Is it safe to eat ice cream that was left in a refrigerator overnight? [duplicate]

A pint of dairy ice cream was accidentally left in the refrigerator overnight. It was then placed back in the freezer. Is there any risk in eating it now?

food-safety ice-cream

Best Answer

There's a high risk of frosty and/or hard ice cream. If it's not ice cream, and most of it is actually "frozen dairy dessert", it will likely fare better than real "ice cream".

In either case, it won't be harmful health-wise, as milk and derivatives last several days in refrigeration, so overnight won't hurt. Also keep in mind that overnight is not much time for too many bacteria generations to multiply, especially under refrigeration, so if the ice cream makes you sick, it very likely would have even if it had been frozen the whole time.

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Can you refreeze ice cream that was in the fridge?

It is only safe to refreeze ice cream if it is slightly melted and has been kept cold. If it melted outside the freezer, refreezing it and eating it could be unsafe. When ice cream melts, bacteria such as Listeria can grow. Listeria outbreaks can occur in freezers when ice cream that melted is refrozen.

Can you eat ice cream that was in the fridge overnight?

Just so long as your fridge is lower than 5 degrees, you'll be safe. The icecream will have separated & ice crystals will form when it refreezes but a serious icecream eater can power through these inconveniences. It's more or less flavoured custard but frozen, so totally fine.

Can you refreeze ice cream that has thawed?

Is it Possible to Refreeze Melted Ice Cream? In simple terms, no, ice cream cannot be refrozen after it has melted. The reasons for this are two-fold: first, the issue of food safety and second, the melting and refreezing process will have undesirable and unavoidable consequences on the texture of the ice cream.

What happens if you eat ice cream left overnight?

Bacteria can be an issue if ice cream sits out at room temperature and starts to melt. Refreezing it will not kill the bacteria. If ice cream is sitting out at a temperature above 40 degrees for more than two hours, you should throw it away.

Diana tastes different Ice Cream

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Piotr Arnoldes, DLKR, Alex Green, Alex Green