Buying meat in bulk for the freezer

Some households buy their meat by the box, or as a half lamb or a quarter of beef. It often comes straight from a farm or a butcher. A big order means a lot of meat to store at once, and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has written advice on doing that safely.

Where the meat comes from

The FSA says that in most cases, meat for people to eat must come from animals slaughtered in approved slaughterhouses. An owner who kills an animal at home may eat the meat, with the immediate family who live with them. In the FSA's words, "The sale or gifting of meat from a home slaughtered animal is not permitted."

So a farm selling meat boxes sends its animals to an approved slaughterhouse first.

What the label shows

The beef labelling rules cover farm shops, butchers, market stalls and mobile shops, as well as supermarkets. A beef label names the country where the animal was born, where it was raised, where it was slaughtered and where the meat was cut. Defra says pre-packed pork, lamb, goat and poultry show the country where the animal was reared and the country where it was slaughtered.

A seller of loose beef can put that information on the meat, on its container, on a ticket nearby or on a sign. The same rules cover the seller's leaflets and adverts.

Before you order

A half or quarter animal comes as many separate cuts. Before ordering, buyers can ask the seller:

Then measure the freezer space before the delivery day.

Freezing it

The FSA says "your freezer should be around -18°C". It calls a freezer "a pause button", where food won't go bad and most bacteria cannot grow.

Chilled meat can go into the freezer "right up until midnight on the 'use by' date printed on the label". The FSA suggests wrapping food well, in an airtight container or freezer bags, and labelling everything that goes in.

Freezer burn dries food out and affects its quality, though the food stays safe. The FSA says "Meats are usually best eaten within 2-3 months."

Defrosting it

The FSA advises defrosting food in the fridge, in a container big enough to catch any drips. Make sure the middle has fully thawed before cooking. Partly defrosted meat may not cook evenly.

The FSA says to use food "within 24 hours after it's been fully defrosted". It also says "you can freeze food again once cooked, but you'll only be able to reheat it once after that." Freezing in single portions means a household defrosts only what it needs.

In the fridge

The FSA says "your fridge should be between 0 and 5°C". Raw meat goes on the bottom shelf, in its packaging or a clean sealed container, so it can't touch or drip onto other food. Clean surfaces, boards and hands with warm soapy water after they have touched raw or thawing meat.

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