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Is this chicken safe to eat ?
snowy2012
27-07-2013
Hi all,

I froze a pack of fresh diced chicken breast a few weeks ago.

I took it out of the freezer at around 11.30am today and left it on the kitchen side. I forgot to put it in the fridge.

We went out all day and came home about 6pm. It had, of course, defrosted so I put it straight in the fridge.

I was planning to stir-fry it tonight but I am unsure as to whether it will be safe or not.

There is absolutely no bad smell at all from it but it DOES look a bit yellowish (slightly) and it does appear to be a bit slimy. Also there is a fair bit of "juice" in the bottom of the plastic tray.

Any thoughts on whether it will be safe to cook please ?
big brother 9
27-07-2013
i wouldnt risk it pal
the editress
27-07-2013
I would go for it, personally me.
snowy2012
27-07-2013
LOL! Thanks guys - 50/50 so far - any advance ?
Rocket Queen
27-07-2013
I find chicken really stinks if its gone off,
but if you have any doubts, bin it, I had food poisoning from fried chicken a couple of weeks ago, wasn't very nice!
abarthman
27-07-2013
Eat it and stop being such a worrier.
sixtynine
27-07-2013
With chicken I wouldn't risk it. Bin it.
cassius_west
27-07-2013
It's impossible to know. You don't know when it fully defrosted and if or when its temperature dropped below that of your average fridge. For the sake of 2 or 3 quid, I don't think it's worth the risk of food poisoning from Salmonella.

Whilst you can theoretically kill any such bugs by reaching a certain temperature during cooking, there is no way to know if the bugs produced any toxins during their reproduction, which won't be nullified by any amount of cooking.
Yeah_Jackie
27-07-2013
It has only defrosted to a state ready for cooking. Cook it!
bornfree
28-07-2013
If left out in this heat I wouldn't use it.
Hypnodisc
28-07-2013
Originally Posted by cassius_west:
“It's impossible to know. You don't know when it fully defrosted and if or when its temperature dropped below that of your average fridge. For the sake of 2 or 3 quid, I don't think it's worth the risk of food poisoning from Salmonella.

Whilst you can theoretically kill any such bugs by reaching a certain temperature during cooking, there is no way to know if the bugs produced any toxins during their reproduction, which won't be nullified by any amount of cooking.”

Maybe my food hygiene is a bit rusty, and I don't actually cook, ever; but surely if it's going to be put in an oven and incinerated at 200c surely that'll eliminate anything 'toxic'?
walterwhite
28-07-2013
I would have eaten it. People get carried away with chicken.
big brother 9
28-07-2013
did yuo eat it op?
davelovesleeds
28-07-2013
If in doubt, throw it out.
brangdon
28-07-2013
Originally Posted by Hypnodisc:
“Maybe my food hygiene is a bit rusty, and I don't actually cook, ever; but surely if it's going to be put in an oven and incinerated at 200c surely that'll eliminate anything 'toxic'?”

Cooking will kill the bugs, but it won't kill any poisons the bugs have produced. The specific danger is botulism. However, botulism is extremely rare in the UK. Only 6 known cases in the last 20 years, according to the NHS.

More common with chicken is Salmonella; you can pretty much figure every chicken has it. That doesn't produce toxic waste, so cooking it well suffices.

In this case it helps that the meat is diced, because that makes it easier to be sure the heat has got to every part of it. Cooking a whole chicken is harder to do safely because meat is a good insulator. If you test it with a thermometer, you can find that even after 90 minutes at 200c the insides still aren't hot enough. It also helps that we know the meat was defrosted properly. If it has ice crystals when you start to cook, those take surprisingly long to melt and remain as local cold spots where bacteria survive. Personally, I don't keep whole frozen chicken in my freezer because I consider them too hard to cook safely (and in the time it takes to defrost, I could go out and buy a fresh one). With diced breast that is known to be defrosted thoroughly, it is much easier to be sure it is well-cooked.

Personally in this case I'd probably risk it. However, I'm not a doctor or any kind of health scientist.
Orangemaid
28-07-2013
i would have binned it
cassius_west
28-07-2013
That's interesting to know that Salmonella doesn't produce any toxins during reproduction, so cooking well will indeed be sufficient (or ar least should be).

I know that rice is massively underestimated when it comes to food safety. The organism Bascillus Cereus grows on rice in particular and it produces a VERY nasty enterotoxin which is what makes you ill. NO amount of reheating will neutralise it.

Still no reply from the OP...

Hope they're OK lol

To be fair, many people would have left it out to defrost anyway. Had you put it in the fridge, it may not even have defrosted by the time you got home. But the issue is when did it defrost and did its temperature become warm enough to facilitate bacterial growth - questions that are impossible to answer.

All IMO and not by any means am I an expert so consume at own risk!
Orangemaid
28-07-2013
Originally Posted by cassius_west:
“That's interesting to know that Salmonella doesn't produce any toxins during reproduction, so cooking well will indeed be sufficient (or ar least should be).

I know that rice is massively underestimated when it comes to food safety. The organism Bascillus Cereus grows on rice in particular and it produces a VERY nasty enterotoxin which is what makes you ill. NO amount of reheating will neutralise it.

Still no reply from the OP...

Hope they're OK lol

To be fair, many people would have left it out to defrost anyway. Had you put it in the fridge, it may not even have defrosted by the time you got home. But the issue is when did it defrost and did its temperature become warm enough to facilitate bacterial growth - questions that are impossible to answer.

All IMO and not by any means am I an expert so consume at own risk!”

if OP took it out sooner if may have defrosted
Quote:
“I took it out of the freezer at around 11.30am today and left it on the kitchen side”

big brother 9
28-07-2013
op are you still with us?
degsyhufc
28-07-2013
Originally Posted by Yeah_Jackie:
“It has only defrosted to a state ready for cooking. Cook it!”

This. My dad in his 70s defrosts chicken on the counter top and he's had no ill effects doing it.

I myself defrost in the microwave. When you work out the timings and settings for your microwave you can defrost/cook almost anything,
PlatinumSteve
28-07-2013
Originally Posted by brangdon:
“Cooking will kill the bugs, but it won't kill any poisons the bugs have produced. The specific danger is botulism. However, botulism is extremely rare in the UK. Only 6 known cases in the last 20 years, according to the NHS.”

Botulism is anaerobic it doesn't grow in chicken exposed to oxygen. When worrying about botulism it's more about low acidity canned foods, so if you have an old can of something like mushrooms and the can has started to bulge out, or it's been dented steer clear, otherwise there is almost no fear of botulism in food exposed to air.
bornfree
28-07-2013
Originally Posted by big brother 9:
“op are you still with us?”

I don't think so
Rocket Queen
30-07-2013
I took out some chicken from freezer to make a curry tonight,
god it stunk, and felt slimey, all in date and froze properly,
I binned it , had beans on toast instead!

Where's the op gone, hope they're ok!
c00kiemonster72
31-07-2013
Originally Posted by Rocket Queen:
“Where's the op gone, hope they're ok!”

If you view their profile it shows they were active yesterday at 23:00 hrs. So it gives the impression they're ok
JJ75
31-07-2013
Originally Posted by Rocket Queen:
“I took out some chicken from freezer to make a curry tonight,
god it stunk, and felt slimey, all in date and froze properly,
I binned it , had beans on toast instead!

Where's the op gone, hope they're ok!”

I thought chicken sometimes smelt funny when it was defrosting - maybe it was that?
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