chicken

[chazza]

I bought some chicken breasts from the supermarket and stupidly forgot to put them in the freezer.

When I did remember to freeze them it was the afternoon of the 22nd, and the date on them was the 20th. They looked and smelled ok, but would they be safe to eat? (Not sure if it was a best before or a use by date but they were Tescos if that helps)

[ugly_bob]

I would imagine they would be ok. You do need to be a bit careful with chicken, but if they still appeared fresh enough, then I wouldn't worry too much, just make sure they're cooked properly.

[crete]

id get the toilet roll ready if you use them !

[piamaria]

I'd definitely use them if they smell alright once they have defrosted.

[JulieB123]

I wouldn't risk it. Is it just you or are you feeding family ie, older people and children.

I don't eat yogurts on the day it says used by just in case, I would have thrown them away.

[Snowy Owl]

If in doubt...throw them out...you just cannot be too careful where chicken is concerned.

[Backdrifter]

If the chicken smells okay it's probably okay so long as it's thoroughly cooked through.

Use-by dates are overly cautious. People throwing away stuff ON the use-by date is very wasteful - Julie, you're being way too careful by doing that - yoghurts on the use-by date will be fine.

I don't mean to sound preachy but wastefulness is a major bugbear of mine (as my partner will wearily testify). Not in a meanness sense, more in the sense of we produce far too much stuff and the amount we waste WILL cause problems in years to come.

[chazza]

I agree with you backdrifter, i often eat food that is past its date if I know it is safe enough - just not sure about chicken!

It is just myself (young and healthy) that may be eating them!

[crisgal]

yeh but by the time you've defrosted them, that would be another day, wouldn't it? Personally, i wouldn't risk it.
though my husband would. In the past he has bought two doner kebabs from the takeaway, frozen one and then defrosted and eaten it a a later date! and he's still here!

[nickmo]

Bear in mind that 'use by' dates are shown as a date when the food should be consumed. 'Best before' dates are largely for the shops use in stock control, and are not necessarily for the consumers advice about quality of eating.

With poultry, it is better to go for caution as bacterial infection is easy to catch and home cases of food poisoning are on the increase anyway - don't add to the statistics!

20% of all food bought is thrown away. Fact. If we thought about what we are to eat rather than impulse buy or panic buy - or leave things out to go off - oooops - - we can save about �450 a year.

Food for thought?

[chazza]

I defrost them in the microwave though so it wouldnt be another day to defrost

[JulieB123]

OK Backdrifter, I will eat the yogurt on the day it is to be used by, but if I am ill, i will hold you responsible, lol :-)

[Backdrifter]

Nickmo, thank you for putting in perspective my comments on waste. We've become such a consumer society, loading up our cars with pounds of stuff from huge superstores - and then wasting loads of it, not to mention dumping all the additional packaging. And hardly any of us are prepared to think about it, but in the future this IS going to cause problems.

Anyway sorry for ranting off topic there. Yes there's an increase in home cases of food poisoning and I wonder what's the main cause - can it all be just people being dimwitted with food? Some of it must be. God, we're so stupid when it comes to food. We turn our noses up at straightforward fresh stuff because it's boring or horrible or too expensive, yet we happily stuff ourselves with junk packed with chemicals we can't even pronounce let alone know what they are, and spend daft sums on material goods most of which we don't need.

[Backdrifter]

By the way Chazza given it's 2 days since you posted, what happened - did you have it?

Julie, I'm sure you'll be fine but maybe to assure yourself you should just eat them before they even get to the use-by date!

[nickmo]

Hi BD - quite right to rant . . ! Just as a comment, as oil will be a thing of the past for the majority of us, a lot of the food packaging manufacturers are looking at alternatives that are both eco friendly / not reliant on the extracted oil industry, and also boi-degradable.

Corn based products are going to be the way forward it seems - one bottled water company already uses corn oil based bottles for its mineral water and many other food companies are taking heed of the consumer comments about this.

Lidl charge for their plastic bags - 3p is not a lot to accept on the bill, even on a budget - and other s/markets are looking at this as well too in the UK, and I hope it becomes the norm, in an effort to reduce the waste.

The Scottish Assoc. Farmers' Markets have just released a 'bag for life' made from sustainable jute that is available at the markets for only �2 and I hope we will see this sort of product become the 'must have' and not see loads of plastic bags being carried when trying to shop ethically as well as eco friendly.


And chazza seems to have been forbidden to post from the hospital bed . . . . ...

[chazza]

Its still in the freezer! Still not sure what to do!