expiry of frozen meat

[happy_face]

Ummm's question got me thinking. I usually buy fresh meat and then freeze it myself. The other day I made spag bol with mince where the sell by date was Oct 05. How long can you keep frozen food in the freezer without it turning bad and is there a difference in what meat you're keeping?

[filthiestfis]

Good God! Meat that is almost a year gone! Ive always thought that meat keeps ok in the freezer for a maximum of 3 months

[happy_face]

well we didn't suffer from eating it and it smelt fine too.

[mccfluff]

some more info here, scroll down to bottom for the starge chart
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Focus_On_ Freezing/index.asp

[happy_face]

how interesting mccluff. So basically the food will stay safe to eat indefinitely in the freezer. But the quality such as taste might not be as great if kept for longer than the storage chart says.

How come then has frozen food got a Best Before date on it I wonder

[China Doll]

One of my relatives works in care homes and the health and safety regs there say that all frozen food should be eaten within a month. Don't know if that helps but I guess if you've had nowt happen to you, you'll be fine.