How to check if it’s safe to refreeze your KatKin trays
We know it might sound strange that thawing meat can be put back in the freezer and as fellow cat parents, we want to make sure the science behind why this is safe is clearly explained.
If you’ve gotten home to your KatKin delivery or your box has just arrived, there’s a chance your trays could be beginning to thaw. Read on to see when it’s safe to put them in the freezer or when you should throw them away.
Food safety guidelines state that it’s safe to refreeze cooked meals (like your cat’s KatKin trays) if the food feels cold to the touch like it’s been in the fridge and if you still see ice crystals in the packaging. If food arrives and no longer feels cold to the touch, check out our help article on defrosting trays for steps on what to do next.
We don’t recommend thawing and freezing KatKin trays multiple times at home, as we can’t closely monitor the time or temperature that’s needed to ensure the food is still safe for your cat to eat.
The science
Cooking, freezing and re-freezing food is commonplace in the food industry, often at an industrial level. Chilled food like our meals can be carefully monitored and the freezing/re-freezing process closely controlled. It’s completely safe, because at KatKin we follow strict hygiene guidelines intended for human-quality food. We’re incredibly proud that our kitchen has achieved BRCGS accreditation.
Because our mission remains the same, to prioritise the quality and safety of fresh food for cats. Following these guidelines to a T means we can guarantee our food is cooked and stored safely at our kitchen in Haverhill and delivered to you safely, thanks to our eco-friendly packaging.
If you’re interested, lets take a look at the guidelines in a bit more detail.
Regulatory Framework (EC) 852/2004: The regulation sets the general hygiene requirements for all food businesses in the EU. Its main goal is to ensure a high level of consumer protection regarding food safety and it applies to all stages of food production, processing, and distribution. We implement food health and safety proceedures at every step, based on HACCP principles (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points).
Regulation (EC) 853/2004: This regulation is especially important for us at KatKin, as it lays down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin (meat and fish in our case). As meat and fish are considered higher-risk foods, this regulation adds even stricter guidelines to Regulation 852/2004. Specifically, strict rules on refrigeration, freezing, and transport to prevent contamination.
We follow 3 key practises to keep our food safe during cooking and freezing:
Incredibly high hygiene standards: during the cooking and freezing process, every piece of machinery and equipment is cleaned thoroughly, to avoid contamination with bacteria.
Close monitoring: When our food is cooked, chilled or frozen, the correct combination of time and temperature is followed closely and reported.
Controlled Environment: The hygiene standards and close monitoring of temperature/time set out above means that we can prevent harmful bacteria from growing. This is the benefit of owning our entire kitchen premises. Our in-house production ensures end-to-end control of our supply chain and manufacturing.