I doubt she will this time Sue but ya never know!!! LOL

The problem is you have no idea how long they were thawed, what temp they got up to, and what temp they were kept at.

They may be OK but, even if it's just you and hubby, you don't want to get sick. Usually when faced with a dilemma like this, even if I cook the meat, I totally lose my appetite for it and won't eat it anyway!

Sorry but I think it's a toss.

Sorry Sue, I have to agree with Sharon. I very seldom buy meats that have been previously frozen for the reasons that Sharon mentioned.

Ann

Yes, it was nagging at me, subconsciously, that there was something wrong about this "Special," but I thought that the store lowered the price because they were overstocked with turkeys. I should have read the label more carefully (but the meat was in a case that normally has only "fresh," not previously frozen).

Anyway, two votes is enough. I'll toss the package. At least, it's not a great financial loss.

But now, I've got a new problem: what to have for dinner!

Thanks again,

Sue

"The problem is you have no idea how long they were thawed, what temp they got up to, and what temp they were kept at."

Aside from the thawing itself, how does this differ in any way from meats that were NOT previously frozen? Bottom line, if you trust the store's food handling and expiration dates, I don't understand where there is any safety concern. Texture and taste, now that may be a different issue.

Educate me!

foodonastump, I agree. Many things here come "previously frozen" and there's certainly no fresh seafood so if I buy halibut at the store, it's been previously frozen. I still will toss that package in the freezer and I do it regularly. I just bought a big package of those chicken breasts on sale for 89 cents a pound and they were previously frozen. I divided them up into smaller packages and tossed them back in the freezer.

Since it isn't really packaged for freezer storage, I won't try to keep it a long time, that's when I get a deterioration in quality and I wouldn't thaw, freeze, thaw, freeze, then eat, that's asking for quality issues.

Of course, I trust that my local grocery kept that chicken at a safe storage temperature and I bought it before the "sell by" date.

Here is the information from the USDA website:

"Refreezing:

Once food is thawed in the refrigerator, it is safe to refreeze it without cooking, although there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through defrosting. After cooking raw foods which were previously frozen, it is safe to freeze the cooked foods. If previously cooked foods are thawed in the refrigerator, you may refreeze the unused portion.

If you purchase previously frozen meat, poultry or fish at a retail store, you can refreeze if it has been handled properly."

Annie

I'd use them....but that's me...

I fully agree with Annie; why waste good food in these times?

Yes, Annie, I've been googling and found that USDA info, too. So, as far as safety (as opposed to quality) is concerned, it may be perfectly safe. But the question remains: since I didn't thaw/refreeze it at home, can I trust my store (or perhaps the meat supplier) to have kept it properly refrigerated? There must be regulations that govern this, but who knows what happened in this particular case, when nobody was looking. Maybe the butcher left it out on the counter while he went to lunch.

On the other hand, the package had a decently long expiration date, I've had no previous problems with the meat sold at this store, and I was planning to cook it thoroughly in the longest, slowest, most flavorful manner.

On the other hand, I can't be sure, and it's not worth getting sick.

But on the other hand (I am running out of hands! I feel like Tevye, in Fiddler on the Roof), both DH and I are already sick with colds, and I was looking forward to some "comfort food" for dinner.

Sue

Optimum words......"if it has been handled properly."

So if you know it has been, go for it.....if not toss it!

Sue, I can't help you with the trust issue and your grocery store, LOL, but since they've never cheated on you....oops, wrong trust issue. (grin)

Anyway, I have a small, locally owned, independent grocery and the owner lives right out by my farm. I trust his policies and methods and products.

If you've had no problems with your grocery store and there was a long expiration date on the package and it smells good and you don't intend to eat it raw, I'd eat it, barring the possible quality issues.

In the end, it's your call, what you're comfortable with. Given the circumstances as you've explained them to me, I'd eat them.

Annie

The nose knows.

I would cook and eat it. There are guidelines for grocery stores and what they can do. The issue of your refreezing it is a quality thing, not safety. You would have happily cooked it that night without worries, why should refreezing it make a difference? If you think the butcher might have left it on the counter you should not buy anything there, not even fresh.

Once at my local co-op the meat fridge broke down for a couple hours. They ran all the meat through the register so they knew how much to claim on insurance and threw it out. They had to be careful where they through it out so nobody would take it and cook it.

