46Freezing fresh foodWarning!– The temperature in the freezer compartment must be –18°C or less before loadingfood for freezing. Check the temperature with a thermometer.– Do not freeze more than the quantities indicated on the rating plate. The quantity forfreezing is the maximum quantity of fresh food which may be frozen in 24 hours. Ifyou wish to freeze fresh food several days running, reduce the quantity to 2/3 to 3/4of the maximum quantity shown on the plate.– Once defrosted, food must not be re-frozen without first undergoing adequateprocessing (cooking).r To achieve faster freezing of food or to freeze the maximum allowed quantity, turn thethermostat knob to the coldest setting (position “3” or “4”). Take care, in this case,because the temperature in the refrigerator compartment will also drop.Important! If the thermostat knob has been turned to a colder setting for freezing,turn it back to a warmer setting after 24 hours (or sooner if only a small quantity offood is being frozen); otherwise the temperature in the refrigerator compartment willdrop too low.r Wrap food in air-tight packs before freezing to prevent it drying out or losing its fla-vour, and to prevent smells being transmitted to other frozen food.Warning! Never touch frozen food with wet hands. The skin could stick to it.r Place food to be frozen in the top drawer (see also section “Description of the appli-ance”, Fig. 10).r Avoid placing food to be frozen in contact with already frozen food. This could raisethe temperature of the latter with risk of it deteriorating.Hints for freezingThe following materials are suitable for wrapping food to be frozen:– Insulating plastic bags or wrap;– special insulating plastic containers;– heavy duty aluminium foil.Seal bags with plastic ties, elastic bands or adhesive tape. Extract as much air as possi-ble before sealing because air causes food to dry out.If possible, split food into small packs for faster freezing.Do not fill containers with liquid or creamy foods right up to the brim because liquids in-crease in volume when they freeze.Note for Inspection and Approval BodiesDiagrams of food positioning used for determining maximum freezing quantities and tem-perature rise times can be obtained direct from the manufacturer.