Settle a debate about raw chicken

[Dobbycraft]

If you bought a whole uncooked chicken on Saturday, would you cook it and eat it on the Thursday? So it's been in the fridge for 5 days, but the use by date isn't until the 19th.

One person thinks you can still cook it as it's in date, the other is saying you have to use or freeze raw chicken within 3 days of buying it regardless of use by date.

Why would you have to use it within 3 days if buying it when you’ve no idea when it was put on the shelf?

Perfectly safe to roast it on the Thursday

No, 3 days max for food other than gammon, I'd eat that on day 5.

** Edited to add, cook and then eat within 3 days otherwise you go by use by date .

Assuming the fridge works, the use by date is the use by date.

It's perfectly fine if it's been refrigerated and is within its use by dates. You would immediately smell it if it had gone off anyway.

First person is correct.

If it's within use by date, has been stored correctly, smells OK - fine to cook and it's irrelevant when you actually bought it.

So if OP bought the chicken on Saturday she needs to use it by Tuesday, but if she went to the shop on Monday and bought the same chicken, which would still be on display as the use by is the 19th, it’s use by would be Thursday?

Why?

This is what I don't understand..is there something special about the supermarket fridge?!

Well, the supermarket fridge will definitely be operating within the 2-8C range and a domestic fridge might not, but apart from that there’s no difference.

Use by dates are assigned with a margin of safety anyway, so unless the fridge has been off or is on its last legs or something it’s going to be fine.

I think your friend is confusing this situation with the “once open use within 3 days” that you find on sealed packs of ham, hummus etc.

The chicken doesn’t know if it’s in the shop or in your fridge.

Supermarket fridges are strong commercial and follow strict food hygiene standards.
Home refrigerators may experience temperature fluctuations due to frequent opening and closing, which can lead to faster spoilage of perishable items like raw meat.
The way you stack your fridge can reduce airflow and risk warmer spots.

Overall, check for slime, sniff the chicken and you can even use a therm and poke thickest ensure its cold throughout at a safe temperature.

I've personally experienced inside of chicken being rancid - outside was fine and there was no bad smell. My fridge had packed in but not a major temperature change but enough to allow the core of the chicken leg to reach bacteria multiplying temperature. Luckily when baked and dug into, it was obvious, the smell was disgusting. Unfortunately the skin was inhaled though 😅 we all lived to tell the tale and nothing happened to us but it was a close call.

Overall, using the chicken sooner after buying from the store, lowers the risk of bacterial growth. With newer fridges these days eco mode is 4 degrees if I am not mistaken in most, which is a very good temperature.

Just go by use by date.

Obviously the person who thinks you have to freeze it within 3 days isnt you but where did they get such a bonkers idea from? It doesn't stand even the most basic sense check

Wtf!
Obviously the use by date.

I usually assume a raw chicken from the supermarket will still be fine up to 3 days past its use by date but I'll check it's not smelly or slimy before cooking it. 🤷🏻‍♀️

We didn't have a fridge growing up, just a small pantry with a tiled floor so I'm used to checking raw meat by touch and smell.

As long as your fridge runs between 3 to a max of 8C and you cook the chicken so it’s at over 82c core temp within its USE BY date all should be well. I would happily cook this to temp and serve.

It is a USE BY date for a good reason. I would not use any food issued with a use by date beyond its use by date at home or when working. USE BY dates are issued on the foods that hold the most potential to cause problems from food poisoning.

Use by date.
So the chicken is ok until then assuming it is refrigerated.

Chicken paranoia never ceases to amaze me.

of course it's fine to cook. These days - with the quality of storage, refridgeration etc, if it's come from a supermarket fridge more or less straight to mine, I'd cook even chicken at least a day after the use by date.

The person who thinks 3 days is very odd and totally irrational. If you'd bought the chicken on Monday, you only needed to freeze it by thursday?

It's fine til the use by date. And probably slightly after but I'd not risk going over the date with something like chicken.

I think @LoafofSellotape meant if you'd bought it and cooked it the same day you should eat within 3 days. Uncooked you can cook up to and including use by date.

Where are you getting the temp of 82c from? Advice is to cook chicken to an internal temp of 75c.

73.9c if I recall correctly.
57c for egg pasteurisation via sous vide (for some time 2h I think but don't quote me)
82c could be from custard making/ice cream making etc, raw egg situation so possibly this is the person's error, but it's not an unsafe error.

Most thermometer advice is 79c I think which is wise to give room for error. I prefer 82c to 75c as I can't fully trust how others measure temp of a chicken but that's my personal preference.

Are they getting confused with the idea that you're only meant to keep food in the fridge for around three days after you've cooked it?

Assuming the packaging is intact, the raw meat can stay in the fridge until its use-by date. It might go off quicker than that if you decant it into other storage methods, but in its original packaging it will be fine.