How Can You Tell If Chicken Has Gone Bad?

Chicken is one of the most versatile ingredients in the kitchen. From easy chicken recipes to more decadent dishes like Million Dollar Chicken, there are no shortage of delicious ways to enjoy the tender meat. It makes sense, then, to always have a package of chicken on hand, but when it comes to shelf life, you may wonder – how do you tell if chicken has gone bad? We talked to Texas-based private chef Aly Romero to get an expert point of view.

“When cooking chicken, it's best to use your senses.  If it looks discolored, smells bad or feels like the texture is not quite right, it's best to err on the safe side and toss it.  If you prepare it within the ‘use by’ date, it is safe to store it in the fridge and eat it within three to four days.”

How Do You Tell If Chicken Has Gone Bad?

Use both sight and smell to see if chicken has gone bad.

“You can tell that raw chicken is bad if there is an odor that is ‘off’ or it looks discolored – yellow, grey, or any other color than pink,” Romero says.

“When cooking chicken, it's best to use your senses.  If it looks discolored, smells bad or feels like the texture is not quite right, it's best to err on the safe side and toss it.  If you prepare it within the ‘use by’ date, it is safe to store it in the fridge and eat it within three to four days. ”If chicken is spoiled, you will definitely be able to smell or see the difference.

“In this case, it's not worth cooking and taking a risk. It's much safer to throw it out and purchase new chicken,” Romero says.

“Always check the sell by dates in the grocery store, sometimes the expired dates get missed,” adds Romero.

According to the USDA, the presence of bacteria is what results in food going bad and meat that exhibits questionable characteristics should not be consumed.

“Given enough time at the right temperature, spoilage bacteria can reproduce rapidly and reach very high numbers, resulting in objectionable changes in odor, taste, and texture. Spoilage bacteria can cause meat or poultry to turn a dark color, develop an objectionable odor, and become slimy from the high bacterial numbers,” the website states.

Best Way To Store Chicken

To prevent spoilage, meat should be stored at safe temperatures. 

“For meat and poultry that means storing it in the refrigerator at 40 degrees Fahrenheit,” the USDA website states. “Foods will be safe indefinitely in the freezer, but if kept more than a few days in the refrigerator, spoilage will occur."

Will Spoiled Chicken Have A Bad Smell?

Almost always, says Romero.

“You can definitely tell raw chicken is bad by the smell,” she says. “Raw chicken doesn't have much of a smell, so if it's bad, it will smell ‘off’ or like rotten eggs.”

Can Cooked Chicken Go Bad?

Yes. Just because it is cooked does not mean it can not go bad.

How Can You Tell If Cooked Chicken Is Bad?

“If you are served cooked chicken and it smells off or is slimy in texture and the color doesn't look right – or is splotchy – it may be bad,” Romero says. “It’s much better to send it back and start fresh.”

What Does The Use By Date On Chicken Mean?

“Generally, this means cooking it within 1 to 2 days of the ‘use by’ date,” she explains. “If the ‘use by’ date has already passed by two days, it's best to toss it, just to be safe.”

Romero says that checking the “use by” date on a package of meat is a good indicator of how quickly it should be prepared and consumed.