Why can thawed food be refrozen

Frozen foods retain their nutrient content better than fresh or canned foods if handled properly. Some nutrients are prone to be lost in frozen foods. Frozen vegetables can lose about 50 percent of Vitamin C, but fresh vegetables lose up to 75 percent of Vitamin C by the time it has been in storage for a week. Freezing foods is one of the best ways to store it while preserving its nutritional integrity. For more food safety tips and other resources, visit StateFoodSafety.

Toggle navigation search. Log In. Download Our Resources! Resource Gallery. Looking for Online Training? Food Handler Training. Alcohol Server Training. Food Manager Training. January Cartoon: Temperature Danger Zone. Refreezing smaller amounts of food ensures that the food refroze safely and with the smallest amount of added ice crystals forming.

In making decisions about refreezing foods, always consider safety first. Then consider the loss of quality. With some foods, the loss of quality may be so great that it's not worth refreezing them. All rights reserved. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.

Home Food, health and nutrition Food safety Preserving and preparing Refreezing food. Suzanne Driessen, Extension educator. This is one of the reasons to set your freezer to it's ideal temperature.

Refreezing also reduces quality because the already slightly damaged cells are being expanded with ice crystals again.

When Refreezing food:. Label clearly so you know to use this item fast. If your freezer thaws and you have to toss a bunch of food see if the loss is covered on your homeowners or renters insurance.

A freezer inventory can help with this. This page has tips for prepping your freezer for a power outage and will help you get organized so you can refreeze food if possible and minimize losses as best the situation allows. Disclaimer: This information is true and accurate to the best of my abilities, it is posted here to try to help people but food safety is a very serious thing. By using this information you agree that you are taking fully and complete responsibility for your actions, your health and any food that you refreeze, cook or eat.

When in doubt throw it out. Done reading about how to refreeze food? Find more cool stuff on freezing food. Once you learn how to boil chicken you'll be able to take advantage of sales and keep your freezer stocked.