How long is chicken good after the sell-by date? It is irrefutable that chicken is a perishable food, so knowing its sell-by date and how long it is good after the sell-by date plays a pivotal role in your shopping choices and health.
More importantly, you have probably seen “sell-by date” several times when buying food in supermarkets or markets, but do you truly know what it means? Go over this post for a better shopping experience; you will always have a chance to enjoy the best quality chicken.
What Is A “Sell-By” Date On Meat?
Expiry dates are often printed on food packages so that customers know how long the product can keep its quality and safety. They also help consumers feel more secure when using food.
However, only some understand the meaning of the “sell-by” date printed on the product packaging. The following information will help you understand it correctly.
Definition Of Sell-By Date
The sell-by date or sell-by or display-until is a print on the packaging of common food items for businesses to manage the shelf life of their items. In addition, the tag is also an indicator of when the food quality starts to deteriorate. (1)
Stores usually decrease the price of products that are approaching their sell-by dates. It is also a great suggestion for how long the product’s flavors can last before being spoiled by external elements.
In practice, the sell-by date does not mean an expiration date since, after the date on the package, most food is still usable but will have a different quality than the days before.
Distinguish Sell-By Date From Other Dates
In addition to the sell-by date, manufacturers now print other dates, such as the use-by date or best-before date, on their products. Distinguishing these dates will help you have a better experience with the items you have purchased.
Use-By Date
The use-by date is usually printed on perishable products such as milk, cheese, fish, meat, etc. You can find it on canned goods, condiments, dry goods, or other shelf-stable items. In case foods have been through the use-by date, the quality may be severely affected.
You should never forget the products’ use-by date if you don’t want to get ill when eating them. Though food still looks fine after the use-by date, the quality and health safety is not guaranteed.
Best-Before Date
Best-before date (or BBD) means the product is at its best within the period printed on the package. However, you can still use it if left beyond the stated dates, but the taste and nutritional value of the food will gradually plummet.
Why Is Eating Chicken Before The Sell-By Date Important?
The sell-by date indicates to the shop assistants the exact time to remove food from the stall if it is over the sell-by date. Additionally, consumers who want the best quality products should buy them before or on this day.
Eating chicken more than two days after the sell-by date can result in stomachache and food poisoning. Therefore, it will be best if you consume chicken two days sooner than its sell-by date, according to scientists, for its best taste and texture.
Moreover, by eating before the sell-by-date, you can stop the risk of being food-poisoned when most meat products are usually spoiled when they are not well-stored after the sell-by date.
Is It Safe To Eat Chicken After The Sell-By-Date?
The answer is no. Eating anything after the sell-by date is terrible for your health, and chicken is no exception. Typically, consuming chicken after the sell-by date is not a serious matter.
However, the flavor and the texture may be worse than before the sell-by date. No one says you mustn’t eat food after the sell-by date. You can still do it. Nonetheless, your health will be significantly affected if you maintain this habit.
The first danger is that you will get food poisoning. In addition, the chicken may have a sour taste which is not worth the money you spend on it. Furthermore, the chicken texture may not retain its juicy state and possess a sour flavor after the sell-by date.
How Long Is Chicken Good For After The Sell-By Date?
Although you can still eat chicken after the sell-by date, your chicken’s quality will reduce significantly. If you eat it for such a long time, it will adversely affect your health daily.
Therefore, knowing how long the chicken is good after the sell-by date is crucial. Moreover, the period when chicken is good after the sell-by date also differs between the raw and cooked chicken. Now, stay tuned and go with me to explore this feature.
Raw Chicken
Because chicken contains a wealth of bacteria and can be spoiled effortlessly, no one eats raw chicken. In particular, these bacteria may grow exponentially in a room-temperature environment.
The period that raw chicken is good after the sell-by date is much shorter than cooked one. If you place uncooked chicken in the refrigerator, you can use it one to two days after the sell-by date.
