I just discovered food-thawing trays! They seem too good to be true – are they?
The short answer: Yes … and no
The explanation: Thawing, or defrosting, trays are countertop boards made of a heat-conducting material such as copper or aluminum. They are marketed as providing a fast way to thaw meats and other frozen foods.
However, the marketing folks say nothing about the process being safe. In fact, USDA states that the countertop is never a safe place to thaw food – even with a defrosting tray.
Why? When a frozen food is placed on the tray, the surface temperature warms slightly faster than if it were just on the counter. But the interior remains frozen. Meanwhile, the thawing portion is being subjected to room temperatures in the “danger zone” of 40-140°F – where bacteria multiply quickly.
Foods that require refrigeration, particularly meats (for which thawing trays are most often used), should never sit at room temperature for more than two hours. Yet the online descriptions of few thawing trays mention anything about safety, even though one included a customer comment that “A pound of frozen ground beef defrosted in about 3 hours. Normally would have taken all day.” Whether it took 3 hours or a day, the safety of that ground beef is now in question.
TAG’s recommendation is to skip the expense of a tray and follow USDA guidelines for safe thawing:
- In the refrigerator
- In a leak-proof bag in cold water, changing the water every 30 minutes
- In the microwave
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