Defrosting Frozen Foods

Helpful hints on how to defrost your frozen foods safely

The purpose of defrosting frozen foods thoroughly 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. Defrost in the refrigerator
2. Defrost in cold water
3. Defrost in the microwave (always follow manufacturers instructions)

It's best to plan ahead for slow, safe defrosting overnight in the refridgerator. The bottom of the fridge is ideal for thawing your foods. 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 defrosting, cook immediately.²

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

Detailed step by step guides to defrosting foods

• How to defrost frozen fish
• How to defrost frozen chicken
• How to defrost Christmas Turkey
• How to defrost freezer

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. Remember: never thaw food slowly at at room temperature!

^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.