Freezing Raw Chicken

It's OK to freeze it even tho it may have been frozen before. The reason to not refreeze meat is that freezing subtly changes the texture and the more often it's frozen and thawed the more texture change there will be. However, freezing a second time, especially when its still icy will not result in any noticeable texture change.

Commercial refrigeration can be much colder than home refrigeration. I suggest that it probably wasn't frozen but was stored in an especially cold environment. You can call the store and ask, if it's important to you.

I'd freeze the chicken if I were you.

BTW I have a professional home economics background.

Yeah I'm with you...I've wondered this same thing. I usually refreeze it and so far so good. I think it'll be okay.

You can refreeze raw meat with no ill affects. I've done it for years/decades. If you look closely in the store you will find signs beside some meat that say "This product has been previously frozen."

If you are even just slightly scientific, do an experiment. Take a package of thawed chicken breasts. Where I live there are usually 6 to the package. Get six ziplock type baggies. As soon as you get home from the store, place each chicken breast in a separate baggie. Place one chicken breast in the freezer. (Mark the baggie) Place one on the counter for dinner. Place the other 4 in the frig. The next day, place two in the freezer. (mark them) Place one on the counter for dinner. The next day, take one of the two you just placed in the freezer the day before and put it out on the counter for dinner. When it is thawed, place it back in the freezer. (Remember, you already marked it.) Have somethng else for dinner. The next day, take the three chicken breasts you have in the freezer and cook all three the same way. (Be sure to keep track of which one is which.) Taste them. You have one that was placed in the freezer the first day when you opened your package of chicken. You have one that was in the frig and wasn't frozen until the second day. You have a third one that was frozen by you, thawed by you and refrozen by you. You won't be able to taste any difference in the three chicken breasts.

What does all that mean? You can freeze and refreeze meat and not have to worry about it.

Good luck to you and yours.

The store ships and stores it frozen so that it stays as fresh as possible. It's fine to refreeze. I was always taught that you shouldn't refreeze items to prevent food born illness but each and every one of us does it all of the time and don't even know it! It's fine to refreeze; just don't thaw and refreeze things multiple times.

a lot of meat you get from the store has been previously frozen or so cold its almost frozen, i still refreeze when i get it home, & always have...

If the chicken is partially frozen, it is okay to refreeze. If it is previously frozen and thawed, it must be cooked before being refrozen.
Most stores sell fresh chicken. If in doubt, ask the butcher.

Refreezing multiple times will eventually change the texture and taste slightly. It won't make it go bad.
And I imagine it has to be frozen more than two or three times for you to be able to actually taste the difference-since most of us are buying the icy chicken at the store, freezing it, defrosting it, cooking it and then refreezing it in a dish on a pretty regular basis.