If you keep the raw chicken in the freezer, you can use it for a maximum of one year, depending on the raw chicken’s case. (2) Specifically, you can store giblets or ground chicken within three to four months and parts in roughly nine months.
However, you must remember that while you can still prepare and use raw chicken during this time, it will not be healthy and only provide some of the nutrients you need. There’s nothing better than making raw chicken as soon as you buy it.
Cooked Chicken
Cooked chicken usually lasts longer after its sell-by date than raw chicken. You can place your cooked chicken in the refrigerator within four days after its sell-by date.
Moreover, if you store it in the freezer, your cooked chicken tastes best in a maximum of four months. You can use it within six months if you cook it with gravy or broth, and if you cook chicken nuggets or parties, you can store them within one to three months.
Bacteria will also multiply quickly in cooked chicken if it is not stored well, especially after its sell-by date; you shouldn’t eat it anymore. Therefore, you need to be careful not to waste your food and purchase.
Early Warning Signs Of Chicken Having Spoiled
Now you know how long raw and cooked chickens are good after the sell-by date. After these days, your chicken may be spoiled. Let me show you how to tell if your chicken begins going spoiled.
Texture
Texture is one of the most obvious signs of whether the raw or cooked chicken has gone bad. When the chicken has spoiled, its texture is far more different than regular chicken meat.
Raw Chicken
Touch the chicken directly with your hand; if it feels pretty sticky and slimy after rinsing with water, your chicken is likely spoiled.
Once the chicken has signs of rotting, washing it several times does not eliminate the bacteria. If you continue using it for cooking, the spoiled chicken can contaminate other foods, utensils, and surrounding surfaces, causing many health issues.
Cooked Chicken
You can tell which cooked chicken has gone bad with a few small and simple signs according to its texture. When you notice its texture is softer, gooier, and stickier than usual, you need to throw it away. Don’t try to eat it or cook it again unless you want to harm your health.
Smell
The sharpest sense that helps us recognize spoiled chicken is the sense of smell. Rotten raw and cooked chicken has a very unpleasant and nauseating smell. Is there any difference in smell between a sour raw and cooked chicken? Stick around and discover the answer.
Raw Chicken
The easiest way to identify spoiled raw chicken is by using your nose to detect any irregular scent.
Spoiled raw chicken will have a pungent, ammonia-like, or sour smell. When you smell this in raw chicken, it is vital to discard it immediately. Do not ignore this sign for the sake of money. You can have food poisoning if you eat chicken that smells like this.
Cooked Chicken
Even if you cook a chicken, it is just as perishable as raw chicken. Since most cooked chicken is already seasoned, it’s harder to tell if it is rotten.
However, if you pay more attention and smell it deeply, you will realize the sour, foul smell is incredibly displeasing. This smell is sometimes so strong that it can overwhelm the chicken’s seasoning smell.
Color
In addition to the smell, appearance is essential in distinguishing whether the chicken is rancid. The most striking feature to notice is the color. Raw and cooked chicken color changes a lot when they are rotten.
Raw Chicken
Raw chicken is usually pink or red, but when it is sour, it will turn gray, yellow, or green. Moreover, gray or white spots primarily appear on the flesh. These spots are the main indicator of the growth of harmful bacteria.
Once you ingest them, you risk having stomach aches, and if the case worsens, you will get food poisoning.
Cooked Chicken
Because you have cooked the chicken, it is often more difficult to tell that it is rancid than raw chicken based on color. However, if you try to look at it closely, it is easy to see that rotten chicken often turns a dark color. It is critical to throw it away immediately.
How To Store Chicken Correctly
If you want to prevent the chicken from showing signs of spoilage, it is crucial to know how to store chicken well. Don’t worry about it. I will provide some simple yet effective ways to preserve your chicken properly.
