How to handle frozen meat more safely? Meat Knowledge Part 3
Editor's note: This article is part of a series on meat safety. The first two installments discuss the safety of room-temperature pork and chilled pork; this installment discusses frozen meat products, and how to select fresh meat while it is in the frozen state. To read the other articles in the series, see the links at the end of this article.
───────────────────────────────────────────────
Frozen meat products go from post-slaughter, through pre-cooling until the core temperature reaches below 5 degrees (the body temperature of the carcass after slaughter is 37 degrees, and if it is not pre-cooled but placed directly into the freezer, the meat is also prone to spoilage), then are cut into various specifications, vacuum-packed, and placed in a -40 degree blast freezer for 2 days (in fact, after about 2 hours it is already frozen, and the blast freezers at slaughterhouses are at least 50 ping or more, so the temperature does not easily rise); after it is confirmed to be completely frozen, it is then moved to a -20 degree freezer, and finally transported the whole way by refrigerated truck to the store, or delivered to your hands.
Did you know that your home freezer, although it claims to be able to reach -18 degrees, sees the temperature immediately rise above 0 degrees every time the door is opened? Why? Because the space in your home refrigerator is too small; once opened, ordinary room temperature will balance with it, so the meat you bring home from the traditional market usually only begins to freeze when you go to sleep at night and stop opening the refrigerator, and it takes at least 8 hours or more for the meat to freeze completely, so if you buy meat in the morning and keep opening and closing the door, the meat is usually taking a sauna and can never freeze.
Think back on your past buying habits: since you are going to put the meat in the freezer once you get home anyway, why not choose blast-frozen meat from the start? Because this kind of meat is treated by blast freezing after slaughter, once thawed it can be eaten with a texture like freshly slaughtered meat; not only is it delicious, its shelf life can reach up to one year, and more importantly, its hygiene conditions are good, so everyone can eat it with peace of mind.
Times have changed, and meat safety and hygiene need to change too. I hope the people of our country can eat meat more safely, more freshly, and more healthily. If you buy meat to take home and put it in the freezer, and to divide it into small packages, then isn't choosing meat that was blast-frozen from the start much fresher?
How to judge the freshness of frozen meat products
1. Observe whether the meat has frost: The cause of frost may be that the freezer is not cold enough, causing thawing and the release of moisture (there may be loss of meat juices), and when it is frozen again, frost will naturally appear, but this is by no means a sign of being not fresh. When you bring meat home after buying it, the refrigerator temperature may not be low enough, or the meat may have been away from the freezer for too long, causing repeated thawing and freezing, which may cause frost. To avoid this kind of situation, the most important thing is still the packaging of the meat.
2. Whether the meat is air-dried: Another key point for frozen meat products is the packaging.
(1) Not vacuum-packed: Many products on the market are wrapped in plastic wrap over a styrofoam tray, or packed directly in plastic bags. This kind of meat still comes into contact with the freezing air, and freezing itself has a dehumidifying effect, so the longer something is frozen, the more often it develops problems of drying out and darkening. Although it has not gone bad, after all, the meat juices are lost, so it will definitely not taste good.
(2) Vacuum-packed: Vacuum packaging removes the air and does not come into direct contact with air, so naturally there will be no air-drying or even frost problems. Therefore, as long as the vacuum packaging is not damaged and the meat does not come into contact with the air in the refrigerator, of course it will not spoil.
You may ask, after frozen meat products are thawed, is their quality worse than chilled meat products?
Actually, this question mainly comes down to whether you want to choose meat that is about to spoil, or fresh meat. If it is slaughtered in the previous minute and goes into the pot the next minute, under such conditions, I would be in favor of eating warm-body meat. For example, the Taiwan Golden Chicken promoted by the Council of Agriculture: it refers to domestically produced chicken from Taiwan, delivered to consumers within the golden flavor period of about 48-72 hours after slaughter.
What is worth thinking about is that chilled meat can generally only be kept for about 2-4 days (some even say 7 days), depending on the slaughterhouse's microbial control. If you buy meat on its 3rd day and it is about to spoil on the 4th day, then you are essentially buying meat with only 1/4 of its freshness left (or, raising the standard, 4/7 left), and it is meat that is continuously spoiling! So I still emphasize one point: raise the chilled standard, slaughter today and put it in the pot tomorrow, and only then would I dare to eat it, but can that be done? So when considering freshness and texture, I recommend giving priority to choosing fresh, because health is priceless!
Things you must know about meat (1) Frozen, chilled, and freshly slaughtered meat: which is safest …
Things you must know about meat (2) Is open-display chilled meat safe …