Gustatorium
Fish is a food that spoils quickly. This is why freezing it can be particularly useful to avoid food waste. However, it happens that we end up forgetting it in the freezer. And a few months, even a few years later, one wonders if it is still possible to consume it. The answer is yes, but only if certain precautions and conditions have been met. So, without further ado, discover in this article the detailed answers to these questions: can you eat fish frozen for 1 year or 2 years? Will it have lost its properties? Is there a health risk? How well thawed fish?
Can we eat fish frozen for 1 year or 2 years?
Know now thatit is possible to eat fish frozen for several months or even years, although it is not advisable for various reasons. Discover the detailed explanations below.
Is it possible to eat fish frozen for 1 or 2 years without health risk?
In principle, all foods could be stored indefinitely in the freezer without risk of food poisoning since freezing stops bacterial proliferation. Be careful, however, to respect certain precautions in the freezing process to keep this risk to zero. Freezing even destroys certain parasites such as anisakis, sometimes present in raw fish. However, the longer a food is stored in the freezer, the more it will be denatured. In other words, it will lose its original properties and freezing will therefore have an impact on its taste and texture. This is explained because the enzymatic reactions are only slowed down during the passage of food in the freezer.
This is why, although you can eat fish frozen for 1 year, 2 years, 3 years or more without health risk if you follow certain freezing and thawing precautions as we will see in the second part of this article, it is really not advisable to do so under penalty of seeing a noticeable deterioration of the fish.
What is the ideal shelf life to keep a fish in the freezer?
But then, how long can fish be kept in the freezer without altering its taste and texture?
As we have just seen, it is possible to keep fish for more than 2 years in the freezer, however its taste qualities will be altered. Note, however, that fish and seafood keep very well in the freezer for several months without their taste, appearance or texture deteriorating significantly. The recommended storage time will vary depending on the type of fish and the species :
- Recommended freezing time for lean fish: 6 months
- Example of lean fish: hake, cod, bass, pike, whiting, saithe, pollack, cod, white hake, sole, trout, ray, monkfish, dab, sea bream, grouper, red mullet, turbot, etc.
- Recommended freezing time for oily fish: 3 months
- Examples of oily fish: mackerel, sardines, tuna, salmon, eel, herring, tuna etc.
- Recommended freezing time for cooked fish: 6 months
- Recommended freezing time for smoked fish: 2 months
- Fish that are in the freezer section (example breaded fish): expiry date or 2 years
Regarding the seafood freezing, you can also very good to consume them while they have been frozen for 1 or 2 years. However, once again the recommended storage time to avoid the alteration of their properties will vary according to the type of fish and the species:
- Recommended freezing time for shellfish: 3 to 4 months
- 5 to 6 months for scallops and oysters
- Recommended freezing time for shellfish: 3 months
- except crabs and lobsters which can be frozen 10 months after being cooked.
- Recommended freezing time for cephalopods: 4 months raw or cooked.
You can also freeze canned fish (tuna, mackerel, sardines, salmon etc) if it has been opened. In this case, put the rest of the fish that is in the can in a freezer bag with as little water as possible. Then, remove the air well before closing it and placing it in the freezer. Be careful, however, that it has not already been frozen! This will be obligatorily indicated on the packaging or the box of the fish.
Note: Freezing times for fish and seafood are provided as a guide. Note that they may vary depending on the precise nature of the frozen food.
As we have just seen, it is possible to keep the fish in the freezer for 1 or 2 years, therefore longer than the recommended duration, however, its properties may be strongly altered. Also be aware that to ensure that it is still edible and avoid risk of food poisoning, it must be stored in the right conditions and follow some careful precautions. Find out about them in the next part of this article.
How to successfully thaw fish frozen for several months?
Now that you know that you can eat frozen fish for 1 or 2 years without it being unfit for consumption, you still need to know that certain precautions regarding freezing and thawing should be taken. This will allow you both to preserve the properties of the frozen fish as much as possible, but also to respect the sanitary measures necessary to avoid any risk of potentially serious food poisoning.
So, discover in this part, how to store fish in the freezer? Then, how to thaw fish that has been frozen for several months safely?
1 – Can you refreeze already defrosted fish?
Freezing does not destroy bacteria. It only stops their development. This is why you should never refreeze a thawed product because the thawing/refreezing process leads to the proliferation of bacteria that are present in the fish. If these are pathogenic, then they can lead to potentially serious food poisoning.
For more information about defrosting food, read the article from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food: why shouldn't you refreeze a thawed product?
Pay attention then at the time of freezing to check that the fish has not already been frozen. This will be indicated on the packaging under the following indication: "do not refreeze" "Fish already frozen" etc. If you bought the fish at the market or from a fishmonger, do not hesitate to ask him if the fish has already been frozen. Note that very often fresh unfrozen fish can be found near ports.
Also be careful of do not eat fish that has been frozen expired because pathogenic bacteria will have all the more chances to develop. Fresh fish must be frozen maximum within 48 hours of purchase, having obviously stored it in the refrigerator before freezing.
Be careful also because when you consume fish frozen for 1 or 2 years, you increase the risk that your freezer has suffered a breakdown and that it has thawed without you noticing it. To avoid this, implement a trick to make sure your freezer has never thawed. For example, placing the ice cube tray upside down.
2 – Can you freeze thawed and cooked fish?
Do not refreeze fish that has already been frozen but cooked in the meantime because the bacteria do not resist if they are heated above 120°C for at least 10 minutes, however the toxins can resist even extreme temperatures.
3 – At what temperature should the freezer be to keep the fish for several years?
As we have seen, freezing does not destroy the bacteria present in the fish, it only stops their development. However, this occurs at a certain temperature. To stop their development, it will then be necessary that the temperature is between -18°C and -24°C to keep fish in the freezer for 1 or 2 years without danger.
4 – How do you know if fish frozen for several months is still good to eat?
When you want to eat fish that has been frozen for 1 or 2 years, the question that arises when defrosting is: is the fish always good?
The best way to find out is to wait for it to thaw, thenexamine and smell the fish. If the fish has an odd (sour) smell, a dull color, or a slimy, gooey texture, the fish is probably unsafe to eat. In this case, it is best to throw it away to avoid any risk of food poisoning.
Read also: Can you freeze goat cheese?
5 – How to properly defrost fish?
Eating fish that has been frozen for several months or even years is possible if you follow a few precautions when defrosting :
- Put the fish in the fridge immediately after taking it out of the freezer. Avoid thawing at room temperature to limit bacterial proliferation and ensure more even thawing. Count several hours of defrosting (between 10 and 15 hours depending on the thickness and size of the fish). Also avoid thawing in hot water, which risks damaging the flesh and therefore the texture of the fish.
- If you want thaw it quickly, just place it in an airtight bag, then immerse it for fifteen minutes in a bowl of lukewarm water. If you thawed the fish in the microwave, at room temperature or in water, the fish should be eaten immediately.
- How long to consume fish after defrosting? After thawing fresh fish or seafood in the refrigerator, eat it maximum within 24 hours keeping it in the refrigerator. If you thaw fish in its original unopened or vacuum-packed packaging, consume it within 3 days maximum. Pass this limit, you will unfortunately have to throw it away to avoid food poisoning.
You now know that you can eat frozen fish for several months, while being careful to respect certain hygiene rules.
