Submitted by Kyle Baker on 10/19/99. ( ) 207.17.189.14
I started putting my bird skins in the freezer after completing the skinning and degreasing process. I placed them in zip-lock bags and make sure they are sealed. I opened my freezer yesterday and it smelled strongly of mineral spirits and i believe the smell has permeated other items in freezer. My question is can that be harmful to any food in the freezer and can i get the smell out?, please advise.
This response submitted by George Roof on 10/20/99. ( georoof@aol.com ) 152.163.188.193
Kyle,
There's another good reason to stop using flammable fluids to degrease birds, but that's MY opinion and not an answer to your question.
The smells have and will continue to permeate through plastic film. You are going to have to remove them and use another method to eliminate the source. Right now, you can try putting an open box of baking soda in (use several, in fact), but don't expect miracles.
Once you eliminate the source, wash the freezer with Lysol or use one of the citric based odor ELIMINATORS that are sold my Neutron Industries in Phoenix AZ. These products do not cover scent, they eliminate it like nothing else on the market today. (Call them at 1-800-421-8481. They have a green apple scent that works well but their orange NI-712 does a better job. It's a little expensive, but one spritz will get rid of all you smelly freezer space.)
The odor will probably seep into other items as well but that smell will go away when they are tanned. If they are already tanned, then they're going to need airing out for awhile.