What if chicken smells sour

However, people should ensure that they drink plenty of fluids, especially if they experience vomiting or diarrhea. To replace fluids and electrolytes, a person can drink: water. Thoroughly cooking chicken, poultry products, and meat destroys germs. Raw and undercooked meat and poultry can make you sick.

Most raw poultry contains Campylobacter. It also may contain Salmonella, Clostridium perfringens, and other bacteria. Though the scent of fresh ground beef is barely perceptible, rancid meat has a tangy, putrid odor. Cooking food to degrees F will kill most bacteria. Even after washing it, if it feels kind of sticky, that chicken has gone bad. Last but not least, it is important to remember exactly when we bought the chicken.

This is a very simple way to tell if raw chicken has gone bad. Remember that we can leave chicken meat in the fridge for no more than 4 days. Also, we can keep chicken in our freezer for 4 months. This will allow us to avoid getting an upset stomach or even food poisoning. Skip to content. If the color of the chicken begins to look duller, you should use it soon before it goes bad. Once it looks more grey than pink, it is already too late. Smell the chicken.

Raw chicken that has gone bad has a very potent odor. Some describe it as a "sour" smell, while others liken it to the scent of ammonia. If the chicken has begun to take on an unpleasant or strong odor of any sort, it is best to discard it. Feel the chicken. Is it slimy? The touch test is a little more difficult than the color or smell test because chicken naturally has a glossy, somewhat slimy feeling to it. If this slime remains even after rinsing the chicken under water, however, there is a good chance that the chicken has spoiled.

If the chicken feels unusually sticky, it has almost certainly gone bad. Did you make this recipe? Leave a review. Method 2. Look for an ice crust. If there is a thick layer of ice around your chicken then it is no longer good.

A flash-frozen chicken will not have a thick crust if done properly. If the ice is white it could be an issue with freezer burn. Check for freezer burn. It is rougher than the skin around it and raised slightly. Analyze the color. A frozen chicken is harder to check for color. It will be off color, similar to the raw or cooked chicken, a slight grey or yellowing of fat.

If it is darker than grey, that chicken belongs in the trash bin. Method 3. The smell test can work for cooked chicken as well as it can for raw chicken, but it is sometimes more difficult to distinguish the smell of bad chicken if spices and other seasonings are masking the odor.

Check for changes in color, if possible. Sometimes this is not possible if the chicken has been breaded or if the color was altered by a glaze or marinade. If chicken that cooked white begins to look grey, it is no longer safe to eat. Look for mold. Mold is one of the most obvious signs of rotten, decaying, bad chicken. If green, or black fuzz, or any organic growth of any kind has begun to form on the chicken, it has gone very bad and should be discarded immediately.

Even the smell of chicken this 'off' may make you ill. Taste the chicken before you swallow it. If you feel uncertain about whether or not cooked chicken is still good, but do not want to waste it if it still is, you can cautiously take a bite. Instead of chewing and swallowing the chicken immediately, though, you should pause and carefully analyze the flavor.

Method 4. Check the "Sell By" date. This alone is not always a good indication of whether or not raw chicken is still good because the "Sell By" date only dictates at which point chicken can no longer be sold to consumers.

Instead of relying on the "Sell By" date, it is best to use it as a means of confirming whether or not chicken you suspect has gone bad is actually past its prime. The first refers to the date the chicken was packaged and is intended for use by manufacturers and retailers, rather than consumers.

This reduces the time it spends in your cart in the danger zone. Before putting the chicken in the freezer, write the purchase date on the package to keep track 2 , 4.

In the fridge, fresh uncooked chicken can last 1—2 days 2 , 4. If you have already cooked the chicken, you need to eat it within days, and you should always store it in the refrigerator. Be sure to store it in the refrigerator or freezer within 2 hours to prevent spoilage.

Being able to tell when your chicken has gone bad will help keep you and your family safe from foodborne illness. Fresh raw chicken is usually a light pink color with white pieces of fat, has little to no odor, and is soft and moist. If your chicken is slimy, has a foul smell, or has changed to a yellow, green, or gray color, these are signs that your chicken has gone bad.

A healthy kitchen depends on your knowledge of how to safely cook and store your food. Baking chicken or cooking any poultry comes with the potential for foodborne illnesses like salmonella.

Learn how long to bake a chicken and at what…. Chicken comes in a variety of cuts, including breasts, thighs, wings and drumsticks. This article explores how much protein is in different cuts. Given that chicken has a high risk of bacterial contamination, preparing, cooking, and storing it properly is important.