Final answer:
Freezing foods at ≤0°F is the least damaging to the food's quality, and keeping the freezer below this temperature preserves foods indefinitely. However, microbes are only dormant and can become active once the food thaws. It's important to handle thawed food carefully and avoid refreezing unless it has been cooked.
Step-by-step explanation:
Freezing foods at ≤0°F is the least damaging to the food's original flavor, nutrient content, and texture compared to most other preservation methods. Keeping the temperature of the freezer below 18 degrees C (0 degrees F) ensures that foods frozen at this temperature will keep indefinitely. However, their quality may gradually deteriorate over time. According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), safely thawing frozen foods can be done in the refrigerator, immersed in cold water changed every 30 minutes, or in the microwave. It is important to handle thawed foods like fresh perishables due to the potential resumption of bacterial growth.
Refrigeration and Freezing techniques both utilize low temperatures to control microbial growth, but refrigeration maintains temperatures between 0 °C and 7 °C to inhibit microbial metabolism, while freezing preserves food by halting microbial growth and certain enzymatic reactions that lead to spoilage. Nevertheless, freezing does not kill microbes; they become active again upon thawing, which is why it is critical not to thaw foods at room temperature and to never refreeze food that has been previously thawed unless it has been cooked first.