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If you’ve been putting chicken in a food container from days gone by, you may be wondering if it’s safe to eat. Poultry meat is considered more dangerous than beef due to its tendency to contract E. coli and other food-borne illnesses. This is why you never want to eat spoiled chicken, and Store it properly It is the key to avoiding illness.
But this begs the question: How long does it take for chicken to spoil, and how long can you wait before it’s too late?
The USDA only gives raw chicken 48 hours to be cooked and consumed after purchase, but that time frame errs on the safe side and is not the final word on when the bird spoils. Cooked chicken has a longer shelf life in the refrigerator and a lower risk of serious food poisoning, but even chicken in its cooked form has limits.
If you’re wondering whether or not chicken is spoiled, or how long it lasts in the fridge, we’ve got the answers. Here we explain how long chicken typically lasts in the fridge and freezer – cooked and uncooked – and how to know when it’s time to put those poultry out on pasture.
How long does raw chicken last in the refrigerator?
The sell-by date of a chicken can be a full week after you purchase it. This doesn’t mean you have to wait that long to cook it.
the USDA recommends Cook the chicken a day or two after you buy it. If this sounds conservative and faster than the expiration date on the package, that’s because it is – but there’s a reason for that. The sell by, use by or freeze date may be a week from the date it was purchased, but this is just the chicken producer’s guess as to how long the chicken will remain at its optimum taste before its quality begins to deteriorate.
As many in this Reddit thread Others stress that you can probably split the difference without serious consequences, but you should never eat chicken that’s been in the refrigerator for more than three or four days. The reason chicken is not necessarily safe to eat until the sell-by date is two-fold:
Firstly, this date is not issued by a regulatory body, but by the brand. While poultry brands have to consider consumer safety, their main goal is to entice retailers to buy their products. The longer the “useful” period, the greater their chance of making a bigger sale.
The other reason is that grocery store meat refrigerators and coolers are usually cooler than a regular home refrigerator. A regular refrigerator should keep meat cold without freezing delicate vegetables and other groceries. Supermarket meat coolers only need to keep meat cold, so it can be at lower temperatures. Chicken kept at a cooler temperature will naturally last longer.
How long does cooked chicken last in the refrigerator?
Cooked chicken is good in the refrigerator for up to four days. It should then be frozen or discarded.
Cooked chicken has a much lower chance of developing bacteria, but it can still make you sick if you wait too long to eat it, even if it’s been stored in the refrigerator. The USDA recommends eating chicken within four days of cooking it. Like raw chicken, it should also be stored below 40 degrees Fahrenheit to avoid rapid spoilage.
How long can you store chicken in the freezer?
If you’re not sure when you’ll get that package of chicken, put it in the freezer.
Chicken kept frozen (below 0°F) is technically safe to eat for about a year according to FoodSafety.govBut that doesn’t mean you have to wait a year, or even months, to eat it. Even shrink-wrapped meat will eventually succumb to frost and freeze burn. While this may not make the chicken unsafe, it will affect its delicious taste. The meat may acquire a chewy or mealy texture.
Frozen cooked chicken can last indefinitely without risk of disease, but it will begin to lose flavor almost immediately in the freezer, and its texture will also be compromised if it undergoes freezer burn.
When in doubt, use the smell and eye test
When in doubt, give your chickens a whiff. Some ground poultry may be infused with rosemary extract. Otherwise, it shouldn’t smell bad.
While the sell-by date and USDA recommendations are good guideposts for eating chicken safely, the smell test should always be used as a backup. Chicken can encounter all kinds of storage accidents and irregularities during its journey to your kitchen. If your chicken smells bad, musty, or rotten, it’s probably time to throw it away.
Also, keep a close eye on any changes in the appearance of the meat. Chicken that appears slimy or is discolored in any way (yellow, brown, or green) should be discarded immediately.
Does raw chicken have a natural smell?
Ground chicken and turkey are sometimes infused with rosemary extract to reduce fat oxidation.
Not usually. Most raw chicken doesn’t have much odor, and if it does have a strong odor, it could be a sign that something is wrong. However, some chicken farms and poultry producers add rosemary extract to ground chicken and turkey to reduce fat oxidation in the meat. If you smell a faint grassy odor in ground chicken or turkey, but it was stored correctly and on its sell-by dates and also within a day or two since you purchased it, it may be rosemary you smell and not spoiled chicken.
Frequently asked questions
Can I eat chicken that has been in the refrigerator for more than two days?
The USDA recommends not storing raw chicken in the refrigerator for more than two days. In our experience, three to four days should be appropriate, provided it is within the use-by or sell-by date. Beyond that, avoid eating chicken.
Is it permissible to eat cooked chicken after storing it for several days?
Once the chicken is cooked, it will definitely have a greater chance of not spoiling. However, based on USDA recommendations and our own experience, do not eat cooked chicken after it has been stored for more than four days.
What are the best ways to tell that my chicken has spoiled?
We recommend two methods for inspecting any piece of chicken. First, look for a sticky film that may have formed on its surface. Second, do a sniff test. Here, you smell a sour or rotten egg-like odor. If either is present, it is better to say goodbye to the piece of meat than to eat it.