How long can you keep frozen food for?

Red meat (and meat-based dishes)

Beef and lamb 4-6 months
Ham/minced beef 3-4 months
Sliced bacon/sausages 2-3 months

Poultry

Chicken/turkey/duck 4-6 months

Fish

White fish (cod, haddock etc) 6-8 months
Oily fish (salmon, tuna etc) 3-4 months
Shellfish 2-3 months

Cooked vegetables

Vegetable purées 6-8 months

Cooked fruit

Fruit purees 6-8 months

Prepared foods

Soups/sauces 3 months
Cakes 4-6 months
Bread/bread dough 2-3 months

Dairy produce

Butter 6-8 months
Hard cheese 4-6 months
Soft cheese 3-4 months
Ice cream 3-4 months

Expressed breastmilk

This can be stored for up to six months in a freezer, but only for two weeks in the freezer compartment of a fridge.

• Always freeze breastmilk within 24 hours of expressing.
• Choose containers that are sterilised and airtight: covered ice cube trays, small sealed bottles or breastmilk bags are ideal.
• Leave space in the container for the milk to expand when frozen.
• Defrost in the fridge and use as soon as it’s thawed. Throw away any leftovers.

How to thaw frozen food

• Defrost food in the fridge overnight, or if you forget, at room temperature before transferring it to the fridge.
• Keep food covered and put it on a plate to catch any drips.
• Don’t try to speed up the process by putting the food in warm water.
• Use defrosted food within 24 hours unless you’ve thawed it in the microwave, in which case cook it immediately.
• Reheat frozen food until it’s piping hot throughout, even if this means leaving it to cool down before giving it to your tot.
• Don’t refreeze food that you’ve previously defrosted and cooked.
• You can refreeze cooked foods if they were previously frozen raw – for example, you can defrost a frozen chicken breast, cook it in a casserole, and then freeze the casserole.