To not want to eat out of date chicken

[alyssa1980]

I've got 2 packs of diced chicken breast I forgot to cook at the weekend. The use by date was yesterday. I was just about to throw it out when my Mum askedwhat I was doing.

I told her I was binning them and she laughed and said she'd cook us all something and the use by dates are always 'generous'.

Is that true???? Even if it is - should I risk it at 30 weeks pg or feed it to my 2 & 4 year olds?

TBH as a non-pregnant adult with an iron constitution, I would probably use the chicken. But, at 30 weeks preggers no way, not worth the risk and I wouldn't feed it to younguns either. YANBU, tell your mum she's welcome to it but you are not taking the risk.

I would, but I can understand why you don't want to.

I tend to smell the chicken closely, as sometimes it may be within the sell by date but already is off, maybe because it wasn't stored properly. Only once did I try to cook a chicken that was smelling a bit funny - it smelled even worse when roasting, so I binned it.
So in my opinion, if it smells as usual,not sour or funny, it's probably fine...

If you feel strongly about this, you can tell your mum you adhere to strict hygiene standards when it's about your children and you're sure she will do the same for her grandchildren. Sounds a lot better than "expect her to"

...and you're pregnant too, so actually should be even more careful. My midwife friend had told me that in the case of food poisoning in the third trimester, the worry is not so much about the baby, but about the mother as diarrhea may induce early labour.

Oh no.
TYpical conversation at our house.

HOPPA-LOOK ITS OUT OF DATE
HOTH-SMELL IT. IT WILL BE OK
HOPPA-YOU SMELL IT
HOTH-NO
HOPPA-RIGHT, I AM THROWING IT IN THE BIN.

TOP TIP-IF NOONE IN THE HOUSHOLD WILL SMELL THE OUT OF DATE FoOD YoU ARE BETTER OFF NOT EATING IT.

PS CAPS LOCK IS STUCK.. I A NOT BEING UNUSUALLY ASSERTIVE/ARGUMENTATIVE.

It depends if it has a Use By or Best Before Date.

Use By means that it should be binned after that date, Best Before means that the company do not guarantee that it will still taste good after that date.

Generally fresh food, especially chicken will have a Use By date and I would stick to it.

Since you are pregnant you did the right thing. Better safe than sorry.

I'm really funny about chicken, I've been knwn to throw it away days BEFORE its BBD, so yanbu,

smell it.

i wouldn't eat it though.

Thanks everyone. I hate the smell of even slightly off chicken so will instead offer it to my mum to smell and eat herself if she's happy to!

I pay no regard to dates at all. I have decided food is off before the given date, and other food is fine after. I opened cheese the other day that was within date but foul. I do though come from a country without dates on products. I find it a little strange this idea that at midnight food suddenly goes off. I ask does it smell? Look the correct colour? Feel as it should? I'm 40+10 and would not like my midwife to hear this though!

Smell it. You will know if it is off. Really, you will. There is no question.

Does the date say 'use by' or 'best before'? Use by dates should be taken a bit more seriously, but the chicken is dead, and it couldn't read the label/tell the time even when it ws alive.

If my chicken has an ounce of nasty smellingness then i through it away.. I only eat chicken out of all the meats as its the only one i like so we tend to eat ALOT of chicken and if it smells weird then i dont use it. Dont trust chicken.

Give it a sniff.

When I was pregnant I had SUPER NOSE which could detect any hint of dodginess at 50 feet.

I was thinking of renting myself out to airports in the place of the sniffer dogs.

If it smells OK, then it will be OK, just cook the hell out of it (which I always do with chicken anyway).

"the chicken is dead, and it couldn't read the label/tell the time even when it was alive"

TrillianAstra, I hand you the award of best answer ever!

Super-nose sounds horrible actually Morloth - did you have trouble in public places with other people's BO/bad breath/strong perfume?

I agree Nelly - Trillian's answer is the best!

Still don't think I'll risk it whilst pregnant just in case it was a highly literate chicken!

yes, if it's highly literate it's probable feeling bitter, yuck!

It was vile Trillian, I had to get off buses regularly cause I could smell everyone, though walking along the street wasn't much better.

Ended up carrying a bottle of lavender oil with me and putting it around my nostrils every 1/2 hour or so, so I didn't throw up as often.

It should be absolutely fine. I often do that as i buy things reduced. Smell it and look at it and if it smells fine and looks pink not green that cook it. My BIL is a head chef and has told us that it is fine to eat meat a couple of days out of date, just use your senses which most of us have lost. In the old days before these use by and BB dates one used to rely on your senses more.