A woman issuing advice about what to do with store-bought meat to prepare it for the freezer seems like good advice—but is it necessary?
The advice in question comes from creator DiamondDRiches (@diamonddriches), getting more than 383,000 views as of Sunday morning.
The creator starts, “Now I hope somebody learns like I did today.”
The camera settles on a package of chicken in the sink, with styrofoam backing and plastic wrap on the top, typical of what consumers buy at the grocery store. If you’re a shopper who throws such a package into the freezer to use later, she wants you to reconsider.
“I happen to read the little writing,” she says of the label on the front of such packages, which most shoppers pay attention to for the price. “Now it’s not on the chicken, but it is on the beef, and it says, ‘Do not freeze in this container.’”
“So I learnt something today talking to another lady, and I’ll be doing that from now on,” she shares. “I’ve already started with my steaks, wrapping it in the plastic wrap, putting it in a freezer bag and putting it in the freezer.”
In a follow-up video, she demonstrates how she prepared steaks for their freezer journey.
“You do know when you learn better you gotta do better,” she concludes. “So takes a little bit more time, but it’s worth it if they tell you, it’s not good to freeze, how about we listen?”
But is she right?
Though she seems authoritative in her knowledge, it’s not necessarily backed by an authority that’s assembled some ethos on the topic of food safety—the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
On its site, it advised, “Yes, it is safe to freeze meat or poultry directly in its supermarket wrapping, but this type of wrap is permeable to air.”
It then noted, “Unless you will be using the food in a month or two, overwrap packages with airtight heavy-duty foil or freezer wrap. This should protect the product from freezer burn for longer storage.”
The Spruce Eats echoes that advice.
“Be sure to date each package of meat before you put it in the freezer,” that article adds. “This makes it easy to know which package to use first.”
It also suggests that if you store a lot of meat in your freezer, the older items should be on top so they’re used before newer packages.
Viewers weigh in
Some visitors to TikTok appreciated the advice nonetheless.
“My whole life my mom has separated meat into freezer bags!” said one. “Saves space and great for portions too.”
“I also use parchment paper or freezer paper to keep freezer burn away,” someone else suggested. “You wouldn’t believe the difference in the quality of the frozen food.”
Others used the occasion to praise the value of information learned via TikTok and the threat of its impending ban from U.S. users on Jan. 19.
“They can not take this app from us,” one declared. “I learn something everyday here.”
Another concluded, “Exact reason why they don’t want us to have it.”
@diamonddriches ♬ original sound – diamonddriches
The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via TikTok direct message.
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