[Woodend]

Hi,

Wonder if anyone can help? Our three little pigs are in the freezer and we've been looking to buy a few freezer boxes so we can transport the pork when we deliver to friends and family who want to buy it. However, we have only been able to find suppliers who sell in bulk and quite honestly don't need 50+ boxes as our plan was to just buy a few and reuse them. Anybody else worked their way through this problem?

Thanks

G

ps, happy new year all!

[Bionic]

I'm not sure if this is much help but I took a frozen leg of pork and some sausages to my sisters on christmas day. It was a 4.5 hour journey. I used a cool box and 3 ice packs. The meat was still frozen solid when I got there.
Sally

[HappyHippy]

I bought single 'sample' polystyrene boxes from these guys (be warned though, the postage is almost as much as the boxes  ) they don't reuse terribly well unless you're really careful with them but these boxes look much more robust and might be what you're looking for
http://www.jbpackaging.co.uk/10kg-deluxe-food-boxes/NOR90529DSAM.html

HTH
Karen

[Woodend]

Hi Karen,

Thanks for that. I figured I must be looking in the wrong place and that someone on here would be able to point me in the right direction. Appreciate it

Bionic...yes that had occurred to us too but we'd rather have a freezer box as most of our friends / family want a few joints/packs of sausages etc at once and we'd be happier knowing they were arriving definitely frozen.

Cheers

G

[HappyHippy]

On a recent food hygiene course I was surprised to learn that the rules and regs regarding frozen meat seem to have changed 

I was brought up being told that once raw meat had been defrosted it had to be cooked before being re-frozen - but, according to the 'man' at the course (and all the course notes) it's fine for raw, frozen meat to be defrosted and refrozen without cooking, providing it's defrosted and stored in a fridge and when it is cooked it reaches a core temperature of (I think) 84 degrees - it might be 72 degrees I'll double check the paperwork and report back
HTH
Karen 

[oaklandspigs]

On a recent food hygiene course I was surprised to learn that the rules and regs regarding frozen meat seem to have changed 

I was brought up being told that once raw meat had been defrosted it had to be cooked before being re-frozen - but, according to the 'man' at the course (and all the course notes) it's fine for raw, frozen meat to be defrosted and refrozen without cooking, providing it's defrosted and stored in a fridge and when it is cooked it reaches a core temperature of (I think) 84 degrees - it might be 72 degrees I'll double check the paperwork and report back
HTH
Karen 

Yes FSA guidance on this chnaged a while ago, but the FSA hasn't (or has chosen not to) put this advice on it's useless website.  The Temperature is 70c
 
Now they say that as long as the middle of the meat has reached 70 degrees c when eventually cooked.
The following thread shows this advice
http://community.babycentre.co.uk/post/a10078975/cooking_and_refreezing_meat_a_past_discussion.
in particular a letter from the FSA:
Dear madam,
Thank you for your recent request for information regarding thawing, cooking and refreezing. Your query has been passed to me for reply.
The Food Standards Agency advises that it is safe to thaw raw meat/chicken, and refreeze it.
When thawing raw meat, we advise that you do so overnight in a clean, covered container at the bottom of the fridge, to prevent any juices from dripping onto food which may be eaten without cooking. Once defrosted, you should keep the meat in the fridge and use it within two days. You could also defrost it using the “defrost” setting on a microwave, in which case you should use it immediately. We advise against thawing at room temperature, as doing so exposes food to the “danger zone” between 8°C and 63°C when harmful bacteria can grow quickly.
When cooking the meat, ensure that it is done thoroughly until the it is piping hot throughout, reaching a temperature of 70°C for 2 minutes and chicken should be cooked until no pink remains.
Before putting cooked food in the freezer, you should cool it thoroughly and quickly (ideally taking no more than 1-2 hours). To speed up the cooling process, you could divide the food up into smaller portions, place each portion in a clean container, and place the containers in a shallow dish of water. Once cool, you should transfer the food to the freezer immediately.
However, if the meat/chicken was already cooked prior to freezing, then we would advise that you do not keep any leftovers or refreeze. The reason we advise against refreezing cooked food more than once is because the more times food is frozen and thawed, the more chance there is for something to go wrong. Bacteria might grow and multiply because the food is not defrosted correctly, and might survive because the food isn't reheated properly. So it's best not to reheat and/or refreeze cooked food more than once.
Further advice on keeping food safe can be found on our Eatwell site:
http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/keepingfoodsafe/
I trust that you will find this information useful and that it answers your question.
Yours sincerely,
Grace Mukasa
Microbiological Food Safety Branch
Food Safety: Hygiene & Microbiology Division
However the FSA link then leads to this that says don't !
  and the following American guidance
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FactSheets/Focus_On_Freezing/index.asp
Refreezing
Once food is thawed in the refrigerator, it is safe to refreeze it without cooking, although there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through thawing. After cooking raw foods which were previously frozen, it is safe to freeze the cooked foods. If previously cooked foods are thawed in the refrigerator, you may refreeze the unused portion. Freeze leftovers within 3-4 days. Do not refreeze any foods left outside the refrigerator longer than 2 hours; 1 hour in temperatures above 90 °F.

If you purchase previously frozen meat, poultry or fish at a retail store, you can refreeze if it has been handled properly.

 
 

[Mrs Snoodles]

Do these freezer boxes replace a need for refrigerated trailers/vans?    We have a refrigerated trailer but for small amounts these boxes would be better.

[P6te]

We purchased a number from JB Packaging but waited until a friend was passing and able to pick them up for to save on PP costs.  As soon as I'd purchased them our neighbour (and good customer) said that they get loads of them at work and throw them away!! She now brings them back home and we put them to good use. (Rather frustrating when we'd just paid out around £70 for some!!)  Our neighbour works where food samples are brought in by potential suppliers in polystyrene boxes of varying sizes to keep them cool so it may just be worth asking around.

Pete

[cleopatra]

just ask your EH inspector. i was all set to buy the plastic crates and ice packs, and was expected to be told to get a  refridge van - but the EH just said stick a polystrene tray and icepacks in the back of your car and record the temperature.
i do like the plastic crates tho. should last a long time.

[Mrs Snoodles]

thanks Cleopatra.... I will definitely ask.  Aside from small orders, I have some potential London orders and no way do I fancy bringing the trailer into the big smoke.

[cleopatra]

you can post frozen meat too, with icepacks, cool bags and next day courier. aslong as you have taken reasonable care to keep in cool.

[shropshire_blue]

you can post frozen meat too, with icepacks, cool bags and next day courier. aslong as you have taken reasonable care to keep in cool.

Cleopatra - who do you use as a courier?  We're trying to find a reliable one to send frozen goods over night, but struggling...

[Plantoid]

perhaps use a 50 mm styrofoam sheed form a builders merchants to line a girt big strong cardboard box on all faces .
if the box is part full slip two clean bath towels over the frozen food to stop air circulation befor you put the insulated lid back on.
We've done similar when defrosting our big chest freezer that's out inthe garage and nothing thaws over the 6 hrs or so things are in the insulated box because of the massive block of frozen food therein.
I now have a 3 foot by 2 foot by 18 inch stryro foam box for the  he defrosting exercise that resides in the garage on top of my tool cabinets .  A couple of pals have borrowed it for the same puropse as you want one for .