AboutCarol Schlitt Expertise I can answer questions on home food safety, sanitation, home food preservation and commercial food safety (HACCP).
Experience I am an Extension educator, nutrition, wellness and food safety. I am a certified HACCP manager and a food safety instructor for the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Organizations International Association for Food Protection, American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (Certified CFCS), National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, Society for Nutrition Education.
Education/Credentials BS - University of Illinois
MS - Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville
Question I opened a package of chicken that smelled bad. I washed the blood off the chicken under cold running water. Then the odor was gone. Is the chicken safe to cook and eat?
Thanks,
Angie
Answer Hi Angie,
Our general rule of thumb is if chicken has an off odor when opening the package, our suggestion is to not use the chicken. The smell you experienced was probably due to food spoilage organisms which cause off flavors, odors and color changes in food. In your case, it caused an off odor which was concentrated in the liquid (blood and other liquids)surrounding the chicken. While food spoilage organisms do not make you ill, they do cause unpleasant flavor and color changes that most people find unacceptable to consume.
Also, for food spoilage organisms to be present that cause a noticeable odor, this is an indication that other organisms which do not give signals they are present (such as salmonella)have had an opportunity to grow to a level that could cause illness. While many of these later organisms can be killed by cooking, some produce toxins that are not inactivated by cooking. In other words, cooking, while normally makes a food safe to eat, in this case would not.
So....since we don't know if the food is only contaminated with food spoilage organisms, my suggestion would be to not cook and eat the chicken.
