refreeze it.   So if the thawing of the chicken was less than 24 hours in the refrigerator, it should be fine. Following a mistake made in the electrical plugs at home, we ahve unplugged the freezer and left for a week vacation.  There was meat and vegetables.  When we came back, everything had thawed out but still cold.  Initially, we though of throwing out everything but would it be possible to autoclave everything (1 bar at 120 degrees C for an hour) and consume/freeze.  I know that we would kill bacteria and spores but I am worrying about toxins..... You are absolutely right to worry about toxins that would not be destroyed by cooking.  Freezer that has been unplugged will keep the food frozen for the first 24 hours.  After that, there will be gradual thawing.  After a week, I kind of understood that everything has thawed out.  If there are no ice crystals present and if the food were not maintaned at 4 degrees C or less at all time, meats and vegetables should be thrown out. Is it better to use canned meat to prepare meals? All depend of what the consumer wants.  To a safety point of view, canned meats would be safer because they have already receive a heat process that will destroy pathogens.  However, canned goods might have tendency to contain high sodium levels that are not always suitable to all diets. Waht is the effect of temperature on the quality of a lunch box?