Chicken is a global food. Globally, millions of delicacies are made out of chicken. Purchasing raw chicken from the store and cooking it at home, on a Sunday is the best thing to do. Chances are 1 in every 4 pieces of chicken may contain bacterial particles. That can make your stomach upset. Consuming that raw chicken can put you down with food poisoning too.
If the chicken is stored, packed, and properly refrigerated, small negligible changes can be considered. But if it is old and has gone stale, you must return it and ask for some fresh stock. Otherwise, go straight away to the next store.
Look for the Following to Identify if the Chicken is Good or Bad:
1. Find spots on the raw chicken:
If you’re in doubt that the raw chicken is going stale, observe for any spots you can see. Yellowish, green, or grey color spots. These are the signs that the chicken is going stale. If you can see light pink color, and white color on the fat part, then the raw chicken is completely fine. Checking the color of the raw chicken is the best way to know if it’s good for consumption or not.
2. Glue-like:
If not by observing the colors, the raw chicken can also be judged by the touch of it. Good or normal raw chicken is moist to the touch. If it has a sticky feel it is not in the condition to be consumed. You can wash the raw chicken once again to confirm. But if it still has the same feel of stickiness or feels glue-like, there’s no point in doing multiple checks. Dispose of it and buy a new one.
3. Smell:
Our senses are the best judge to identify whether a thing is good or bad. Why not use those senses to our advantage? Raw chicken has a smell in particular. A smell similar to rotten eggs. A musty or wet smell that is unpleasant is a sign of bad chicken or spoilt chicken. Sometimes the raw chicken can also leave a sweet smell with a rotten egg-like smell. If that is the case, it’s time to say goodbye to the chicken. Discard it and get a new fresh one from the nearby store.
4. Check expiration date:
This is one of the basic things anyone can do. Even if kept in the refrigerator, you should not keep the chicken for more than 2 to 3 days. On the contrary, you can keep the chicken frozen for 4 months. But once it’s out and starts softening it should be consumed within 2 days. This is as advised by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). When purchasing the chicken look at the expiry date immediately. It should be at least 4 to 5 days which is the bare minimum.
5. Can get bad after cooking:
After cooking if the chicken seems extra spongy than ever, and has a slimy or sticky texture that too isn’t good for consumption. Similar to raw chicken, cooked chicken also has a short shelf life. Inside the refrigerator, cooked chicken has a life of 3 to 4 days. Not more than that. If it’s older than 3 to 4 days, dispose of the chicken safely.
What will happen if you eat rotten chicken?
A condition called salmonella infection will be the result of eating a rotten or a bad chicken. The symptoms of it are stomach upset, cramps in the stomach, fever, vomiting, and diarrhea.
The onset of salmonella will happen after 6 to 8 hours of consuming the chicken. Much medical treatment isn’t actually needed. But if the diarrhea isn’t getting depleted after some time, a visit to the doctor’s clinic is advised. Everybody has a different body mechanism. Reactions of every person’s body are different. So a visit to the doctor is no harm. Take medicines as advised and get better. In very rare cases, consuming such chicken can lead to food poisoning.
Can salmonella be serious?
The onset of salmonella can be serious, but very rarely. The fever, and stomach upset can get too much at times. Even your vomit can contain blood. Most people when hospitalized get better within 4 to 5 days. In severe cases, if the diarrhea doesn’t stop, the doctor may suggest antibiotic treatment. With the antibiotic treatment, the germs get killed which have entered the body due to consuming the rotten chicken.
Symptoms of E.Coli
This is similar to salmonella. The symptoms in E.Coli can be seen after 3 to 4 days of consuming the rotten chicken. It happens later as compared to salmonella. More than 50% of the people who suffer from E.Coli complain of blood in their diarrhea. It is accompanied by fever, feeling of drowsiness, and cramps in the stomach.
The infection can remain in the body anywhere between 2 to 15 days depending on the person’s health.
Conclusion:
Any of the mentioned ways seems to be working in identifying the quality of the chicken, it simply means it should not be used. The quality of the chicken has gone below usability. It should not be used anymore. Consumption of bad quality chicken will cause infections like salmonella or e.coli. Hence, it’s best to dispose it of and bring a new fresh one from the market.
Also Read: 6 Easy and Healthy Tips to Upgrade Your Frozen Dinner
