How Long Can Seafood Stay Frozen

[Tuckerfan]

And still be edible? I've got some frozen, precooked shrimp in the freezer, and I'd like to know if it's still safe to eat, or should I chuck it?

[Ale]

Feed the cat with it, wait 12 hours and if it´s still on his/her four legs assume it´s OK.

Seriously, speaking how long has it been frozen? what kind of package and if it stayed unfrozen for some amount of time before getting into the freezer define if it would be safe to eat or not... in the doubt you´d better order a pizza.

[Tuckerfan]

Originally posted by Ale
Feed the cat with it, wait 12 hours and if it´s still on his/her four legs assume it´s OK.

Seriously, speaking how long has it been frozen? what kind of package and if it stayed unfrozen for some amount of time before getting into the freezer define if it would be safe to eat or not... in the doubt you´d better order a pizza.

Dunno, to be honest (though it's not more than three weeks). It's a "previously handled frozen" package that never thawed out. When I got it, I wrapped it (still frozen) in aluminum foil and put it in the freezer.

[kniz]

Tuckerfan you must realize that CYA becomes involved in this type of question. If I tell you that 3 weeks is no problem (which could potentionally be my answer), then would you sue me if you became deathly sick? So throw the stuff away, is my offical answer.

[Ringo]

Hey cyclops, er, uh triclops(?)...referrin' to the car there, pal; I've got some Ling and Kingfish that I caught offshore in 1989 that I froze in blocks of ice that I've been assured here on this board should still be OK. As long as they've not been exposed to air, they should go a bit.

[Tuckerfan]

kniz, I'm only a poor, corrupt official, so no worries that I'll sic the lawyers on ya!

Ringo, Tucker always referred to the center headlight as the "Cyclops-Eye." Somewhere around here, I've got a design for a Tuckeresqe pick up called a Triclopz (IIRC, there's a guy who came up with a modern take on the Tucker that he released as a resin model [for a "mere" $70!] called the same thing, but spelled differently.)

[Early Out]

According to these folks, it would appear that you can count on at least six months if your freezer is at minus-ten degrees C (which is about 14 degrees F, actually warmer than most freezers), and assuming that the shrimp are well-wrapped, and hadn't been thawed and refrozen (always a risky move).

[Jayrot]

[Personal experience]

We went marlin fishing in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. I landed a 130-pounder. The dudes on the dock cut it up on the spot and we filled a cooler with meat and dry ice. That package accompanied us on the plane back to California. All those pounds of frozen marlin stayed in our freezer, just getting used little by little. By the end of it, it was at least 3 - 4 months later and to my unrefined tastebuds, it tasted as good as the day I caught it. (Of course all fishermen know that fish you catch yourself tastes infinitely better than storebought) Keep in mind, this was just raw meat in big ol' chunks/steaks. It wasn't sealed or anything, just wrapped in paper the way they do at your local grocery store's fish dept.

For us, no problemo. In fact there is a rather wonderful photo we took of it all stacked up on our kitchen counter with a caption that says "GOT MARLIN?"

[/Personal Experience]

YMMV.
Please don't sue me.

[SmackFu]

I don't think I have anything in my freezer younger than three weeks.

[Nametag]

Whoa, people; this is precooked shrimp; storage can be a lot longer, even in the refrigerator, than for fresh fish. In the freezer, it should be safe to eat damn near forever, although the flavor may suffer. Three weeks is nothing (hell, we've kept fresh shrimp in the freezer for a year).

The real consideration is whether your freezer actually works as well as it's supposed to. It should cool food to 0ºF.

[alice_in_wonderland]

You're fine Tuckerfan - I have shrimp in my freezer that have been there for at least a month, and I would eat them with no worry, whatsoever.

And if you get deathly ill, I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't make this post, and I know nothing about any stupid shrimps....