Sell by / use by ?

[my3sonsagn]

I was planning to cook chicken tonight... until I noticed that it said sell by yesterday's date. Would it still be okay to use today or does sell by = use by?

TIA!

 

[wvjules]

Smell it?

I'm sure it is probably ok however the sell by is my personal "use by" date. I never eat anything past the sell by date. DBF thinks I'm nuts.

 

[pyrxtc]

You can usually use it for a few days past the sell by date. A lot of times I buy meats discounted to use within the next week because it is the exipration date that day ro the next.

 

[SAHDad]

DW is a food scientist, so she could give a more precise answer, but, assuming that the chicken was sealed, unopened, and had been properly stored, you are fine with using it. I'm pretty sure that you have anywhere from a couple days to several weeks (or more!) past the sell-by date before you have to worry about the food going bad.

 

[TinklednPants]

I say heave it. Chicken is cheap. If it is bad you'll spend as much on the six rolls of toilet paper you'll need as you would on another chicken.

 

[sbell111]

'Sell by' does not mean 'use by'.

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

I had this happen to me last night and called our local butcher. He said "most stores" will put a sell by date on it with the expectation that it is used no more than 3 days later...sometimes as many as 7.

 

[Luv2Scrap]

I'm pretty picky about expiration dates, but as long as it didn't have any... foul (LOL) odor, I'd use it a day after the sell by date.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

Sell by is fine if it was properly refridgerated. I wouldn't if it was 3 + days past that date.

I also go by look/smell because I don't care what the date is if it looks or smells bad. Sometimes stuff goes off before the date, other times it's great well past the date.

 

[my3sonsagn]

Thanks for the advice! I'm gonna try it, I think - if it were more than a day I wouldn't risk it, but hopefully it will be okay.