AboutCarol Schlitt Expertise I can answer questions on home food safety, sanitation, home food preservation and commercial food safety (HACCP).
Experience I am an Extension educator, nutrition, wellness and food safety. I am a certified HACCP manager and a food safety instructor for the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Organizations International Association for Food Protection, American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (Certified CFCS), National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, Society for Nutrition Education.
Education/Credentials BS - University of Illinois
MS - Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville
Question We all know that you shouldn't re freeze a product once thawed. My question is why? I understand that there would be a food Quality issue with this but food safety? Freezing stops bacteria from multiplying so providing that you don't leave the product out too long before re freezing and you defrost in a fridge it shouldn't spoil... should it?
Answer Hi Mark,
You can freeze a product (meat, cooked food dish, etc) once thawed -- if it was thawed in the refrigerator and done so within the recommended refrigerator storage time (usually 1-5 days depending upon the food). We don't recommend refreezing foods that have defrosted outside of the refrigerator or from a power outage unless there are ice crystals still in the food.
And yes -- the big issue is food quality, not safety. Going through the freezing, defrosting, refreezing cycle does not improve the quality of the food. But if done properly, you can do it over and over again. It's the same thing we tell restaurants about using hot leftovers. If you follow the guidelines you can heat leftovers quickly to 165, hold above 140, cool within 6 hours to 41 degrees, quickly heat to 165, etc. You can do this until the cows come home!! Unfortunately, the food doesn't get better going through each heating and cooling cycle and you do increase your chances for bacterial and other types of contamination, but legally you can do it.
I'd say the main reason we do not encourage refreezing of thawed product is that the chances of contamination increase and the quality of the product decreases.
So Mark, if you defrost hamburger in the refrigerator and within 3 days decide you don't want to cook it you can refreeze it for later use. Just be aware that both the safety and quality have been changed from the original purchase and freezing.
