Avoiding Food Poisoning: Essential Guidelines for Storing Chicken

Cooked some chicken and plan to store it in the fridge until your next meal? Here are crucial tips to keep you healthy.

1. Cook Soon After Purchase

Prepare chicken parts like breasts, thighs, or wings as soon as possible after purchase to avoid temperature fluctuations that lead to bacterial growth. This simple step can prevent issues like vomiting, hospital visits, and other severe cases.

2. Store Separately from Other Foods

When placing fresh chicken in the fridge, keep it away from other foods to prevent unwanted bacterial contamination. Tip: Store chicken on the bottom shelf, wrapped in an extra bag or a sealed container, to prevent drips onto other foods.

3. How Long Can You Store Fresh Chicken in the Fridge?

Fresh chicken can stay in the fridge for up to two days. Also, once thawed, it should be cooked within two days, as recommended by American health organizations.

4. How Long Can You Freeze Fresh Chicken?

If you don't plan to cook chicken immediately, it can be frozen for up to nine months.

(Photo: shutterstock)

5. How Long Can You Keep Cooked Chicken in the Fridge?

After cooking, let it stand at room temperature for up to two hours, then store it in a sealed container in the cool part of the fridge for no more than four days.

6. Can You Freeze Cooked Chicken?

Cooked chicken can be frozen for up to six months from the cooking date.

7. How to Identify Spoiled Chicken?

Even if you've followed all guidelines for proper storage, use common sense. Check the expiration date, examine its overall appearance for any change in texture or color, and smell it - if it has a strong, unpleasant odor, it's safer to discard it than take a risk.

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