I should have been more particular about my previous comment. There are obviously limitations.
It depends upon how food is defrosted / thawed and the temperature it actually reaches. Bacteria grow in all sorts of environments and temperatures but most commonly found, harmful bacteria, in food, grow in a temperature range known as The Danger Zone. 40' F to 140' F. Food defrosted slowly in the fridge, or as long as it doesn't exceed 40' F (5' C), is perfectly safe to refreeze as is. It could take 2 or 3 days to defrost a whole chicken or roast in a fridge but if you don't use it, you could just pop it back in the freezer.
Phil, you are absolutely correct in saying that foods, having been warmer than this, would need to be re-heated to above 140' F (60' C) to kill off harmful bacteria that may have grown and then reduced in temperature and frozen as quickly as possible. This is fine for base gravy but not so helpful for raw meats.
So, while it is known that you can refreeze defrosted food, there are limitations and safety criteria that must be met still.
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