Is it true that you can freeze hotdogs and sausages indefinitely?

[Genevieve]

I've read that you can, that they are safe to eat, but that quality may be affected. I really want to cook them tonight, but I'm scared.
TIA :-)

[sandnsea]

1. How long have they been in the freezer?

Months - years- decades? I think there's quite a bit of preservative in them, so as long as it hasn't been decades, I wouldn't worry about them.

[Genevieve]

3. About 7 months. nt

[sandnsea]

5. Oh, they're fine

I've eaten hot dogs that have been in the freezer that long many times.

[Genevieve]

6. Thank you!

:)

[Stinky The Clown]

2. I dunno about 'indefinitely', but they stay wholesome a long time

They taste like crap and absorb every stray odor and taste in yur freezer, and dry out ...... but they won't kill you.

[Genevieve]

4. Thanks-

I won't eat them then. I'm gonna throw them out.

[HamdenRice]

7. My mother kept a striped bass in the freezer for like 10 years

We didn't eat it, but your question reminded me of something from my childhood.

My mother was a fanatical sport fisherwoman. One of the first big fish she caught (and it wasn't big -- just big by porgy standards) was a striped bass, just under legal size, that she caught at Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. She put it in the freezer and debated having it stuffed.

We never got around to it, and kept it in the freezer for about 10 years. She occasionally took it out to brag to other fishing people. Eventually she threw it out.

As for your question, keep in mind that some kinds of bacteria do indeed grow in icy conditions -- just very slowly. So the stuff in your freezer actually is deteriorating -- just very slowly.

I've heard that the maximum amount of time to freeze meat is about 1 year.

[Warpy]

8. Flavor and texture are what degrade in freezing

Food will be safe to eat after it's been frozen for years, but the food will be dried out and taste like cardboard by then.

Food safety covers bacterial growth, and there are no human pathogens that grow and prosper at freezing temperatures. The food does go bad, though, because of the drying and flavor loss.

[hippywife]

9. That's assuming

they were safe to eat to begin with. ;)

[Tab]

10. They're phsyically safe, unless you've had a power outage

(meaning defrosting and refreezing).

After a few months, they're probably fine. Years, the quality will be affected but it still should be physically safe. Maybe unedible or unattractive, but safe nonetheless.

[Kali]

11. so did you toss them?

7 months is nothing - they should be fine.

[Genevieve]

13. I didn't toss them.

But I didn't cook them either.

[pinto]

12. Hot dogs are forever.

:scared: