Effects of refrigerating vegetables that I'm supposed to freeze

Question

I recently experimented with storing "frozen edamame" in my refrigerator for 7 days (about 45 degrees F/7 deg C), instead of the freezer. There were seemingly no ill effects. So that made me wonder:

What are the effects are of storing vegetables that are intended to be frozen in a refrigerator instead, for a time range of 1-30 days? What major factors affect this and how?

I'm mostly interested in this ~4 deg C temperature (thanks to Fred), and I'm mostly interested in bean-type vegetables like edamame, peas, green beans, etc.

Answer 1

Bacteria grow well at temperatures between 4 C and 60 C, generally, the warmer the better for the bacteria.

Generally refrigerators are set to operate at temperatures around 4 C. Freezers operate at temperatures below zero degrees Celsius. Most bacteria do not thrive in such cold temperatures. Mould/Mold also like warm temperatures and as with bacteria, the warmer the better and like bacteria, mould does not thrive in the cold of freezers.

Food stored in freezers is less likely to be affected by bacteria or mould and thus can be preserved for a considerable length of time.

If food is left in the refrigerator at 4 C, or thereabouts, mould and bacteria can establish colonies on food and spoil the food. The spoilage time for such food can be as short as 14 days, depending on local conditions.