Food freezing is an effective system for inhibiting the development of microorganisms , so that they can be kept in good conditions for weeks and even months, without affecting the organoleptic properties; that is, the taste, smell or texture. This is because most pathogens cannot multiply below 4ºC.
In fact, freezing meat not only helps preserve it, but storing it at temperatures below -18 ° C for several days could help minimize the risk of some foodborne illnesses such as toxoplasmosis (Lambooji et al., 2019) .
Freezing is one of the best methods we can to preserve raw and cooked food, but it’s not always done right. We often fall into bad practices that in addition to spoiling the food could be a health risk. And what about thawed food? Can it be frozen again?
Know if it is possible and healthy to refreeze the meat .
Is it safe to refreeze the meat?
You can cook meat 2 times thawed and eat it safely; this is not a security issue we are discussing. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), it is safe to refreeze previously thawed meat , as long as the meat is thawed in the refrigerator and not on the counter at room temperature, or worse, in a microwave.
The reality is that food can be returned to very low temperatures without its subsequent consumption threatening our health, as long as we have kept it cold enough.
On the contrary, if the frozen food spends more than two hours out of the refrigerator, or more than one hour above the temperature of 32ºC, it is better not to return to the freezer, according to the recommendations made by the USDA.
Wrapping the piece of meat in plastic and then placing it in cold water is a good defrosting method. As water conducts heat better than air, food thus defrosts faster and loses less properties.
Lastly, while thawing in the refrigerator is not the only way to defrost meat, it is the safest way to do it if you think you can refreeze some or all of the meat.
How to defrost meat safely?
Here are three different methods you can use to safely defrost meat :
- Thawed refrigerator. Thawing can take from 1 to 7 days, depending on the size. Once thawed, meats should be cooked within 3 days.
- Cold water defrosting. This is a quick thaw method that involves placing the meat in a plastic bag under cold running water. Meats thawed in this way should be cooked immediately.
- Microwave defrosting. This is the least recommended method, as foods thawed in the microwave should be cooked immediately, as the defrosting process could significantly raise the temperature of certain portions of the meat.
In turn, the best way to know when it is healthy to refreeze meat is if:
- Properly stored in the refrigerator while defrosting
- Was frozen within 3 to 4 days
- It was not left out of the refrigerator for more than 2 hours
- It did not spend more than 1 hour in temperatures above 32 ° C
When should you not refreeze meat?
The only time meat cannot be safely refrozen is if steaks or cuts of meat have been left at room temperature for more than two hours or only one hour if the temperature is above 90 degrees, such as during an outdoor barbecue. Elevated temperatures make meat susceptible to different types of harmful bacteria and cannot be safely consumed, even if it is frozen.
Never defrost meat at room temperature, such as on the kitchen counter or next to the grill outside. Only meat that has been completely thawed in a controlled refrigerator is safe for consumption.
Disadvantages of refreezing meat
The reason a double freeze affects meat so much is because the frozen water inside the meat’s protein cell physically changes its shape. So the more you do it, the more noticeable the change will be. And no amount of sauce on top is going to hide that.
That is, freezing and thawing meat more than once can cause color and odor changes, loss of moisture, and greater oxidation of its fats and proteins (Jiang et al., 2019).
But there are more reasons not to refreeze meat :
- Loses nutritional properties . Food contains water, therefore, when subjected to freezing temperatures, it begins to freeze and form microcrystals. These break down the internal structures of the food, which loses tissue and is unable to retain all the essential water in the food, which is what concentrates the nutrients.
- Loses texture . When a food is thawed, it releases a large amount of liquid (which it cannot keep). Each time it undergoes these changes, the product is drier. That is, any change in a meat’s ability to retain moisture could significantly affect the tenderness and juiciness of the meat (Frelka et al., 2019).
- Win microorganisms . With thawing, all the processes that were inhibited during freezing, including the microbiological ones, are activated again; water is no longer in the form of ice and can be reused by microorganisms.
Therefore, if we have taken a steak out of the freezer to prepare food, and better plans come up but it is already half defrosted, the best and safest thing to do is not to refreeze again. Most likely, if we refreeze, the meat will be drier and more tasteless and, most importantly, by defrosting some pathogenic bacteria they could have reproduced faster by hitting the broken tissues of the food.
On the other hand, if you care how meat tastes, you should never freeze, thaw, and then re-freeze it. It is best to cook it as soon as possible.
Conclution
It is normal and likely that we will decide to freeze the meat after it has already been defrosted, it is not the best method, but as long as the meat has been stored properly and thawed slowly in the refrigerator, it can be safely refrozen several times.
References
- Frelka, JC, Phinney, DM, Yang, X., Knopp, MV, Heldman, DR, Wick, MP and Vodovotz, Y. (2019). Assessment of chicken breast meat quality after freeze / thaw abuse using magnetic resonance imaging techniques. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. doi: 10.1002 / jsfa.9254
- Jiang, Q., Nakazawa, N., Hu. Y., Osako, K. and Okazaki, E. (2019). Changes in quality properties and tissue histology of lightly salted tuna meat subjected to multiple freeze-thaw cycles. Food Chemestry. doi: 10.1016 / j.foodchem.2019.04.091
- Lambooji, M. S… and Opsteegh, M. (2019). Consumers’ preferences for freezing of meat to prevent toxoplasmosis- A stated preference approach. Meat Science. doi: 10.1016 / j.meatsci.2018.11.001
