- Chicken is a food that requires cold temperatures for its preservation.
The handling of food, as well as its correct storage, is essential to guarantee its quality and food safety, in order to avoid health risks. When it comes to meat, as is the case with chicken, it is especially important to know how it should be preserved, to avoid contamination by bacteria or other pathogens.
In this sense, from the European Food Information Council (EUFIC, for its acronym in English) they remind that foods labeled with an expiration date must be kept in the refrigerator to reduce the risk of poisoning. However, “when they are open, it is not always easy to know when the food is still safe to eat or if it should be thrown away,” they say.
How should chicken meat be stored?
In the first place, chicken is a food that requires cold temperatures for its preservation, so whether it is cooked or raw, it will have to be put in the refrigerator to avoid the proliferation of bacteria that can cause poisoning.
“Since microbial growth is slower at lower temperatures, raw meat, fish, and poultry should be stored in sealed containers on the bottom shelf of your refrigerator, as this is usually the coldest part,” adds Dr. EUFIC. In this way, the organism indicates that the chicken can be kept in the refrigerator for a period of three days.
Foods labelled with ‘keep refrigerated’ & most foods with a ‘use by’ date should be kept in the fridge, so they stay safe and the risk of #foodpoisoning is reduced. 📉
However, when open, it's not always easy to know when foods are still safe to eat or need to be thrown away. 👇 pic.twitter.com/zEGpIuoAbH
— European Food Information Council (EUFIC) (@EUFIC) September 13, 2022
According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), raw chicken meat can be kept in the refrigerator for one to two days, while cooked chicken can be kept in the refrigerator for up to four days. If it has been used in soups or stews, it can also be kept in the fridge for up to three or four days.