Raw Chicken in Fridge...How Long is Too Long?

[gulfporter]

This is such a rookie question, I should be embarrassed.  

 

But it's been a long time since I bought bone-in chicken parts.  

 

I bought bone-in skin-on chicken thighs his morning (Saturday) that I plan to make for dinner on Monday.  

 

The sell-by date on the package is exactly a week from today, but I'd never dream of keeping them in the fridge that long before cooking.

 

How long do you keep cut-up bone-in chicken parts in the fridge after purchase?  

[Chris Hennes]

I generally figure that if I am going to need more than three days, I re-pack with a food saver to stretch it out to perhaps five or six. Three days or fewer and I just leave it packed as the store had it.

[KennethT]

There have been times that I have made chicken parts using them right up to the sell-by date with no issues...  I also keep my refrigerator really cold - on the verge of freezing though....

[Shelby]

10 minutes ago, Chris Hennes said:

I generally figure that if I am going to need more than three days, I re-pack with a food saver to stretch it out to perhaps five or six. Three days or fewer and I just leave it packed as the store had it.

Ditto.

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, Chris Hennes said:

I generally figure that if I am going to need more than three days, I re-pack with a food saver to stretch it out to perhaps five or six. Three days or fewer and I just leave it packed as the store had it.

 

 Chris,

You are not the first person who has suggested that vacuum packaging for refrigerator storage will prolong the life of meats. My food safety alarms are ringing loudly. Tell me I am being silly. 

[huiray]

2 hours ago, gulfporter said:

But it's been a long time since I bought bone-in chicken parts.

 

I, on the other hand, can't remember the last time I bought boneless chicken parts.

 

I've kept my bone-in chicken in the fridge for longer than what Chris H says (without repackaging) and been none the worst for it. It *does* depend also on how fresh the parts were when packaged. On occasion I've done a "fei sui" treatment on parts that were beginning to smell, or alternatively washed them well under the tap taking care to pull off fat and interposing tissues (where the "smell" really originates). Then use the pieces in a dish where it is definitely *cooked*. There is a cross-over line that I know but can't define when I will toss the package instead.

Edited January 9, 2016 by huiray (log)

[btbyrd]

50 minutes ago, Anna N said:

 

 Chris,

You are not the first person who has suggested that vacuum packaging for refrigerator storage will prolong the life of meats. My food safety alarms are ringing loudly. Tell me I am being silly. 

 

Any particular reason your food safety alarms are ringing loudly?

[Katie Meadow]

Instinctively 2-3 days seems about right--or at least that's what I do, and that goes for meat as well as chicken but I admit to being a tad squeamish about raw protein. A couple of posts suggest some distinction between bone-in and boneless when it comes to chicken. Why? I've always treated them the same. I also do note the sell-by date and of course try to buy the freshest product, but would never keep meat or chicken in the fridge for the length of that date. 

[Anna N]

31 minutes ago, btbyrd said:

 

Any particular reason your food safety alarms are ringing loudly?

 

Yes.  If you read the literature that accompanies a food saver there is no indication that the life span of meat can be extended by simply sealing it and tossing it in the refrigerator.  I am perfectly willing to be educated if I'm wrong.  

[Arey]

I keep them as little time as possible.  At most a day or two.  If I'm not going to cook them right away or the day after I bought them, I freeze them.  I also try to buy ones with the most distant sell by date, and if that's only a day or two away I don't buy it.  Having a very poor sense of smell I like to play it safe.

[blue_dolphin]

19 minutes ago, Anna N said:

 

Yes.  If you read the literature that accompanies a food saver there is no indication that the life span of meat can be extended by simply sealing it and tossing it in the refrigerator.  I am perfectly willing to be educated if I'm wrong.  

 

I sort of assumed that they were using the food saver to preserve quality (prevent the combination of dried out edges and waterlogged bottoms) rather than actually extending the safety window.   But I will be curious to hear more info.

[Martin Fisher]

It's impossible to know the handling history of said raw chicken and since the pathogen load and possible toxin content of said raw chicken are unknown, I don't think it's wise to refrigerator it more than one day unless it's heavily iced (crushed ice preferred.)

Edited January 9, 2016 by DiggingDogFarm (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I agree with DiggingDogFarm, especially if the chicken has come from our mainstream agribusiness food supply, known to be commonly contaminated with salmonella. Those little critters multiply at exponential rates. I find little, if any, quality degradation from freezing chicken, so that's what I usually do. I will refrigerate, if I'm going to use it the next day. Then I handle it like nuclear waste, and cook thoroughly while trying not to dry it out too much. I use a meat thermometer before serving. I use the "Joy of Cooking" recommendation of 160F for breast meat and 170F for dark meat, and have never had any health issues with any chicken coming from my kitchen.

 

Keeping your fridge on the "verge of freezing" as KennethT suggests, will extend the life of not only raw meats, but milk, and everything else in there. You just have to be careful, use an inexpensive fridge/freezer thermometer, and not make too large adjustments to the thermostat at one time. I have frozen more than one head of iceberg lettuce trying to get a fridge stabilized. Once stabilized at 33-34 degrees F, though, I can always keep milk 4 or 5 days beyond the expiration date with no problem at all. Even produce keeps longer, once there's no danger of it freezing. It saves money and eases my mind, knowing that I'm slowing the reproduction of any bacteria present.

