Do not refreeze frozen food after thawing! Food that has been thawed repeatedly is not so reliable

As the temperature gradually rises, we use the refrigerator to store more and more food. The refrigerator delays the speed of food spoilage and brings a lot of convenience to our lives, but not all the food stored in the refrigerator can be "sleepy", and the food that has been repeatedly thawed is not as reliable as imagined.

Most of the frozen foods that are common in our lives are processed through rapid low temperature (below -18 ℃). On the one hand, this storage and processing method effectively retains the water and juice in the food tissue, and on the other hand, the low temperature state hinders the reproduction of microorganisms to a certain extent and ensures food safety. However, compared with fresh food, quick-frozen food will be much worse in taste and flavor. During the storage process, the fat contained in the food will be slowly oxidized, and the vitamins will also be slowly decomposed, and the nutritional value will be greatly reduced.

So, what will happen to frozen food if it is repeatedly thawed and frozen? A testing institution once conducted such a comparative experiment. They thawed and frozen the same piece of fresh meat repeatedly for 4 times, and took samples after each thawing to detect the total number of colonies in the samples respectively. The final test result is very surprising. After 4 times of thawing and freezing, the total number of colonies of this piece of fresh meat has reached 15 times the original.

Microorganisms are one of the main reasons for food spoilage. Once there are too many microorganisms on the surface of food, the protein in the food will be decomposed into small molecular amines or amine-based alkaline substances, which will lead to food spoilage. During the thawing process of frozen food, along with the increase of external temperature, bacteria will multiply rapidly. Although refreezing can inhibit the growth of bacteria, it does not "freeze to death" bacteria, and will further destroy some of the nutrients in the food itself. Therefore, frozen food should be eaten as soon as possible after thawing to avoid repeated freezing.

In the face of frozen food, what is our correct approach? First of all, it is best to use a microwave oven for thawing, try not to thaw slowly at room temperature or put it in water for thawing to prevent bacteria from multiplying; secondly, once the food is thawed, it should be processed and cooked immediately. After cooking, put it in the refrigerator for freezing storage after cooling; third, before freezing, you can cut the food into small pieces and then freeze, and only take out the required amount each time, so as to avoid repeated thawing and freezing of the food.

This article comes from: Xinhuanet