How long will the meat in the refrigerator be frozen before eating? What is the effect of eating? A table sums it up
"Mom, when did you buy the meat in this refrigerator?" Xiaohua was stunned by the meat in a refrigerator after returning home from the holiday.
"I bought it during the Qingming Festival. It's all fresh chicken, mutton and the like."
"How do I remember that this bag of pork was here last year?" Xiaohua said.
"You're not at home, and your dad and I can't finish eating."
"Hey, then you should buy less. After so long, is this meat still edible?"
"Why can't you eat it, and it won't spoil in the refrigerator, you child."
Xiaohua is very helpless. The color of the meat has turned white, and it has been left for so long, is it really still edible?
1. Will the meat in the refrigerator be harmful to eat for a long time?
If the meat is kept for too long, the main impact is on nutrition and taste.
Food is a dynamic system. With the extension of storage time, nutrients will be gradually consumed and lost , such as protein and fat oxidation, muscle fiber dehydration, and degeneration, which will make the meat dry and woody, and the nutritional value will decrease, and even the occurrence of harassment. taste.
In addition, meat that has been left for too long has the risk of bacterial infection .
Some bacteria prefer a low temperature environment, such as Listeria , which can be active in a refrigerated environment of 0~4°C and can survive for 1 year at -20°C. Healthy adults who eat foods infected with Listeria have relatively mild consequences, often experiencing discomfort such as fever, chills, headaches, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.
If it is eaten by the elderly, the weak and the sick, the consequences are relatively serious , which may lead to meningitis, sepsis, abortion of pregnant women, etc., and even death in serious cases. Among foodborne infections, listeriosis has the third highest mortality rate (16%) .
In general, raw milk, cheese, meat, meat products, eggs, green salads, seafood and other foods are more likely to be contaminated with Listeria.
So how should we avoid contamination of food in the refrigerator? In fact, it is not difficult, everyone pay more attention to the details of 3 points.
First, clean the refrigerator regularly . When cleaning, first cut off the power, empty the food, and then wipe it with a clean rag. Second, the cooked food and raw food should be stored and handled separately to prevent the spread of bacteria. Finally, the layers should be properly layered . Put leftovers on the upper layer, fruits and vegetables on the lower layer, and do not store leftovers for more than a day .
In short, if meat is kept for too long, although it will not cause cancer, it will affect the taste, reduce nutrition, and increase the risk of bacterial infection, thereby endangering human health. Therefore, it is recommended that you do not keep it for too long.
2. Expert advice: Do not freeze and thaw meat repeatedly
For meat food, many people will take advantage of the discount, buy a few more copies at a time, thaw them directly when they want to eat, and put them in the refrigerator if they can't finish eating. As everyone knows, this approach has great health risks.
In the Human Health Edition "Safety on the Tip of the Tongue (Volume 3)", a testing agency conducted research on "changes in the number of colonies in repeatedly frozen meat".
The researchers purchased a certain amount of fresh meat, frozen and thawed it for 5 consecutive days, and tested the colony value each time. The results showed that the total number of colonies in fresh meat was 7.5×105CFU/g, and the total number of colonies after freezing and thawing repeated 4 times (once a day) was 1.6×107CFU/g, which was about 15 times higher than that of fresh meat .
It can be seen that in the process of repeated freezing and thawing of fresh meat, the bacterial colony content will become higher and higher.
Why?
This is because the ice crystals formed by freezing cannot completely eliminate bacteria , and during the thawing process, the temperature and humidity increase, and the remaining bacteria will "take advantage of the situation" and begin to multiply. In addition, repeated freezing will also destroy food cells, which is more conducive to bacterial survival to a certain extent, and ultimately increases the total number of colonies. There are certain health risks associated with eating such meat .
Therefore, if you want to eat meat, it is best to buy it now and not to freeze it repeatedly, otherwise it will not only affect the flavor, but may also endanger health.
3. Tell you the shelf life of frozen meat, how to store it?
Different meats have different frozen storage times. Xiaojiu compiled a table to reveal the shelf life of "frozen meat", which you can use as a reference.
How should it be stored?
Store according to the temperature. The temperature of the refrigerator is high on the top and low on the bottom, the inner wall is low, and the door is high. The food that is easily spoiled can choose a lower temperature position.
· Regular cleaning, preferably once a week, to clean up stale ingredients in time to prevent cross-contamination of food.
In addition to separating raw and cooked, eggs, fruits, and seafood are best stored in separate seals. These foods are more likely to carry bacteria, such as salmonella and listeria.
4. Reminder: eat as little as possible 3 kinds of meat
Meat is also divided into "good and bad". Try to eat these three kinds of meat as little as possible, and see if you and your family have eaten it.
1. Zombie meat
"Zombie meat" is illegally smuggled frozen meat, mainly derived from three ways: meat that has been frozen for many years, meat that has been added with excessive chemical preservatives, and "animal disease meat" (meat from pig epidemics, mad cow disease, etc.). ). Eating this type of meat can lead to illness and even chronic poisoning.
2, animal three glands
It refers to the thyroid, adrenal glands, and diseased lymph glands on animals such as pork, beef and mutton . These parts contain more hormones, bacteria, toxins, etc., which may cause physical discomfort after eating, and should be avoided.
3. Chicken and duck ass
There are also many glands on the buttocks of poultry, such as the "tail gland" and "sac on the cavity" of chicken buttocks, which contain a large amount of pathogens, metabolic wastes, etc., which may have adverse effects after eating. If you have to eat it, you must clean it up.
Meat is an indispensable part of a balanced diet, and everyone must master the correct eating and storage methods. Generally speaking, fresh meat purchased in regular supermarkets and markets is the best, try to buy it now and eat it first.
References:
[1] Is the frozen meat in your refrigerator "expired"? .Clinical Nutrition Network.2021-12-27
[2] A bowl of leftover chicken soup drinks meningitis! "Deadly bacteria" may also be hiding in your refrigerator. Life Times. 2021-08-03
[3] Will repeatedly frozen meat breed bacteria? People's Health Publishing House published "Safety on the Tip of the Tongue" (Volume 3), People's Health, 2020-12-12
Reproduction is prohibited without the author's permission