We received a message over the weekend from Rene in Plymouth, UK. She told us…
I made a batch of homemade baby food and froze it in an ice cube tray with a lid. My husband opened the lid to see what was inside and didn’t seal it again properly, and now a couple of the cubes have freezer burn on the top. Are they still safe for my little boy to eat?
Well, the good news is that freezer burn does NOT pose a food safety hazard.
The main problem with the food affected by the burn is a textural one – the burnt area will be dry and may taste unappetizing. But this is simply resolved by removing the affected area with a knife (or spoon if the food is thawed). The rest of the cube is then perfectly safe to serve.
As Rene discovered (with the ‘help’ of hubby!), freezer burn occurs when the surface of frozen food is exposed to the air. It is easily prevented by wrapping food securely in food-safe plastic or sealing it into appropriate containers.
Source: Food Reflections
It’s also important to remember that frozen food doesn’t last indefinitely!
It’s best to use your homemade baby food within one month of freezing if you can, as it will be in ‘peak condition’ both in terms of flavour and nutrition. After this point, the quality of frozen foods may begin to decline and even some properly wrapped foods may start to show signs of freezer burn.
This is because the burn is caused by a gradual loss of water molecules from the food – a slow process, but one which becomes evident in foods that have been frozen for a long time.
If you’d like to learn more about storing your homemade baby food creations in the freezer, please see our page: How to Freeze Baby Food for step-by-step instructions, and for suggestions for baby food containers that are freezer-safe and that will prevent freezer burn to your baby’s food.