Myth about Refreezing Food

It’s a food safety rule I have always followed, but now it turns out to be a myth. The notion that you cannot refreeze thawed foods is wrong, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and inspection Service. Dietitians there say any raw or cooked food that has been thawed can be refrozen as long as it was thawed the right way and has not spoiled. —That means defrosting meat, poultry, fish and seafood in the refrigerator, not on the counter, at room temperature. The experts also say you should never thaw food by running it under warm tap water, because bacteria multiply rapidly at room temperature.

And you should not refreeze raw meat or fish if it was defrosted in the microwave or with cold water. Those methods are safe but only if the food is cooked immediately after. You should not put it back in the fridge or refreeze it.

There’s no such deadline for fruit, vegetables, breads and cakes, but the process of re-freezing may ruin their texture, taste and colour.