What To Do If Your Omaha Steaks Box Arrives Warm Or Defrosted

Nebraska-headquartered Omaha Steaks International has been in the business of supplying a range of meats (and other food products) for over a century, delighting hungry steak lovers across the country. While plenty of customer orders are fulfilled without any hiccups, unforeseen delays can result in some shipments arriving at their destinations either warm or defrosted. If that happens to you, there are several steps you can take. First and foremost, if you've only ordered steak, check if the packaged meat still feels cool when touched, then break out the thermometer. 

If it feels cool and hasn't gotten above 40 degrees Fahrenheit (that's the maximum cold temp for safety, per the USDA), you should be able put your meat straight in the freezer. Omaha Steaks' guidance recommends that all its meat, including poultry, seafood, and steak, that's been warmed to between 36 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit — essentially, fridge temperatures — can be safely refrozen within one or two days. (Check out our info on how long steak really stays fresh in the refrigerator). If the vacuum packaging has come off or has been opened, you can replace it with plastic wrap and refreeze.

However, if you think your meat has been sitting at an ambient or room temperature for over two hours, you cannot refreeze it. Unfortunately, all you can really do is take a photo of your order, then put it in the trash. As frustrating as that might be, your next move is to contact the Omaha Steaks customer services team. Take heart, because the company pledges to refund or replace any items that are delivered 100% thawed.

We all know that stuff happens and life can get in the way of even the best-laid plans, but the issue of warm or defrosted deliveries from Omaha Steaks International appears to be a recurrent problem, and the company's new packaging could have something to do with it. For many years, large styrofoam boxes crammed with dry ice were used to keep customers' orders frozen. Even if the ice melted, the contents were typically cold enough to last another few hours, safe inside their styrofoam igloo.

However, unlike many take-out pizza boxes, styrofoam doesn't degrade very much at all. As part of efforts to cut plastic pollution, many businesses have switched to cardboard alternatives, including Omaha Steaks International. The company's Perfectly Cold system swapped the styrofoam container for a corrugated cooler with a bag. Its recyclable liner is filled with either dry ice or a non-toxic gel ice pack that's also recyclable. If social media comments are anything to go by, a good set of steak knives will likely last longer than Omaha Steak's eco-friendly solution, because it certainly isn't working for everyone.

Per commenters on the r/meat subreddit, one customer's original order and their first replacement in the new packaging were thawed out, while a second replacement was also partially affected by defrosting. Another commenter who lives in Central Florida just managed to rescue their order after all the dry ice had evaporated. "5 pounds of dry ice going to Florida may need more thought," they added.