Can we eat this chicken?

[Andthen]

Bought a whole chicken today in Sainsbury's. It was busy, we were in a rush and there were people in front of the chickens so I just reached around them and grabbed one.

Have just realised that the use by date us today. I bought it for Sunday dinner tomorrow. It wasn't reduced and there was nothing to indicate a short shelf life. Can we still cook and eat it tomorrow? Thanks all!

"is" not "us"

Yes I have eaten a chicken a day out of date.

No definitely wouldn't risk it with chicken. You could cook it overnight in the slow cooker if you have one. Or if you have time to cook it now and reheat tomorrow.

I wouldn’t risk chicken.

I would eat it tomorrow. Not if it smelled bad but I generally think there is leaway in the dates.

Yes

I wouldn't..

I would put it in the oven now and reheat it tomorrow.

I took one back & changed it before.

If it’s off you’ll smell it, I would expect it to be fine though

It will be fine, I would eat it (after giving it a sniff in the morning). I don't know what people think is going to happen, it'll strike midnight and the bacteria will go mad?

I always say, if you opened it tomorrow and it smelt off but the use by date was Monday, would you eat it? Of course you wouldn't, therefore why not apply the same logic in reverse

Of course it’ll be fine ,

Yes I would, the chicken doesn't have a watch and it won't make a difference if you eat it on the 24th or the 25th.

Will it go from being ok to being poisonous on the stroke of midnight? Doubt it. Do the nose test, if it smells ok, it will be ok. There is always a bit of leeway with best before dates. So much wasted food because people are afraid of trusting their senses.
I've had chicken go off before use by date, therefore I did not use it, but if it's ok just after (and I'm only talking about a day or so, not a week), I would use it.

I wouldn’t, but only because I risked it once and the chicken smelled awful when I took it out of the packet. By that point the shops were shut (Bloody Sunday trading!) so we ended up with KFC!

Thanks all! My instinct is that if it looks and smells fine, it should be ok but I am v annoyed at having to make the decision at all.

Unfortunately we have no slow cooker and am too knackered to stay up now until it cooks.

Food doesnt automatically go off a minute past midnight , if it smells ok and looks ok im sure it will be fine ?

It will be fine to eat just a day over. I would cook & eat it tomorrow without a second thought.

Your nose will tell you if it's not OK.

What do you think we did before everything had dates on them ?

@Idratherhaveacupoftea you are right of course! I have no issue with best before dates or even use by dates when it's just me eating. It's "use by" when I'm feeding the whole family that worries me!

I just threw a chicken breast out a day before it’s use by date. It had a slight discolouration and I wasn’t sure about the way it smelt. I hate food waste but chicken is one food item where I err on the side of caution.