Food Safety Expert Recommends Cooking Frozen Foods Directly to Prevent Bacterial Growth
Dr. Rana Ghelloufi, a food safety and quality specialist and head of the food technology laboratory at the National Zouhair Kallel Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology, recommends cooking frozen foods directly without thawing to prevent the proliferation of bacteria.
In an interview with the Tunis Afrique Presse Agency, the specialist emphasized that thawing food promotes the development of germs, which can cause severe food poisoning, particularly in children, vulnerable individuals, and pregnant women, who are at risk of miscarriage.
According to her, storing food in the freezer remains one of the best food practices, both for preserving nutritional value and slowing down germ multiplication, provided that certain strict rules are followed.
For cooked foods, it is recommended to place them in the freezer within 30 minutes of cooking, when their temperature reaches around 65 degrees, and to use glass containers instead of plastic containers, even if they are food-grade, to avoid contamination with plastic particles that can cause hormonal disorders and cancer.
Raw foods, after washing and drying, can be stored in bags or plastic containers suitable for food, but it is strongly advised against using ordinary plastic bags that can contain up to 300 harmful components for health.
As for the storage duration of frozen foods in domestic refrigerators, it varies depending on the type of product: 3 to 6 months for meat, 1 to 3 months for vegetables and fruits, and 1 month for fish and seafood.
Read also: Processed foods are responsible for a third of cancer cases worldwide
