Hi,
This has probably been asked before, but I found nothing by making a search. I have an Upright Freezer where something inside shifted and caused the door to open slightly. I have no idea how many days it was open. It contained mostly Processed Venison and Wild Hog. The Venison was Pan Sausage and also Ground Burger (with Brisket mixed in). Both were in the typical plastic sleeves. Other Venison and Hog was Vacuum Sealed. The Vacuum Sealed items were pre-cooked items like Tamales, Smoked Sausage, etc. The internal temperature of a couple of sleeved items, poking a Thermometer in was approximately 45-50 degrees for items nearest the door and the items farther back a little cooler. Assuming, after re-freezing, and using later, cooking and not having a foul odor, is there anything else I should look for that would be a sign to just discard it and move on?

I assume that it may not have got to the temperature for long as there was not much blood that had leaked out compared to the amount that could have if. I had not caught it when I did. Lesson learned? Keep the door locked.

In advance, thanks for any comments, input, etc.

Welcome to the forum. Advice in this area could carry some liability. My neighbor lost power during our last hurricane. He had some Omaha steaks that had thawed, and gave them to me. I refroze them and they were fine.

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the welcome and thanks for your input. Yes, I sorta figured that most may be a little reluctant to respond. I am one of those that if I take advice, I own the positive or negative result from it. Most of what in found doing Google searches was sorta all over the place. I thought this might be a place where others besides myself had a similar mishap occur. My Processor said it was sorta borderline and he was once the Meat Director for all of the Randall's and Safeway markets nationwide, but the more opinions I could get, all the better. He said no worries on the items already cooked, but use caution on the other. I tried one sleeve of Pan Sausage and it smelled fine out of the package and had a different taste from what I was accustomed to, but it also was from a different animal than the previous package before the mishap. Plus, I may have really been trying to taste something funny about it. Worse comes to worse, it's just another reason to use one more Deer Tag. Again, thanks for the response.

Happy New Year!

If it still has the red color and doesn't have a bad smell I think it should be fine. Things like pan sausage are seasoned and have salt in them which will help preserve past plain ground meat.

In my opinion it will reduce the shelf life of the items so try to use them sooner than later. And be sure to cook to recommended temps.

Hi Redchevy,

Thanks for your input! Next, is to try the burger.

Smell check. If there is a hint of nastiness I would discard. Otherwise, dig in!