Rate of Microbial Deterioration of Chicken Meat at 2°C. After Freezing and Thawing

Abstract

FROZEN meats are handled at the retail level more cheaply than chilled meats (Ezzel and Riley, 1959). Also, they can be sold at a steady rate so that market gluts, with corresponding losses from forced sales, do not occur. For these and other reasons, the freezing of poultry increased from 150 million pounds in 1948 to 1732 million pounds in 1961 (Anonymous, 1962).The consumer demands oven-ready birds (Weidenhamer, 1958) so the retailer often must thaw birds to satisfy the customers. During the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons, the practice is common because freezer space in retail stores is limited. Some poultry that is intended to be sold as a chilled product is frozen for shipment, so that less refrigeration is required to keep it cold until delivered. The increasing practice of thawing poultry at the retail level has led representatives of the poultry industry to request an evaluation of the…