Bought some chick breasts on Sunday. Was going to eat tonight. The label stuck to something else and so is illegible. Smells normal. But I don’t know the use by.
Ok to eat?
(I’m embarrassed to post this but need to make a call)
Probably. If you fully cook it, I don’t think there’s any danger even if it did start to putrify, but it might not taste very good.
If it starts to putrify it could be host to Clostridium botulinum or (another similar anaerobic bacteria like C. perfringens) which produces a toxin that will survive cooking. However, if there is no smell, bloating, or gross discoloration, it is doubtful that there is any growth or toxin production. Generally you can keep chicken refrigerated at 50 °F for at least 4-5 days past the “Sell By” date without a problem unless you are doing sous vide. As @iiandyiiii says, you should cook it thoroughly (firm to the touch, no pink inside or liquid flowing from a cut) and not let it set out for more than 45 minutes after cooking.
Stranger
^ What he said.
Or, “when in doubt, throw it out.”
If it’s been in the fridge for almost a week, uncooked, it’s likely to give you a seriously bad time on the toilet the day after.
You be the judge if it’s worth it.
Do you trust your nose? Is your fridge cold?
If you don’t smell nasty odors. Or see obviously change in the way it should look.
Cook it til really done.
First bite tastes completely ok. It’s ok.
But, like said, when in doubt, throw it out.
I look at it this way: what would you pay NOT to have a stomach upset, diarrhea or food poisoning?
If that’s more value to you than replacing the food, then discard the old stuff and buy new.
A lot depends on how cold your fridge is and whether the chicken was in the coldest part of it. Chicken tends to keep longer than beef. If this was beef I’d say no way I’d eat it after 5 days – my limit is two days. Smell and appearance are usually reliable guides – especially smell – but for raw chicken I’d say five days is borderline at best. It’s probably OK but if it was me I’d throw it out, unless it was in a part of the fridge so cold that it was developing ice crystals. There’s a lot of stuff I’ll consume past its best-by date, but I’m skittish about raw meats.
Around here, packaged chicken breasts almost always have a Sell By date more than a week into the future. 8-10 days is typical. And that’s at refrigerator temperatures.
Assuming you didn’t buy deeply-discounted Manager’s Special chicken breasts that only had a few days left, you’ll be fine.
Probably. If it smells ok, and isn’t slimy, it’s likely ok. I think food-born bacteria like listeria, salmonella, etc. need to be inoculated with those B. Sp. anyway, and that isn’t common, but I don’t really know for sure. Although my one and only case of food poisoning came from a lunch I got from a supermarket. It was either the fried chicken tenders, or the salad bar. I am very hesitant toward salad bars now. But if in doubt, throw it out.
I recently discovered a can of tomatoes dated “use by 2017” and it was actually puffed out. In my 50+ years and many, many past-dated cans, I have never seen a can do this. I did not want to open it! It went straight to the trash.
Yeah I’d go for it (assuming we are talking raw not cooked chicken). Assuming it’s been in the fridge the whole time?
I’d be very particular about making sure it’s properly cooked all the way through, like high enough to kill microbes all the way to the middle. Like I’d always assume a piece of uncooked chicken has some nasty bug in it, but this lot just assume it definitely definitely has nasty bugs that need killing (and be good about washing your hands and anything it touches)
Of course your circumstances may change that answer. Is anyone in your household medically fragile?
Jesus, I’d consider raw chicken that’s been in the fridge for 10 days to be a biohazard!
Speaking of biohazards …! 
Thanks everyone. The chicken has now been in my belly for about 30 minutes. So far so good. I’ll update later.
In practice, we don’t let it get to that very last day. If we haven’t gotten to it in a week, maybe eight days, it goes into the freezer.
Dear God, what have I done?
Just kidding. We did an oven bake with it. Time for bed and all is well.
I thought 40 degrees was the guidelines for refrigerators, not 50.
Likewise, the only time I’ve cracked a bad egg, or opened a moldy carton of yogurt, those were within the use-by dates.
Actually, I thought 40F was the maximum acceptable refrigeration temperature. I try to keep my fridge just barely above 32F in the coldest section, which means around 35 to 40 elsewhere where I’ve measured it. Items way at the back of the top shelf will typically start to develop ice crystals after a few days.
My fridge is barely above freezing. Which is great for shelf life of meat, milk, and cheese, but it takes ages for anything to defrost.
I would have done what the op did. Check for bad odors or slime, and if it smelled and felt okay, cooked it well done. (I usually prefer chicken and other meat less well done, but when in doubt, over-cook.)
I’ve never had food poisoning from anything i cooked. I know there’s a risk, but those folks who say, “if you eat it you will have stomach troubles” are wrong. Yeah, you might have problems. But it’s not super likely.
You are correct; I misremembered and didn’t check food service standards.
Stranger