Vale of White Horse District Council
Abbey House, Abbey Close,
Abingdon, OX14 3JE
Email: comments@whitehorsedc.gov.uk
Telephone: 01235 520202

Vale of White Horse District Council

What to do if your freezer breaks down

If a business has a freezer breakdown due to an electrical supply or equipment failure there are a number of things you should do to ensure food safety:  

• Firstly try to find out how long the freezer has not been working. Most freezers are well insulated, and if low risk items are still frozen or mainly frozen they can usually be refrozen without problems. However certain high risk foods (such as meat, fish and egg products) should not be re-frozen but may be acceptable for immediate use, provided that they have defrosted very recently and are going to be thoroughly cooked. Ready-to-eat high risk food from a freezer breakdown should not be refrozen or used for human consumption.
• If you are in any doubt at all it is best to throw the food away. It may be possible to claim against your business insurance if you are covered for such losses
• If you have a large quantity of affected food you may contact the Food and Safety Team for advice on preventing dangerous food getting back into the food chain. There will normally be a charge for any removal service, which may be recoverable from your insurers, but you are advised to contact them before you commit yourself to paying for disposal. For small quantities it maybe more appropriate for you to bag it and take it to one of the County waste recycling centres yourself. More advice on disposal can be obtained from the Vale’s Waste Management Team.

If you run a business there are certain things you should do to help us to help you. Initially you should contact the Food and Safety Team to discuss the problem and to discuss the best course of action. You will then need to:

• Provide an accurate list describing the food (including brand names and product types) together with weights of individual packs and the number of packs affected of each product type 
• Separate the products into meat, fish etc. Meat products may have to be stained to prevent re-use
• Bag all the products in clear plastic bags so that the Council’s officer can confirm the accuracy of your list For large quantities please ensure that identical items are put into the same bag. Clearly label each bag "not for human consumption" 
• The bags of food must be of a manageable weight
• If possible, while the food is awaiting disposal, keep the bags of products chilled (or put them in a working freezer), but make sure that the bags containing the food are clean and kept separate from other food.  Ensure that the food is disposed of without delay, ideally within one working day.