There is nothing wrong with eating food that has freezer burn on it. What happens when food is in the freezer for too long, moisture begins to be lost which farm water on the outside, which freezes. The food then becomes dry. Usually food will be good in the freezer for a few months and some get freezer burn quicker than others. When thawing out bread that has freezer burn you will notice the crust to be dry and hard. There is no way to regain that moisture. It can be used though and perhaps best used at that point for bread crumbs or dry complete for croutons. Meat that is freezer burn such as chicken or turkey will become dry and tough. This might best be used for a pot pie or soup. Cook the chicken or turkey, pull about or shred it in fine pieces, which is perfect for soups, pot pie or even a chicken salad or turkey salad. You can be creative with foods that are freezer burn to still make the most out of it and not have to throw it away.

It is totally safe to eat food that has developed freezer burn. Likely the food will not taste as good or cook up quite the same. The freezer burn develops from the moisture being lost from the food and forming ice crystals because of the water. This tends to leave the food dry. One way to get around the dry texture is to rehydrate the food by soaking it in water before you prepare it.

Most food in the freezer is okay to eat no matter how long it has been there. There are recommendations such as not freezing things for longer than three months, but quick freeze or deep freeze devices can eliminate this time frame. All of these recommendations are based on the taste and quality of the food more than safety.

In order to avoid food tasting bad, it helps to label everything you freeze with a date. This can also aid in choosing what to cook and when in order to keep some things from sitting in your freezer too long or developing freezer burn. You can also avoid freezer burn by vacuum packing your food. This keeps the air out, giving the moisture no place to escape to, keeping crystals from forming on the surface of the food.