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We have only ever camped for long weekends but are due to camp for a week in the summer.  Also a mouse died in our old (cheap and cheerful) box over the winter so have decided to probably buy an Igloo Maxcold 40.

I have looked through loads of advice on here and one recurrent idea seems to be to take pre-cooked meals frozen for use over first few days.  (One suggestion was to freeze everything you wouldn't need in first day, pre-made and otherwise like sausages.) 

However, I thought one of the WORST things to do (re food hygene and bacteria growth) with food was to let it defrost slowly and lets face it however good a cool box is going to be its not going to be below -18 degrees which a freezer has to be. 

Whereas if the box is as good as it says it is and keeps things at around freezing it is fridge cold so fresh stuff would stay cold enough for a few days.

Any ideas?? Thanks for looking!

I always thought it was safer to defrost slowly. Like several hours, overnight  in the fridge rather than for  a few hours than on the kitchen worktop.

I thought the longer it stays very cold the fresher it stays, with less chance of bacteria developing.

don't know if the box you mean is a powered one or not, but, this is how I see it.

A coolbox is not going to perform as well as an electric or gas powered fridge, because every time it is opened, and food removed some coldness will be lost. The space  left by the removed item reduces the temp inside. I stuff the gaps left with newspapers scrunched up in carrier bags to try to keep it as full as possible.

so the more ice cold or frozen items there are in the box helps keep each other cold?

not a very technical explanation sorry, but I know what I mean

And I  ALWAYS make sure food is cooked or reheated until its absolutely boiling hot right through too.

Hi Sue,  Im probably not that helpful but when we go camping we take tins and packet foods normally.. we have the same problem as you, we have cool bags and ice blocks but they are only good for the first day..and I would not trust to leave anything in it for a few days.  we tend buy perishable food from a local supermarket for the same day we need it when away or from the onsite camp shop if they have one.. 

keeping my eye on this Thread for info.....Cheers!!!!

As others have said, the best thing is to buy perishable things when you get there.  We use our coolbox for keeping drinks cool, milk reasonably fresh, and butter solid!  If we're going to have a meaty meal, we buy it when we want to eat it.

Also, if you don't fill your coolbox with food, you can put other things in it while travelling to and from site - thus saving on the packing space!

Hi,

Freezing slowly is fine as long as it isn't exposed to direct sunlight (heat spots). As long as you are keeping  it at chill (fridge) temperature which is 1-5 degrees c. you should be fine. Temperatures over that are increasingly loved by bacteria.

Generally though I think food safety is common sense. We have a 3 way fridge which is fantastic even in hotter climates. But I must admit i do tend to buy fresh food every couple of days rather than keep for longer.