Raw Chicken
Properly storing raw chicken will ensure nutritional value and taste, thus, limiting food poisoning caused by spoiled, rancid chicken. You will easily practice with just a few pieces of equipment and detailed instructions below.
You need glass containers with tight-fitting lids instead of plastic ones since glass containers will retain heat better than plastic ones and will not absorb the food’s smell, taste, or color. You can also use plastic wraps with zippers at a lower price.
Here are a few steps to store raw chicken in the refrigerator:
- Step 1: Wrap the meat thoroughly. You should wash the chicken and put it in a container with a tight lid before storing it in the refrigerator to avoid cross-contamination between raw foods.
Note: You must ensure that your container has no holes or cracks. If the chicken’s container has holes or cracks, it is an excellent opportunity for bacteria to break in and spoil your chicken.
Additionally, you can wrap the chicken in several layers, so it does not freeze, changing its taste, color, and texture. Thus, when you cook chicken, it will no longer taste good.
- Step 2: Maintain the refrigerator temperature: After carefully wrapping the raw chicken, it is essential to place it in the refrigerator. If stored in the freezer, it is necessary to adjust and maintain the temperature at 0 °F (-17 to -18 °C)
- Step 3: Arrange the refrigerator. The fridge arrangement is also fundamental to maintaining the temperature of fresh chicken. Instead, use food containers to divide and save space in the refrigerator.
Note: You need to pay attention to the storage time: although the shelf life of a raw chicken in the freezer can be up to nine months, it is best to use the meat within one month. Because at that time, the chicken still tastes fresh and ensures nutritional value.
Therefore, you should label and write the storage date to know which meat to use first and which meat to use later.
Cooked Chicken
Preserving cooked chicken is the same as raw chicken. However, you should remember that before putting it in the refrigerator, you have to let the cooked chicken cool completely.
If you put not only the chicken but also other hot foods in the fridge while they are still hot, it will harm the food and refrigerator’s quality quickly. Once the chicken is cooked, you can wrap it in foil to make it easier to reheat later.
To prevent the growth of bacteria, you need to pay attention to adjusting the temperature in the fridge below 39 °F (around 4 °C). However, you must remember that refrigerators only help slow down bacteria development. (3)
When you store cooked chicken properly, it can last three to four days in the refrigerator and within two to three months in the freezer.
The storage time of cooked chicken is also different for each type of food. For instance, you can store the grilled, fried, or roasted chicken for three to four days. You ought to consume pieces of chicken soaked in sauce, seasoning, or broth within one to two days.
However, before eating them, you need to reheat and smell them to recognize if they have any strange and uncomfortable smells.
You can practice storing the cooked chicken correctly with a few simple and effective steps.
Note: You should never put cooked chicken in the refrigerator for a second time. In other words, once the cooked chicken has been pulled out of the refrigerator, you shouldn’t keep storing it again.
After so many times of storing, cooked chicken not only does not provide you with nutrients but also produces toxic substances. When eaten, you may end up in the hospital for food poisoning.
Tips On How To Select The Freshest Chicken
Currently, chickens appear everywhere, so tips for picking up good chicken are the first step that plays a vital role in your dish. Unless you learn to choose fresh, tasty chickens before buying them, you will most likely buy sick, poor-quality chickens.
Therefore, this post is a savior for you in this case. Follow this post to have more experience in choosing delicious and fresh chickens. There are three useful features of chicken that you need to consider.
The Color Of Chickens:
Observing the chicken’s color is essential in “appraising” its freshness. If the skin of the chicken is bright, natural pink, or the thin skin is pale yellow, and its breast, wings, and back are slightly dark yellow, then it is a delicious chicken.
You need to be careful not to choose chickens having dark colors; even deformities on its body are indications of ill chicken. In particular, you should observe their inner fat layers to avoid buying chickens that use chemical dyes.
If their fat layers differ from their outer skin’s colors, they are the chicken dyed with toxic chemicals.
You might find it easy to distinguish fresh chicken according to its color.
