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How long is danagerous - I failed to put a raw chicken in the fridge?

(104 Posts)
Jess20 Wed 25-Mar-20 16:13:07

I may have to change my name after this - I got a food delivery 3 days ago and thought I'd taken out the perishables and washed them etc but managed to miss a chicken and thought it had been left off the delivery. Finally clearing the box I found it. Room temp, 3 days, a tad whiffy but no not crawling, I washed it to be sure (bleached sink afterwards, rubber disposable gloves etc).

I am cooking it right now, and will do so very thoroughly. My family were farmers, my grandparents were farming way before anyone had a fridge and they would have cooked and eaten it.

I'm less worried about who would still eat it than how safe it is to eat.

We may all be making choices like this over the next few months, hopfully won't get food poisoning. Any microbiologists, food experts out there?

Farmor15 Wed 25-Mar-20 19:56:23

Hi Jess- I’m a microbiologist but only just saw your post. It’s obviously not the best idea to eat chicken that had been out so long. However, you did the right thing bleaching sink, but in similar circumstances I’ve put lemon juice on it and left for a while. I would have taken off bone and made into a curry or similar as then I would be sure that all parts were fully cooked.

Slight whiffy smell is due to spoilage organisms, not food poisoning ones. The ones that make you ill are actually ones like Salmonella, Campylobacter and E. coli, all of which are killed by temperatures of 60 deg for 5 minutes.

In current circumstances, people will need to be a bit more careful about food waste. Obviously meat should be put in fridge straight away, and check dates. But things one day over their use by date will still be fine and “best before” dates can be almost ignored as they are mostly tins, jars and packets of dry stuff.

sodapop Wed 25-Mar-20 19:36:48

I agree with everyone else. Now is not the time to be taking chances with food. Don't feed it to your pets either.

SueDonim Wed 25-Mar-20 19:30:42

shock. No, I wouldn’t consider eating it, not even one moment.

Smileless2012 Wed 25-Mar-20 19:20:11

Oh no, don't give it to your dog, if you have one, either!!

Hetty58 Wed 25-Mar-20 19:17:03

Why risk it? Are you starving? Do you want to be ill? Do you have a death wish? Assuming it's a no to all of those, if you really don't want to waste it - perhaps the local foxes might give it a go!

SalsaQueen Wed 25-Mar-20 19:09:38

3 days? I wouldn't have risked it. Also, the advice is NOT to wash chicken, as the bacteria can be spread more when the water splashes onto it. I would have thrown it away.

bikergran Wed 25-Mar-20 18:27:38

If we find any fresh food in our supermarket it has to be thrown(due to the selfish lazy people who put items in their trolley then half way round decide they don't want them) and dump them anywhere.

Our policy if I rem correctly is 20 minutes, so example if you get to my checkout and you decide you don;t want that chilled item, I have to send for a runner to put it straight back.
No way would I eat it not even if it had been left out for less than half a day.

Missfoodlove Wed 25-Mar-20 18:20:03

No,no, no!!!
I have had campylobacter.... it is horrendous and with the current loo roll situation could be catastrophic.
Never mess with poultry.

M0nica Wed 25-Mar-20 18:17:53

I am usually prepared to cook and eat many things in the food line that more cautious people would not, but I must admit that this is one step too far even for me! It would be in the food waste bin.

nanaK54 Wed 25-Mar-20 18:17:42

Please don't eat it and please don't give to the dog either sad the bin is the only place for it

midgey Wed 25-Mar-20 18:09:52

Give it to the dog!

Grannynannywanny Wed 25-Mar-20 18:06:14

I definitely wouldn’t eat it. Think of the consequences...and the loo roll shortage!

Whitewavemark2 Wed 25-Mar-20 17:28:30

Ooh egg and chips with ketchup yum yum

Whitewavemark2 Wed 25-Mar-20 17:27:51

Your nose has told you - it is off☠️

Callistemon Wed 25-Mar-20 17:27:43

I'm fairly relaxed too but I would definitely bin it.

Egg and chips for dinner?

MaizieD Wed 25-Mar-20 17:22:58

I'm fairly relaxed about sell by dates etc, but I did used to work in hospital catering and I'd say definitely bin it

Or give it to the dog if you have one.

EllanVannin Wed 25-Mar-20 17:09:31

I won't even eat a cooked chicken beyond 2 days ! Out it goes.

EllanVannin Wed 25-Mar-20 17:07:56

BIN !!

Calendargirl Wed 25-Mar-20 16:51:39

I’m a great one for not wasting food, but ‘a tad whiffy’?
No, I’m with everyone else, don’t eat it.

Smileless2012 Wed 25-Mar-20 16:34:31

No don't eat it, throw it away.

aggie Wed 25-Mar-20 16:29:35

good grief , you did everything wrong ! Out of the fridge for THREE DAYS , WASHED IT , COOKED IT dump it for goodness sake , surely you arent that desperate

Sparklefizz Wed 25-Mar-20 16:23:03

I wouldn't risk it either for all the reasons given above.

Curlywhirly Wed 25-Mar-20 16:22:34

Definitely wouldn't eat it. If it had been left in a cold garage, fine, but if not, no, as it has been warm for the last few days.

endlessstrife Wed 25-Mar-20 16:22:16

I personally wouldn’t chance it. What does it smell like cooking? I once had this joint of lamb that smelt out of synch while cooking, but I wasn’t sure. When I brought the kids in from school, they all squeezed their noses and said, “ yeuch, what’s that smell?” I took it out of the oven, and back down to Sainsbury’s, where I got my money back! It’s not worth it Jess. The last thing you need now is food poisoning ?. Take care.

Eglantine21 Wed 25-Mar-20 16:20:33

I wouldn’t take the risk either. The NHS doesn’t need to be dealing with food poisoning right now.

Your farming family probably had a whole load of gut bacteria for dealing with slightly off food, that we don’t have in these hygenic days.

Bread and cheese for dinner.

(No I haven’t got any of those either)?