Extremely dangerous way to freeze food
Many people defrost food by taking out a whole piece of meat, then after the meat is tender, cut off a portion that is enough to eat and put the rest back in the freezer. This is a habit that poses many risks.
Dr. Bui Thi Mai Huong, National Institute of Nutrition, said that in modern society, people are busy, using frozen foods is an increasingly popular and convenient trend. Freezing and thawing properly still ensures the nutrition and safety of food.
"Like ground meat, to preserve it properly, after grinding, divide it into small portions enough for use and then freeze it. It will be much more convenient to use than freezing a large bowl, which is very difficult to take out," Dr. Huong instructed.
However, many people have inappropriate freezing and defrosting habits, causing food to spoil and reduce nutrients.
"The most typical is the habit of defrosting and then refreezing food," said Dr. Huong.
Accordingly, many people when freezing food do not divide it into small portions, but leave the whole piece of meat, a whole chicken/duck... until when using, the food is frozen into a solid block that cannot be divided into small portions.
Many people innocently leave food at room temperature for a few hours or soak it in water. When the food is soft, they cut it into enough pieces to cook, and put the rest in the freezer.
"This is very dangerous, because all defrosting processes run the risk of allowing microorganisms to grow very vigorously in that food. Therefore, food should not be refrozen after it has been defrosted.
Furthermore, after defrosting, food that is not refrozen quickly will lose water and become nutritionally denatured, meaning the food will no longer have the same nutritional content as before," Dr. Huong warned.
Dr. Huong also pointed out many mistakes that housewives make when defrosting food, such as leaving it at room temperature for several hours; soaking it in water... This defrosting process puts bacteria at risk of growing more rapidly, leading to unsafe food if not cooked thoroughly, causing food to spoil due to being left out too long.
According to this expert, housewives should prepare the next day's meals the night before. Whatever food they plan to eat, take it from the freezer and put it in the refrigerator to prepare the next day.
This is a popular and safe way to defrost food that many people often apply. Poultry, fish, and ground meat after defrosting in this way can be safely kept in the refrigerator for another 1-2 days before processing.
Note that when storing in the refrigerator, it must be kept in a separate area, in a sealed box, and not mixed with cooked food to avoid cross-contamination of bacteria with cooked food, increasing the risk of food poisoning.
Or you can take it directly from the freezer, use the defrost function of the microwave to soften the food, convenient for processing. After defrosting, it should be processed immediately, avoid leaving it outside at room temperature to cause bacteria to grow and develop.
Before freezing food, people also need to wash the food, drain (or use paper to dry the food), then divide the food into appropriate portions, put it in a box to freeze for convenient use later, ensuring the food is fresh, delicious, and has the best nutrition.