Help! How can you tell if chicken is off?

[NotVictoriaBeckham]

Apart from sell-by date of course.

I was about to roast a chicken (purchased 1st feb, use-by date 9th feb), but I just opened it and felt slightly uneasy about the smell.

However - I am known for my sometimes slightly irrational food paranoias, so perhaps I am just going mad. I know can't decide if it smells weird or is totally normally.

Any rules to apply in this situation?!

I would say if it smells don't eat it. Was it from Tescos? I've had quite a bit of chicken from there recently that smells before it's use by date. I think their refrigerators might be a bit dodgy.

Actually its from Aldi. I think that may be contributing to my paranoia as it was the first time I've shopped there. Everything else has been great though (not that that's relevant).

Funnily enough I've have bad chicken from M&S twice

My google searches suggest that off chicken really smells quite bad (this doesn't smell offensive - just slightly odd), and apparently tends to be slimy and discoloured (yellowy/grey) as well. - Given that mine only displays one partial symptom, I think I'm going to cook it and take a view later reserving the right to chicken out, sorry awful pun I couldn't help it

Thanks for the advice!

Smell it again now that the packaging has been opened a couple of mins, if it's even remotely whiffy, I'd chuck it (and I'm a eat-anything-including-cream-after-the-sell-by-date-if-it-smells-okay kind of a gal ;)

Off chicken smells really bad, with a sickly sweat smell you just know isn't right (if you've ever stumbled across a dead fox on a summers day you'll know the smell, most rotting flesh smells the same)

Wot flubba said, including cream-adter-the-sell-by-date-comment

I had an off chicken from Tesco recently as well. Bought two Of those ready prepared breasts and the other one was fine. Took it back and they refunded. Would take your chicken back op too if I was you!

If there's any hint of smell forget it (sorry)

I had some chicken breasts from Tesco a couple of months ago which were definitely off. They didn't smell rotten, they smelled of vinegar and a quick google prompted me to bin them straight away.

I'd had my shopping delivered but after emailing Tesco they refunded me. The chicken had 4 days left to go before it was out of date too.

I never keep chicken for long before cooking it though, if I'm not going to use it by the following day after buying it then I stick it in the freezer. I definitely wouldn't use anything that had been sat in my fridge for almost a week, regardless of the use by date. I accept this makes me a little odd but having had salmonella once I'm paranoid of ever getting it again definitely doesn't only handle raw chicken if wearing rubber gloves, oh no siree

Thanks everyone. I think you're probably right. I wouldn't usually keep chicken so long... and I certainly won't be doing so again!