need help fast- deep freezer was switched off arghhh

[cocobambino]

I just went to get meat out for tea and realised my deep freezer had been switched off, how i have NO idea,
there is $200 or more worth of meat in there that i brought last week, its all defrosting, i have heard that meat can be refrozen if it was defrosted in the fridge, im wondering if this is true or if ive just lost a fortnights worth of meat...

[cocobambino]

its ok, ive found this article..

Refreezing
Once food is thawed in the refrigerator, it is safe to refreeze it without cooking, although there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through defrosting. After cooking raw foods which were previously frozen, it is safe to freeze the cooked foods. If previously cooked foods are thawed in the refrigerator, you may refreeze the unused portion.

If you purchase previously frozen meat, poultry or fish at a retail store, you can refreeze if it has been handled properly

[Tinks]

I would be cooking it before re freezing just to be safe. THink of all the easy meals you'll have next fortnight lol.

[cocobambino]

apparently just a no no if thawed on bench.
here is the article Freezing and Food Safety

I really dont have time to cook all day, with cooking comes cleaning all that mess and i have 3 kids including a newborn..

[Jas]

Hi,

I saw this scientist guy on the news..it was with all the recent flooding and talking about ppl who had lost power etc etc and what was safe to keep out of fridge stuff and freezer stuff and aparrently yes it has very recently been realised it is safe to refreeze meat if defrosted in the fridge but not if on the bench so i would refreeze it

[cocobambino]

Hi,

I saw this scientist guy on the news..it was with all the recent flooding and talking about ppl who had lost power etc etc and what was safe to keep out of fridge stuff and freezer stuff and aparrently yes it has very recently been realised it is safe to refreeze meat if defrosted in the fridge but not if on the bench so i would refreeze it

ok thanks, yer its still in the freezer the freezer is still cold but i can feel the meat defrosting, ive switched it back on now..Ive seen 4 articles now all saying its safe

[Liz]

Nope, i dont think you can refreeze it. But you can if you cook it!

I'd get cooking! keep some cooked in the fridge for the first few days worth of meals, but freeze the rest.

ETA: eek.. I wouldn't refreeze.. I've always thought it was a nono! Where was that article??

[catherinemoses]

How much has the meat defrosted?
If it has completly thawed I would cook it all (not into meals just cook the meat) and then refreeze it. If it is a little bit thawed then you could refreeze it but it is a bit risky.
I hate when things like this happen. HTH

[cocobambino]

How much has the meat defrosted?
If it has completly thawed I would cook it all (not into meals just cook the meat) and then refreeze it. If it is a little bit thawed then you could refreeze it but it is a bit risky.
I hate when things like this happen. HTH

its not completley thawed.
I have no idea how it got switched off, the switch is out of the kids reach

[Lulu]

Even if it is safe to refreeze, I wouldn't risk it as the quality can really be affected.
If you have a slow cooker or something, start it up and do a few casseroles, curries etc, then refreeze.

GL!

[mumofmany]

The issue with the meat thawing is the temperature of the meat going into the "holding" temp range. That is when the bacteria that is in the meat will grow quickly. Some bacteria are killed by low and high temps, and some absolutely thrive in cold temps - eg listeria.

When cooking food, you want it to get to 75C and if you are reheating, to 60C as quickly as possible.

in your case.. the freezer would have had to get above 5C and stay above that temp for a min of 2hrs for you to be concerned about the meat.

You are perfectly safe to refreeze it. Being a deep freeze it would be around -18C and would take a while to heat up to 5C. You only loose quality in the meat if it is completely defrosted, then re-frozen.. it dries out.

hope this helps..

food standards australia is a great source to what is acceptable in kitchens.

[Lulu]

or the edges might curl up even if it didn't fully thaw. yukko!

[~kellie~]

just wanted to say I know how you feel, the same thing happened to me about 2 weeks ago! Although in my case, the door got left open

I didnt re-freeze anything, just had a major cookup and invited people over for dinner for 2 nights, what we didnt eat the dog got!

[Artechim]

Perhaps I am lazy, but I would just flick the switch back on and forget about it. I routinely bring meat back from my mothers house 2 hours away, by the time I get home it is usually a bit thawed around the edges but I just pop it back in the freezer no probs. If it was still in the cold freezer the chance of bacteria growing on the thawed parts is minimal. The biggest problem is that you might get a bit of freezer burn in the defrosted parts, but it is still fine to eat.

[briggsy's girl]

we got advice from DHS (post fires) that even if the meat and stuff appeared to be in good quality, it wasn't a good idea to refreeze and eat it later, especially for those with sensitive stomachs etc

in your circs, i'd be defrosting everything properly, and doing a hell of a lot of cooking in the next couple of days. nothing that has been defrosted at all gets refrozen (and i ONLY defrost in the fridge) - it gets cooked somehow and then refrozen already cooked into a meal