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So here's the scenario: Bought chicken and put immediately in the freezer like 3-4 weeks ago.

I pulled the chicken out yesterday afternoon and put it in the fridge to let it thaw to let it cook for dinner. Ended up not using it so I put it back in the freezer this morning.

Is this safe to do? The chicken was still somewhat frozen-ish when I put it back in the freezer, although the Chickens expired date was 10 days ago, but it has been in the freezer since.

1 Answers1

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Yes, you can defrost and refreeze as long as the total time in the "danger zone" of 40-140 F / 4 - 60 C does not exceed 2 hours. This may not be great from a quality point of view, but it is safe.

razumny
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  • Considering it was still prettty much frozen im guessing it never even hit the danger zone. –  Oct 22 '13 at 14:41
  • Think about it, the core of the chicken may have stayed frozen but it's likely that the outer part has been in the danger zone all the night long. Plus there are additional threats due to the freezing itself, see my answer to the duplicate question. – Skippy le Grand Gourou Oct 23 '13 at 13:54
  • @SkippyleGrandGourou: How do you figure? If it has been kept in the fridge for the entire time, and assuming that the fridge is kept at a normal temperature, the meat will not actually have been in the danger zone at all. – razumny Oct 23 '13 at 18:54
  • Well maybe I was exaggerating a bit because here we are always taught to never refreeze unfrozen food, because of further threats mentioned due to the freezing itself. But anyway, whenever you open the door of the fridge or you fill it with anything new, it will reach temperatures in the danger zone and it will take some time for the fridge to recover the normal temperature — a long time if your fridge is old or of bad quality. See e.g. [this link](http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/science/science-in-focus/home-fridge-temperatures/) and the PDF of the study at the bottom of the page. – Skippy le Grand Gourou Oct 23 '13 at 21:18