Why is it bad to refreeze meats and fish?
“Refreezing is bad for three reasons. First, by refreezing food you multiply the damage to it–any cells that escaped rupture the first time the food was frozen are at risk of being ruptured the second time. Second, when food has been frozen and thawed out, it has larger pockets of liquid within it than the first time due to the ruptured cells. When the food is refrozen, the larger pockets of liquid can freeze into much larger ice crystals, which can tear through many more cell membranes and lead to more damage to the food. (The best way to avoid cell damage, incidentally, is flash-freezing, which produces smaller ice crystals, minimal cell damage, and maximum freshness.) The third and most important reason not to refreeze is increased risk of spoilage due to microorganisms. Many people thaw food by letting it sit at room temperature for several hours, giving the microorganisms in it time to get busy and partially spoil the food before it’s refrozen. The problem is particularly pronoun
