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Freezing food prevents growth while the food is frozen, but does not kill bacteria.

Most fresh or thawed meats must be used within 4-5 days of purchase. Some processed meats, such
as salami, metwurst etc. can be held for longer.

Do not refreeze meat that has been thawed.
While cooking at the correct temperature, for a required period of time will kill many (but not
necessarily all) food poisoning bacteria (thus preventing further growth) and destroy the toxins, any
food that is suspect or has been inappropriately handled or stored should be wasted-not used.
Temperature control
Cold rooms and refrigerators should be held at a constant temperature below 4 °C. Fresh or thawed
food should be stored between 1 °C and 3 °C in a cold room or refrigerator. It should be placed on
clean trays, covered with impervious plastic and stored on the lower shelves.
Freezers must hold foods at a temperature of -18 °C or less.

In both freezer and cold room proper stock rotation procedures must be followed (First In First Out.
Physical handling of the product should be minimal as excessive handling will increase the risk of
contamination.
Cold room, refrigerator and freezer seals must be regularly checked to ensure a proper seal.

If the seals are faulty then temperatures will not be constant or sufficiently low. Opening cold room
and freezer doors will allow the entry of warm air and make it difficult for the temperature to remain
constant. Effective mise en place and work flow practices will ensure that doors are opened only
when needed and for minimum periods of time.
Thawing (defrosting) frozen meats

All food should be thawed in the cold room or refrigerator, still sealed.
Freezing does not kill food poisoning bacteria. As soon as food starts to thaw the bacteria are
activated. Frozen foods should not, therefore, be exposed to room temperatures while defrosting
(on benches or in the sink). In particular, large cuts of meat should not be exposed to room
temperatures while thawing because while the interior of the cut is finally thawing, the exterior is
becoming warm enough to encourage rapid growth of food poisoning bacteria.
Nor should meat be defrosted under warm or even cold running water, as the temperature of the
water will increase bacterial growth. Water damage will result in loss of flavour and changed texture.
Rapid thawing will cause cell damage so the product loses juices.
Although freezing prevents bacterial growth while the food is frozen, quality will suffer if food is
stored for too long. If food is not or has not been properly covered when it was frozen then it can
have freezer burn, which makes the food tough and unpalatable.
Refreezing foods that have been frozen and thawed will compromise the quality of the food and
when the food is thawed again it is likely to contain high levels of food poisoning bacteria.
Although it might take a day or two for frozen meat to thaw in the cold room it will remain within the
safe temperature zone. This means that you need to plan ahead-to make sure that you have
sufficient, thawed food available when needed.

Raw meats or meats that are being thawed should be kept on the lower shelves of the cold room to
prevent juices or water dripping into and contaminating other foods.
Cooked meats should be stored above raw meats.
All meat or meat product should be stored in clean, covered containers or on clean trays.

Different types of meat should be separated; that is, trays should not contain a mixture of meats, for