after defrosting, with 73% of these people saying this is down to worries about food poisoning.