-Robin

Well, I decided to open the package and see what my eyes and nose could tell me. And it really did look and smell perfectly fine. I smelled the packaging and the absorbent material under the meat (which had almost no juice in it), and there was no odor at all. So I decided to put it in the pot without thawing it first (it will just defrost as it cooks), so there's no further loss of quality or growth of bacteria. After cooking some chopped onion and celery, I browned the turkey (again, it smelled fine, with no off-scent) and then added a couple cups of water and a bay leaf. I think it will be OK, but I'll report back tomorrow so you know I survived the experience!

Thanks, too, to those who advised caution. I'm usually pretty cautious myself. I don't even like to buy meat on the last day before expiration. But I do trust the meat dept at my store; from observing them and occasionally asking them questions, I think they take their jobs seriously and follow the codes.

Sue

You can't always tell by the smell.

Also, is the expiration day the original date on the package, before it was frozen? Or was the meat thawed and repackaged with a new expiration date?

I'm not that anal when it comes to some of the guidelines, such as defrosting meat in the fridge and not on the counter. But, I would never, ever defrost something fully,myself and freeze it again so there is no way that I would refreeze something that the grocery store had frozen and thawed.

Ann

I know I am late....but I am saying sure it's fine....and particularly if it smells fine.
If it has spoiled it will stink....if salmonella has been growing in it, through cooking will destroy it...if it was lysteria, cooking won't help....but neither would eating in immediatly instead of re freezing.
Enjoy your turkey thighs.
Linda C

Linda, thanks for the vote of confidence.

Ann, the words "previously frozen" and the expiration date were both printed on the same label with the weight and price. I have sometimes seen meats labeled with a marked down price on the last day before expiration, but this wasn't like that. I don't remember exactly how many days it had, but I do remember it had a good cushion.

I've had my dinner now, and I've got to tell you that it was delicious! I served it with noodles and green beans. It simmered for several hours, so the texture was what you would expect with braised or stewed turkey. It had a nice flavor and wasn't too dry. I quickly refrigerated the leftovers, and the liquid in the pan will make a good soup.

Again, thanks to everyone for your opinions and advice.

Sue

I think you did the right thing. If you trust your store that it was safe to eat when you brought it home and you tossed it right in the freezer to re-freeze when you got home it should still be safe now.

Since we eat kosher meat and the local supply of it is extremely limited, we periodically order from a place in New York that freezes our order, packs it in styrofoam shipping containers and overnights it to us. The meat is usually somewhat thawed but still quite cold when we get it (more so in summer) and I toss it back into the freezer with no issues.

I agree with the Ok to refreeze. I haven't contacted the USDA website but
I have been doing it for years. I cook the food divide it into portion meals and refreeze, for later.

If I buy fish that has an overpowering odor ( stinks )
I bring it back to the market and tell the Fish Manager
( this fish stinks ).
And remember my face ( it's ugly enough ) if you do it again to me, I'll give you 5 across your lips.
I want to buy fish that is good !!!!!
This is with Filets. The whole fish I go by the eyes, gills
And the finger test.

I did this when my wife was alive, because she had a hard enough time eating.

He remembered me . I never bought fish that smelled strong again.
He must have said something to the meat manager, because I never had a problem with the meat either.

This isn't a large Market like Walmart's , so they more or less know the customers.

I guess he heard that my marbles don't click together right, when I get mad.

I think it's only fair if you pay for good food, that's what you should get.

Lou said all that ???

LOL Lou.

I think also that some meats last longer than others. They sell fresh turkeys weeks before Thanksgiving, nothing more than refrigerated, but I'm asking for trouble if I buy chicken more than two days before I'm going to use it.

Sue, you still alive? Worshipping the porcelain goddess, or not?

I'm happy to report that I survived! :) And, no, Jessy, there were no, um, "dire" consequences.

DH liked it, too, and, with his current dental problems, I think he appreciated the soft, moist texture.

Lou, you have the right idea, and I'd love to take you along with me when I go to the Customer Service desk--anywhere! Come to think of it, I very rarely bother with returning foods to the store; it's not worth standing in line with all the lottery ticket customers to get a few cents back on something I tried but didn't like. But once, many years ago, I bought a turkey that was definitely spoiled; I could tell by the smell as soon as I removed the wrapper. And it was well within the expiration date. So I did return it and got a refund.

Jessy, a lot depends on the packaging (as well as the processing/handling, of course). I can now get vacuum-packed ground beef that is good for more than a week, whereas the same kind of meat, in the usual cellophane wrapper, has to be used by the next day. And you can buy crabmeat that can be kept in the fridge for a year!

Sue