Can you thaw and refreeze raw dog food? Here’s the Answer

What about? Cooking Without Thawing [For those of you that feed cooked meals] When there is not enough time to thaw frozen foods, or you’re simply in a hurry, just remember: it is safe to cook foods from the frozen state. The cooking will take approximately 50% longer than the recommended time for fully thawed or fresh meat and poultry.

We suggest using a seperate bin or bowl that will prevent leaks from occurring to defrost your pet’s food in. We suggest maintaining three day’s worth of meals in your refrigerator for your pet, ongoing: 1) a day’s worth of food which is fully defrosted and that you are currently feeding; 2) a day’s worth of food that is ready to feed the next day/partially defrosted; 3) a day’s worth of food that you just pulled from the freezer/fully frozen and just starting to defrost.

Lastly, whenever we discuss raw feeding meat to dogs and cats, it is important to remember that the health risk of bacteria from the raw meats is largely (if not exclusively) to US (the humans) not so much to our little carnivores. YES, it is true that dogs in particular and cats (in some respects) are biologically designed to handle bacteria loads in their foods without ever becoming ill — bacteria counts that would most likely pose a risk to humans are not generally an issue for most healthy raw fed pets. SFRAW makes great efforts to source only the freshest, most carefully/expertly raised, processed and handled meats/ingredients — IMO, careful sourcing from producers you know and trust and from a properly and carefully managed supply chain is the NUMBER ONE step anyone can do to secure the safety of the foods we procure. Unfortunately, careful sourcing and handling from birth to market are measures of safety that are often overlooked when you read safe food handling guidelines.

Neither of these situations is considered safe, and these methods of thawing may lead to foodborne illness. Raw or cooked meat, poultry or egg products, as any perishable foods, must be kept at a safe temperature during “the big thaw.” They are safe indefinitely while frozen. However, as soon as they begin to thaw and become warmer than 40 °F, bacteria that may have been present before freezing can begin to multiply.

So, while dogs DO lick their butts, some eat poop and most will happily consume rotten carrion; and cats can handle some level of bacteria well, too – it is still important to handle raw meat properly in your home kitchen. I hear too often of people “pushing it” and wondering why their pet is experiencing low-grade digestive issues — once they stop leaving the food out too long, or using the same meal/food for more than 2 days, or defrosting improperly, the issues typically vanish. Perhaps a less careful method of handling would be fine for one individual dog/cat, but not suitable for another — perhaps it was ok when an individual dog/cat was younger, but not ok now that they are older -? You really never know when a pet’s immune system is stressed, and they become are more susceptible to infections; the immune system is completely dynamic. If they are very young/old, chronically ill, or new to eating raw foods — they are not as well adapted to handling bacteria loads as a long-time healthy raw fed animal may be. So, it is better to maintain safe food handling practices to ensure you don’t pose unnecessary health hazards to you our anyone in your family! Just make your food handling methods a habit – be mindful or temperatures, wash your hands and keep things clean – and enjoy in good health!

Can you refreeze frozen dog food?

If the food has partially defrosted by the time you are ready to put it in the freezer, you can refreeze it safely as long as the food is still at 4c or below. If it has reached room temperature it will keep fresh in a fridge for 2-3 days or 4 days from frozen.

Keep frozen until ready to use.

Keep your pets food frozen until you are ready to serve it. When youre ready to feed your pooch we recommend thawing your food and treats in the refrigerator. This could take a few days, but if youre in a rush you can speed things up by running the packaged food under tepid (luke-warm) water.

Do not use the microwave to thaw your dogs raw food or treats!

The Best Way to Thaw Raw Dog Food & Refreezing Food

Some raw food products may contain bacteria that could cause illness if mishandled. Follow these instructions for safest use.