 

 

[weinoo]

If I don't like the way something smells, it gets tossed. I wasn't gifted this giant schnoz for no good reason.

[cdh]

Thinking in a 19th century fashion here: What about giving the raw stuff a heavy salting?  A start down the path to curing would extend the window before things go stinky and slimey, no? And you'd want the stuff seasoned when you cook it anyway.  I just noticed a pack of pork belly in my fridge that had definitely stayed there too long and I had the thought that I should have given it the salt treatment as soon as I bought it, and it would not have been a problem...

Edited January 10, 2016 by cdh (log)

[Chris Hennes]

20 hours ago, Anna N said:

 

Yes.  If you read the literature that accompanies a food saver there is no indication that the life span of meat can be extended by simply sealing it and tossing it in the refrigerator.  I am perfectly willing to be educated if I'm wrong.  

No, you're not wrong, and in fact from a food safety standpoint it's actively bad to handle the chicken again by repackaging. I don't use meat past its expiration date regardless of packaging or repackaging. But if I buy a chicken that is seven days out from its expiration date and I plan on using it in the 3-6 day window I find that the taste and smell are better if it has been vacuum sealed for the duration. Freezing would be a fine solution as well, and superior from a food safety standpoint. Since I cook chicken sous vide the vacuum packing is convenient.

[Martin Fisher]

FWIW.....

"The presence of pathogens [disease causing organisms] in food usually cannot be detected by sight or smell..."

Source:  " FOOD SAFETY HAZARDS AND CONTROLS FOR THE HOME FOOD PREPARER" http://www.hi-tm.com/homeprep/Home-2006-2col-forpdf.pdf

 

There's lots of great food safety information on Dr. O. Peter "Pete" Snyder's website:  http://www.hi-tm.com/

Edited January 10, 2016 by DiggingDogFarm (log)

[Martin Fisher]

9 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

....contaminated with salmonella. Those little critters multiply at exponential rates.

 

Yep.

Some pathogens reproduce at fridge temperatures.

That's potentially very dangerous if pathogen loads are initially high.

Edited January 10, 2016 by DiggingDogFarm (log)

[FeChef]

Just wanted to mention that some grocery stores package their meats with a blend of gases that extend the shelf life. Not saying i like the idea but if you are removing meats from these packages to vacuum seal them, you are actually shortening the shelf life. Only vacuum seal if you are going to freeze for consumption at a longer date then whats printed on the packaging, or obviously if the original package was damaged.

[weinoo]

3 hours ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

FWIW.....

"The presence of pathogens [disease causing organisms] in food usually cannot be detected by sight or smell..."

Source:  " FOOD SAFETY HAZARDS AND CONTROLS FOR THE HOME FOOD PREPARER" http://www.hi-tm.com/homeprep/Home-2006-2col-forpdf.pdf

 

There's lots of great food safety information on Dr. O. Peter "Pete" Snyder's website:  http://www.hi-tm.com/

 

 

This obviously means that even extremely fresh product can be contaminated with pathogens.  

 

So if I'm cooking my chicken in a  soup, or in a frying pan, or in an oven, aren't I killing those pathogens? 

[Martin Fisher]

21 minutes ago, weinoo said:

This obviously means that even extremely fresh product can be contaminated with pathogens.  

 

Yes.

 

22 minutes ago, weinoo said:

So if I'm cooking my chicken in a  soup, or in a frying pan, or in an oven, aren't I killing those pathogens? 

 

Yes, you'd likely be killing the pathogens but not necessarily rendering the possible disease causing toxins - produced by those pathogens - harmless.

Some pathogen derived toxins are very resistant to heat.

[Martin Fisher]

@nathanm summed it up brilliantly...

"Food safety is a statistical phenomenon - if food is very contaminated you can get sick even if you follow the guidelines; if it is not contaminated with pathogens then you can get away with a lot. That is, until you find some contamination."

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Thank you.  I was shamed into pasteurizing two chicken breasts tonight.  Anovaed two hours at 70 deg C.

[rustwood]

The free range chickens I buy are typically frozen solid.  When I want to use them I have to remember to put them in the fridge for at least 2 days and often I won't get around to actually using them for another day or two.  I realize the risks are not zero, but based on my experience I would say that they must be quite low.  Am I delusional?  Foodborne illness long overdue?

[Thanks for the Crepes]

On 1/11/2016 at 8:37 AM, rustwood said:

The free range chickens I buy are typically frozen solid.  When I want to use them I have to remember to put them in the fridge for at least 2 days and often I won't get around to actually using them for another day or two.  I realize the risks are not zero, but based on my experience I would say that they must be quite low.  Am I delusional?  Foodborne illness long overdue?

 

rustwood,

 

Free range chickens are less likely to be contaminated with salmonella, which is so rampant in USA agribusiness battery caged chickens or overcrowded barn chickens that come from our mainstream food supply. I would not worry about your practices. They seem safe for the product you are dealing with, and you are lucky to have access to a much better product than many of us are stuck with. Also salmonella does not produce a heat resistant toxin like e-coli,  or colustridum botulinum, so thoroughly cooking salmonella ridden chicken is still safe to eat, which is apparently why our government tolerates this contaminant in our food.