How long does chicken stay good in the fridge for?

I put some raw frozen chicken breast in teh fridge last thursday and I totally forgot about it. Can I still use it? I dont want to waste it!

Executive Member Joined: May 22 2012 Posts: 439

It also depends how long it sat in the store for.
This happened to me few weeks ago too. Think it was fri-mon though.
I just trusted my sense of smell, it smelled normal, so I used it - no problems.

So it was frozen when I bought it. Is that better? It smelled alright. The meat seemed to be a bit dryer or tougher than usual. What does bad chicken smell like?

Thursday to Wednesday?
No way.
You should discard it.
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Really Awesome Mom!

Senior Member Joined: Feb 12 2012 Posts: 120

It could be okay, but that's a long time, and it's really one of those things you don't want to learn the hard way. I also once had to throw out a whole pack of chicken I forgot about. The longest I would trust raw chicken in the fridge for is 2 full days. Don't risk it past that, though I know how upsetting it is to have to throw it out.

So upsetting. I feel like im throwing away money. And I feel bad for the poor chicken who lost its life for no reason!!

Active Poster Joined: Jul 20 2010 Posts: 39

I found this on the USDA site
After thawing in the refrigerator, items such as ground meat, stew meat, poultry, seafood, should remain safe and good quality for an additional day or two before cooking; red meat cuts (such as beef, pork or lamb roasts, chops and steaks) 3 to 5 days. Food thawed in the refrigerator can be refrozen without cooking, although there may be some loss of quality.

so, it is probably too late for your chicken.
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Tamar Genger MA, RD