Frozen food thawed because trip

[jbryancn]

Hi, I got a doubt. I bought some frozen food in another city because there isn’t this kind of food in mine. So I packet it with some little freezer gel packs, but when I arrived the food was thawed, but still cold. I dont know when that happened but I only drove for 8 hours. Is that food still viable? I smelled it and seems its not wasted yet. What is your opinion. Can I still use it?

 

[reefwiser]

Should be fine it was most likely in a sealed package so it will be fine

 

[Reef.]

Should have still been under 5c if it’s not a hot car, so still safe.
Many fish foods are gamma treated so that also helps.

no ideal for the quality of the food tho as when defrosted it breaks down so the less defrosting and refreshing the better.

 

[ichthyogeek]

Depends on what you're feeding. There were some great articles a few years back on the effects of defrosting frozen food and then refreezing it. If it's typical tank residents (clownfish, tangs, etc.), then you're fine. If it's something special like a breeding project, or syngnathids, then you can still use it, but it's better to get new food.

In general, when food thaws, it loses nutritional value, as enzymes within the food start to break it down. If I remember correctly, the process of defrosting and refreezing puts it through a temperature zone where enzyme activity peaks relative to temperatures around it (a local maximum of enzyme activity), which results in more broken down food. You can see this best with frozen (non-PE) mysis shrimp. As the freezing/thawing process repeats, the off-white shrimp start to turn browner and browner.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Happened to me more than once and food just fine. Cold is Key to being just as fresh.
You have no clue how many times we go to the store and buy chicken that was once frozen, and place it back in freezer containers for future use

 

[Privateye]

I've been in this boat before plenty of times. I've been sidetracked by something or other on the way home, leaving frozen food in the car in the FL sun. It's kind of like the food that you eat. If it is cold enough for you to feel comfortable, then go for it. If not, you may want to discard it. You certainly want to throw it out if you notice bulging in the blister packs. A slight amount is okay if the cube contains a bubble, but nothing that wants to pop the foil off.

If it's past that point you can probably still find a use for it. Throw some in a new tank over time to promote a fishless cycle. or if you have a crab in a sump somewhere, I'm sure he'd still appreciate it. Ghost shrimp too.

 

[jbryancn]

Depends on what you're feeding. There were some great articles a few years back on the effects of defrosting frozen food and then refreezing it. If it's typical tank residents (clownfish, tangs, etc.), then you're fine. If it's something special like a breeding project, or syngnathids, then you can still use it, but it's better to get new food.

In general, when food thaws, it loses nutritional value, as enzymes within the food start to break it down. If I remember correctly, the process of defrosting and refreezing puts it through a temperature zone where enzyme activity peaks relative to temperatures around it (a local maximum of enzyme activity), which results in more broken down food. You can see this best with frozen (non-PE) mysis shrimp. As the freezing/thawing process repeats, the off-white shrimp start to turn browner and browner.

I bought artemia. Actually, I got to travel again and tried to buy frozen artemia again. I tried to be more prepared buying more ice gels, a cooler, but it arrived thawed again. I was checking it and it got thawed 3 hours before I put it into my fridge. It was cold, very cold but no cold enough to stay frozen. It is just for my clownfish so I think im gonna use it.

 

[ichthyogeek]

Yeah, if it's just clownfish, then you should be fine.

 

[jbryancn]

I've been in this boat before plenty of times. I've been sidetracked by something or other on the way home, leaving frozen food in the car in the FL sun. It's kind of like the food that you eat. If it is cold enough for you to feel comfortable, then go for it. If not, you may want to discard it. You certainly want to throw it out if you notice bulging in the blister packs. A slight amount is okay if the cube contains a bubble, but nothing that wants to pop the foil off.

If it's past that point you can probably still find a use for it. Throw some in a new tank over time to promote a fishless cycle. or if you have a crab in a sump somewhere, I'm sure he'd still appreciate it. Ghost shrimp too.

Actually, the new frozen artemia I bought arrived very very cold. I think it's ok for my clownfish, but gonna see more advices.

 

[Reef.]

Why ‘it’s just for clown fish’?

 

[ichthyogeek]

Why ‘it’s just for clown fish’?

I mentioned it above, but basically if they were fish like seahorses (which have a primitive digestive tract), or fish that were intended for breeding (in which case keeping nutrition as optimal as possible is highly recommended), then the frozen->thawed->frozen food might be too degraded to be as nutritious as possible, a factor that matters when keeping fish nutrition and therefore health as best as possible.

From context and reading the OP's post, I came to the conclusion that the fish was not a fish that would fit into my category of "it is mandatory that you give this fish the absolute best diet regardless." Is it optimal to provide unthawed food? Yes. Is it okay in this instance to be okay with having refrozen food? Also yes.

 

[Reef.]

I mentioned it above, but basically if they were fish like seahorses (which have a primitive digestive tract), or fish that were intended for breeding (in which case keeping nutrition as optimal as possible is highly recommended), then the frozen->thawed->frozen food might be too degraded to be as nutritious as possible, a factor that matters when keeping fish nutrition and therefore health as best as possible.

From context and reading the OP's post, I came to the conclusion that the fish was not a fish that would fit into my category of "it is mandatory that you give this fish the absolute best diet regardless." Is it optimal to provide unthawed food? Yes. Is it okay in this instance to be okay with having refrozen food? Also yes.

Thanks for the explanation, makes sense.