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Defrosting Frozen Foods

Helpful hints on how to defrost your frozen foods safely

The purpose of defrosting frozen foods thoroughly before cooking is to ensure that during cooking the food is heated sufficiently to kill harmful bacteria.

There are three safe ways to defrost frozen food1:

  1. In the refrigerator
  2. In cold water
  3. In the microwave (always follow manufacturers instructions)

It's best to plan ahead for slow, safe thawing overnight in the refrigerator. The bottom of the fridge is ideal. For faster defrosting of frozen foods, place food in a leak proof plastic bag and immerse it in cold water. Change water every 30 minutes. After thawing, cook immediately.2

This is just an overview into the three types of defrosting frozen foods – for detailed step by step instructions please see our examples below.

If defrosting frozen meat or fish don't forget to wash everything that has come into contact with the thawing food item.  Further info is available from the FSA (Foods Standards Associaton) on defrosting your frozen food 

 

1,2 United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety & Inspection Service, Safe Food Handling Fact Sheet - www.fsis.usda.gov. October 2005. Accessed November 14, 2008.

 

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Page last updated at 21:09 UTC, Sunday, 14 February 2010