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Defrosting food safely is one of the measures to follow to reduce the risk of food poisoning that affects you and your family. Thawing food on the counter is one of the worst food safety mistakes you could be making.
Food must be kept at a safe temperature while defrosting. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) note that bacteria can multiply rapidly in food if left at room temperature or in the “Danger Zone” between 40 ° F and 140 ° F.
Thaw food in the kitchen countertop, hot water or outdoors can make your food unsafe to eat . Perishable foods should never be left out of the refrigerator for more than 2 hours or 1 hour if the temperature is warm, over 90 ° F.
It is important that from time to time check the temperature of your refrigerator , it may not be set at the correct temperature to keep your food safe.
Safe ways to defrost meat
The safest way to defrost meat is in the refrigerator. You can also do it in cold water and in the microwave.
In the refrigerator, ground beef, stew meat and steaks can be defrosted in one day. The larger The longer the piece of meat will take to defrost. Bone-in parts and whole roasts may take 2 days or more.
Once the meat is thawed, it is safe in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days. During this time, if for any reason you don’t cook the meat, you can freeze it again.
Thaw the meat in cold water. Do not remove the meat from the packaging, make sure it is airtight or put the package in a bag. Dip the meat in cold water; you must change the water every 30 minutes to continue defrosting.
Small packages of beef can be defrosted using cold water in an hour or less; a 3-4 pound cut may take 2-3 hours.
To defrost in the microwave, You must consult the instructions indicated by the manufacturer of the device in the manual.
The Foods thawed by the cold water method or in the microwave should be cooked immediately after defrosting. Some areas of food may become hot and start to cook during microwave defrosting.
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