Verdict: Partly true. USDA and FDA both say food kept frozen at 0°F stays safe indefinitely, but its quality declines over time, and the "safe" part depends entirely on the freezer actually holding 0°F.
Where the idea comes from
People hear two contradictory things. One is that frozen food lasts forever. The other is that frozen food "goes bad" after a few months, usually because a chart on the freezer door or a package label gives a time limit. Both are partly right, because they're answering different questions.
What the evidence says
USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service says in Freezing and Food Safety that "freezer storage is for quality only. Frozen foods remain safe indefinitely." Its storage chart gives quality guidelines at 0°F, for example 4 to 12 months for uncooked roasts, steaks and chops, 3 to 4 months for uncooked ground meat, 12 months for an uncooked whole chicken or turkey, and 2 to 3 months for cooked meat, soups and stews. It adds that freezer burn doesn't make food unsafe, only dry in spots.
The FDA's guide to refrigerator thermometers agrees: "Foods will stay safe indefinitely in the freezer, but quality/taste of the food may be affected." It sets the freezer target at 0°F and notes that few refrigerator controls show actual temperatures, which is why it recommends an appliance thermometer.
So the belief holds for safety, with a condition, and fails for quality.
What to do instead
- Keep a thermometer in the freezer and confirm it reads 0°F or below.
- Label packages with the date they went in.
- Use the USDA chart as a quality guide, eating older items first.
- Wrap food tightly to slow freezer burn; it's a quality problem, not a safety one.
- After a power outage, keep the door closed. USDA says a full freezer usually holds about two days and a half-full one about a day.
Exceptions worth knowing
- •"Indefinitely" assumes steady 0°F. A freezer that has thawed and refrozen during an outage or a breakdown is a different situation; check the thermometer before keeping anything.
- •Garage freezers in Valley heat can struggle to hold 0°F on the hottest afternoons, so check them in summer.
- •Defrosting means time without cold. Whether it's a manual-defrost chest freezer or a one-time defrost of a frost-free model, keep food in coolers while the freezer is off. See whether you need to defrost a frost-free freezer.
- •Freezing doesn't clean food. Read does freezing kill bacteria before freezing leftovers of doubtful age.
Sources
- •USDA FSIS: Freezing and Food Safety (safe indefinitely at 0°F; quality chart; freezer burn; outage times)
- •FDA: Refrigerator Thermometers, Cold Facts about Food Safety (safe indefinitely; 0°F; use a thermometer)
The short version: At a steady 0°F, frozen food stays safe; the date only tells you how good it will taste.
Thermometer reading above 0°F day after day? TrueFix Los Angeles serves Pasadena and the foothill cities along with the rest of LA County; call (213) 787-3989.