Is it ok to roast a whole chicken the day after it's use by date?

[Thankyouandgoodnight]

It's been in the fridge still in its wrappings.....

Yes, take it out of the wrapping and smell, if you think it smells at all then give the chicken a wash uder the tap and pop it in the oven tray.

The smell is caused from the wrappings.

Where from and what sort? M&S Organic - yes. Asda SmartPrice - no.

Washing chickens causes food poisoning, not prevents it!

Yes, and do a long slow roast, ie. 160 degrees for 2.5 hours etc. You will get a revolting smell if it has gone off anyway.

Really? About the wrapping? Do you have to smell it after washing it, incase it wasn't the wrapping?

tell that to the chefs I used to work with....

I was always told never to wash chickens either as it causes food poisoning.

I would deffo eat it, I find chickens always smell anyway as they have been sitting in their own juices, blood, wrappings etc for gawd knows how long.

The answer is in the words 'best before' at the stroke of midnight that day it suddenly dosen't become rancid it just slowly starts to deteriorate after this time, and I mean a couple of days slowly.

It should be fine

Disclaimer, if your ill, don't sue me, I'm skint

YES

smell it, if its off you will know

Sorry to Pedant again, but a chicken's use by date is a USE BY, NOT a best before (which is attached to things like pasta and fruit.)

It isn't the washing of the chicken that causes food poisoning - it is how you wash it, if you splash the water everywhere then leave it and dont wash the sink and surrounding area you may get cross contamination.

The actual washing of the chicken is not a problem and water will not casue food poisioning.

One of the easiest ways to get food poisoning is to actually eat whilst cooking. A big no no, as hand to mouth cross contamination is really easy - so ban eating whilst cooking

It's from waitrose

I don't see why washing it should cause food poisoning? It's just tap water that we all drink every day? As long as it's then cooked rather than left in stagnant water it should be ok shouldn't it?

Thank you everyone for your reassuring replies!

Another follow on question - if it was cooked on the use by date - how long would the cooked chicken last for - would you eat any the next day / day after?

I would eat it for the next 2/3 days - that me though

as Ivykaty said, it's not the washing of the chicken that causes food poisoning per se, it is how it is washed. Splashing everywhere could contaminate oother things, inculding the taps, then if the area isn't cleaned properly there is a risk of cross contamination with the chicken juices which have been hanging around for ages.

Actually carefully washing the chicken isn't suddenly going to make the chicken cause food poisoning.

A use by date is still just a date though, it's not like the chicken has been programmed to go off exactly on this date, so it is usually perfectly safe to cook it the day after the UBD.

As a general rule, use by dates are overly cautious and the producers/manufacturers err on the side of caution just to be on the safe side.

Best way to tell if it's bad is to smell it and look at it.

It won't cause the poisoning in the chicken, rather that it will disperse bacteria all over your kitchen. But Ivykaty is right when she says if you immediately antibac you will be ok.

The cooked chicken would last for the same amount of time as any cooked chicken, regardless of how soon to it's use by date it was cooked. So 2-3 days in the fridge or 4-6 months in the freezer.

They don't go off at midnight you know. I'm sure it will be fine

(smell it to make sure)

Ah ok - so the use by date isn't referring to the final cooked product then? That's extra on top?

Sorry probably didn't explain my first reasoning for washing the chicken.

When I take chicken out the fridge that may be a day or so over the sell by date, I firstly smell it. Then if it does smell a bit what I do is wash it under the tap.

I wash the chicken low down and slowly to avoid splashing every where.

Then when the chicken is washed I smell the chicken again.

Now if the chicken still smells I will not use it.

But usually the smell has gone, as it is sweaty smell from the plastic wrap - so washing allows me to distinguish between whether the chicken is bad or the chicken has a sweaty wrap problem.

Hope this makes sense.

Yes total sense and that's what I understood you to have said

take it out and sniff it.

if it's not whiffy, cook it well and eat it.

yes the use by date isn't refering to the cooked product, just how long it will keep on the shelf or in the fridge until it needs to be cooked.

Once it's been cooked the same rules apply as for all cooked foods, and for meat and chicken it's 2-3 days refridgerated and only reheat once.