How to store frozen fresh meat

Fresh meat is delicious! But in addition to responsible feeding, which includes hygiene and food safety, it is also important to keep this kind of food properly refrigerated for an optimal quality. Not only in your own freezer, but also on your way home from the store. That is why a good cooler bag is very important!

Composing Prins TotalCare (for dogs and cats) and Prins FreshCare frozen fresh meat meals is an ice-cold job. During the production process of the slices and meat sausages and the mixing of the meat with other ingredients such as vitamins, minerals, fruit and vegetables, the meat remains constantly frozen for an optimal quality.

It’s always freezing cold at Prins

At Prins, we store all frozen fresh meat meals at a temperature around -18 degrees in a special freezer compartment. A monitoring system continuously measures and registers the temperature, so that there is 24/7 control. Transport to the pet store is done in freezer trolleys, well-insulated containers with an extra freezer element. In these trolleys, the frozen products remain deep-frozen for at least one day. What we load at our family company in Veenendaal in the morning is delivered to the shops on the same day before noon. 

Our studies show that about half of the dog owners feed raw meat. 

Storage and transport

It is also important that pet shops keep the meat well frozen. So play close attention to the thermometer and thus the temperature of the freezer used by the store and beware of freezer frost, which can occur if the freezer does not close properly or the temperature is not optimal. Just as important is the transport of the frozen fresh meat from the store to your home as defrosting does not make products any better. So do take a cooler with you, or use the special Prins cooler bag.

How to prevent freezer burn

For an optimal storage of raw meat meals at home, your freezer should preferably be set at -18 degrees. A lower freezer setting can negatively affect the use-by date of the meat. It is also important to close your freezer properly and keep the fresh meat meals in a well-sealed packaging. When the storage temperature is not cold enough or when the packaging is not properly closed, there can be freezer burn. That leads to the formation of ice crystals, which can cause the meat to dry out and become less tasty. 

Forgot to defrost the frozen fresh meat? If you put the meat from the freezer in a closed bag in some water, it will thaw faster. 

Room temperature eats best!

Only shortly before your animal gets the fresh meat meal, the freezing cold can go. Thaw the meat in a cool place, for example in a closed box in the refrigerator where you can keep it for another two days. You can place a piece of kitchen paper under the larger sausage meat rolls during defrosting to absorb moisture that may leak from the package. Let the thawed meat come to room temperature before serving it to your animal. That temperature, a little lukewarm, is the one dogs and cats prefer when eating their food! 

Fresh meat fun facts

• Our 100% natural raw meat meals for dogs and cats are supplemented with vitamins and minerals to make them complete. They contain everything your animal needs on a daily basis.
• Our frozen fresh meat may look a bit pale because Prins does not add any extra substances to colour the meat reddish. 
• We have frozen fresh meat in both sausage rolls and different sizes of slices, which makes it easy to dose the daily amount of food. The Prins TotalCare slices have the shape of a crown as seen on the I in the Prins logo, the slices of Prins FreshCare resemble a filet steak.