When is a chicken really out of date?

moanin'minnie

me too! I would do the smell test and if it smells ok ( you will know if it does'nt) I would cook it straight away dont let it wait any longer than necessary or it will go off for sure.

CFC

Sling it if it smells, and cook if it is doesn't. On occasion you can have stuff that smells before its best before date, and you should sling it then too. The best before date is really only an indication of how well it should last under best circumstances. If it's been stored badly in the warehouse, it'll go off before then. Please, NEVER go by the date, only use it as an indication...if it SMELLS, it's off!!!

I suspect that why some kinds of meat are better 'well hung' or not (to develop its flavour) is a question which could be answered by a microbiologist.

MATH

Poultry and other high-risk foods usually have a 'use before' date not a 'best before'. I would chuck it and not risk it.

liney

Food poisoning from chicken can be fatal. I would bin it.

louise83

Thank you all very much for your replies. I 'chickened' out (groan!) and binned it. That will teach me to be careless! Still, onwards and upwards...

Louise x

victory

I agree bin it, not nice to have food poisoning!! xx

Pal

Food poisoning in chicken comes from eating undercooked chicken - it has nothing to do with its sell by date, which is only there to reduce the risk to the supermarket having lots of chicken returned that smells a bit.

You can eat rotting meat, including chicken, as long as you cook it well. Of course, if it is off, chances are that it will taste awful. Won't kill you though as the cooking will kill off the bacteria.

frosty

Hi everyone,I received my online shop from Tesco today.While I was putting my shopping away I noticed the date on the frozen chinese chicken legs were " display until march 07" and use by "june 07",:eek: I phoned Tesco and the lady said she would refund the money and notify the store.I hate waste do you think they would be alright to eat or should I throw them away?
thanks.

darich

With meat it's not worth the risk.
I'd throw it out especially since you're being refunded and it's costing you nothing

Gingernutmeg

It's illegal for a shop to sell food that's past it's 'use by' date, although they can sell food that's past its 'display until' date though. Personally, with supermarket frozen meat I wouldn't take the risk and I'd bin them - I rarely buy frozen food from supermarkets as the freezers often aren't cold enough, especially in this kind of weather, so there's always a risk that they might not have been stored correctly.