re-freeze mince?

[crisgal]

i made some bolognese sauce and froze it - then defrosted and made canneloni with it. I made too many so I froze some. But i've just thought - I can't can I? (I didn't heat the sauce up before re-freezing)

Are my canneloni, although extremely tasty, now deadly??!

[Clanad]

"Are my canneloni, although extremely tasty"... seems you've answered your own question! A couple of things... the re-freezing shouldn't hurt the sauce and the tomato content, being acidic helps control bacteria...

[EssJay1]

I think health and safety would say yes, it's deadly. It's ok to refreeze something you've altered such as defrosting raw meat, making the sauce then freezing the sauce. However, if it tastes THAT good...

[Clare A]

EssJay1 is strictly correct, though I've often flouted this 'rule' in the same way crisgal means, with no ill effects to me or to others I've fed. So I'd say you can get away with it.

[mfewell]

There is something here that upsets my reasoning.  The bolognese when you made it and froze it was obviously not swarming with food-poisoning bugs, so neither was it when you defrosted it.  You didn't put it out for flies to contaminate, so it was still free of bugs when you made the canneloni.  If you cooled it down covered, how could it become deadly just by a second freezing ?  Where did the danger get introduced ?  I think a great deal of food hygiene is pure commonsense.  Can anyone explain why this second freezing might be dangerous ? A lot of public health advice is because many people simply are not careful and thoughtful about food.

[crisgal]

well mfewell, it's just that i have always believed that you shouldn't "re-freeze after defrosting" as it says on loads of food packaging - so I always try to avoid doing so, but i don't know why.

Incidentally, i have just eaten some of said canneloni and delicious they were too. I cooked from frozen and made sure it was piping hot throughout!