I have a keen interest in food and in my younger years did some research into the various aspects of food hygiene and one of the overriding principles was never to re freeze any food that had been defrosted, unless it has been thoroughly cooked first e.g. take out frozen raw chicken, defrost it, make a curry and then freeze any left over curry - no problem. Whilst it might not be quite as dangerous to refreeze food that has been defrosted in a fridge rather than at ambient temperature, it is still a no-no. In a perfect world, you should always take the frozen food out of the freezer and defrost in the fridge, even more important in the 30c+ temperatures that we have here.prcscct wrote:The "sausage" thread made me think of this. I recently read that it is perfectly OK to re-freeze fish that has been thawed in the refrigerator in a sealed package. This sealed package can be your own wrapping applied to the fish when bought fresh, before it was initially frozen.
It is not OK to re-freeze fish thawed out in ambient room temperatures such as on the kitchen counter, thawed in a micro-wave etc.
I'm assuming if this is OK with a substance as sensitive as seafood, the same method is OK for meat and poultry as well?
Maybe we can get some expert advice from some of the restaurant sponsors on here. Pete
That's pretty much it. So while defrosting in a fridge gives less risk, as bacteria grows at a much slower rate, the risk is still there. Obviously it also depends on how long between freezings. If you defrost something in the fridge then refreeze after two day it may well be (I don't know the numbers, so I may be wrong) more dangerous than defrosting something quickly in the sun the refreezing an hour later.Dannie Boy wrote: The principle behind all of this is that all food has bacteria in it and when you defrost frozen food, the bacteria multiplies (especially if defrosted in 30+ degrees) and re freezing it doesn't kill the much multiplied bacteria, so the chance of food poisoning when reusing the once again thawed food is multiplied significantly, whereas if you had cooked it before freezing the bacteria would have been greatly reduced. I don't know the science behind it all, but defrosting raw food and then re freezing it, defrosting it again and then cooking, does not allow the cooking process to kill off all the bacteria, hence the food poisoning risk.
I haven't seen it here - but then I don't cook at home here. Are you sure they're thawing out, or does it just look like the edges might be a bit 'ice crispy'? It could be that at some point in the transportation to the shelf, they're being kept in ice to keep them cold, and this is causing the meat to ever so slightly freeze? Just a wild guess.christopher1 wrote:What I have seen on several occassions over the years, especially in the big stores.When re-stocking the chicken portions they appear to have been frozen and are thawing out. Surely one would think that they would notify the customer that this was originally frozen produce and shouldn't be re-frozen.
Anyone else noticed this?
They must buy in bulk, they must freeze, how do they know how much to thaw to avoid financial losses due to the need to throw unprepared food away. I doubt they thaw in the frig starting 24-48 hours ahead of cooking time. The planning must make them tear their hair out. We should take a poll of how many bald restaurant owners are out there. 
Pete 
That's precisely why, at the better restaurants, the prices are so much higher. And when there is a group booking you are often asked to give menu choices in advance.prcscct wrote:The above seems to mirror the article I read.
Restaurant science must be a demanding occupation, similar to knowing how much ammunition to issue to your army depending upon how many of the enemy are approaching.
You think the ones in England do?margaretcarnes wrote: I've often wondered if these outlets in the LOS really stick to the time limits!
Point of order, Mr Chairman! The word is fridge, Pete - "frig" is a synonym for... wellprcscct wrote: I doubt they thaw in the frig
frig
1 [frig], frigged, frig·ging. Slang: Vulgar.
verb (used with object)
1. to copulate with.
2. to take advantage of; victimize.
3. to masturbate.
Pete 
christopher1 wrote:What I have seen on several occassions over the years, especially in the big stores.When re-stocking the chicken portions they appear to have been frozen and are thawing out. Surely one would think that they would notify the customer that this was originally frozen produce and shouldn't be re-frozen.
Anyone else noticed this?
I'm sure they've been sick but they'll never put it down to food.migrant wrote:I've always gone by the "if thawed out then do not refreeze" but my wife and MIL always refreeze. When I mentioned that they shouldn't do it I got the "We always do this in Thailand and never get sick" line.