The Odor Of Chickens:
If a chicken has a foul, unpleasant, or antibiotic smell, people have slaughtered it for a long time. You need to ignore it and choose another better one.
Moreover, you should select chickens without a strange or unpleasant odor. In addition, the chicken skin surface should not be purple or bruised. You should buy them to prepare nutritious dishes for your beloved people.
The Press Test:
Simply press lightly with your hand to check the elasticity of the chicken. Good chicken meat should have a bit of a bouncy texture on the surface. Ideally, you should look for chicken meat that is soft and lightly bouncy.
Tips On Preparing Chicken Stored For A Long Time
If you are storing chicken for an extended period in the freezer, the most important thing you should consider is knowing how to defrost chicken properly. You may not know that chicken, as well as other raw meat, contains a lot of bacteria.
Inappropriate defrosting will give them a chance to multiply and grow. You can often find bacteria such as Campylobacter, Salmonella, and Clostridium perfringens, causing diarrhea, high fever, and intense stomach cramps in chickens.
When you want to cook frozen chicken, the best way is to bring it from the freezer to the cooler. The chicken is then slowly changed in temperature, so the texture of the meat will not change significantly.
You should squeeze the chicken’s empty stomach to check if it’s completely defrosted. If there are still ice particles in the chicken’s belly, you should leave the chicken to thaw for a while.
You can bring the chicken to cook delicious dishes when you have thawed the meat. It will take between 12 to 24 hours, so if it’s a whole chicken, you may have to move it from the freezer to the cooler the day before.
Nonetheless, you can defrost chicken faster by adding one to two teaspoons of salt into a bowl of water, wrapping it in a plastic bag, and soaking it in this water. The water will help the ice melt fast. This process can only take three to four hours if it is a big chicken.
You don’t make such mistakes when thawing chicken.
Special And Simple Recipes With Chicken
Chicken is one of the most popular meats globally; hence there are a host of tasty and fantastic recipes you can make with just a few simple steps.
Chicken Teriyaki
If you are a real fan of Japanese food and are passionate about the light aroma of soy sauce and the sweet and salty taste together with a specific ginger flavor. Then you go to the right place.
The aforementioned special sauce blends the above flavor and is called “Teriyaki” sauce. Additionally, the combination of the softness, freshness of the chicken, and the signature flavor of this sauce will make you go crazy.
Chicken Chasseur
After enjoying the famous Teriyaki Chicken in Asia, I am taking you to Europe to discover the delicious dishes prepared with chicken.
Chicken Chasseur, which translates to Hunter’s Chicken, is a one-pot meal cooked with wine and ketchup. It is made with a handful of ingredients but has an exquisite taste and aroma.
Baked Buffalo Chicken
After stopping in Europe, fly to America to learn about the mouthwatering dishes with chicken. One of America’s simplest and most popular dishes is Bake Buffalo Chicken.
Crispy fried chicken coated with shiny Buffalo sauce and served with creamy cheese will surely make every family member fall in love with it. On a free weekend, take some time and the kitchen to spice up the whole family with this recipe. Let’s get started now!
FAQs
It’s a pity that I don’t have enough time to explain all the questions about the chicken’s sell-by date to you. Nevertheless, I will provide you with some extra information that will be useful for you one day.
Knowing Chicken’s Sell-By Date For Food Safety
Chicken is one of the most popular foods and provides an abundant source of nutrition for people. However, you must remember that it is vital to know how long the chicken is good after the sell-by date.
In general, if you know how to store chicken correctly based on the valuable knowledge I have provided in this post, your chicken will last up to five days after the sell-by date.
What’s more, immediately prepare delicious recipes for your beloved ones after buying chicken. Please comment and share this post so everyone can also gain such valuable information.
References
- Stearns, S. (2019) Expiration, use-by and sell-by dates: What do they really mean?, Extension News.
- ASKUSDA.
