Refreezing food: yes or no?
A freezer full of food makes your life a lot easier. But what if you take a piece of meat out of the freezer in the morning and end up not eating it that evening? Is it safe to freeze it again?
A commonly heard piece of advice is: don’t. Bacteria would multiply a hundred times faster, resulting in food poisoning. But guess what? It’s actually not that bad. The taste won’t improve, but it isn’t unsafe. What matters most is how you defrost your meat, pasta sauce or other freezer contents.
Defrosting safely
The safest way to defrost food is to put it in the fridge and let it defrost slowly there. If you do it this way, there’s nothing to worry about. It is important, however, not to leave the defrosted food in the fridge for too long, as it can still spoil.
No go
Are you defrosting your food on the counter, under the warm tap or in the microwave? Too bad, then you have to eat it immediately. In this warmth, bacteria do go wild, greatly increasing the risk of spoilage.
Not too often
Don’t refreeze food too often; all the time it spends in the fridge means that its temperature is still higher than in the freezer. But doing it once is really no problem. You can’t keep things in the freezer indefinitely, by the way. Curious how long your chicken stays good in the cold? Read it here.
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