# Storing frozen, raw chicken in tin foil **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 6, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-frozen-raw-chicken-in-tin-foil/549411 "2010-08-06T16:10:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Banquo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Banquo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-frozen-raw-chicken-in-tin-foil/549411/1 "2010-08-06T16:10:05Z")
I bought a package of frozen chicken breasts the other day. I’m the only one to eat them so i broke off one breast and thawed it. I put the other ones in tin foil and threw them back in the freezer. I began to wonder after if there were any bad effects, either for me or the taste of the chicken…B’GOCK! I read a few articles about tinfoil and dioxins and acids in the food affecting the foil and spoiling the chicken. Is there anything definitive on this?..CLUCK! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-frozen-raw-chicken-in-tin-foil/549411/2 "2010-08-06T16:17:33Z")
Definitive, no. But I used to do this all the time and never noticed anything off. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-frozen-raw-chicken-in-tin-foil/549411/3 "2010-08-06T16:21:28Z")
I know that acidic food like tomato sauce can eat into the foil and not only break its air-shielding/leak-preventing barrier in the process, but potentially put the resulting aluminum compounds in/on the food as well. (What effect that might have, if any, I don’t know.) I hadn’t heard of plain chicken doing it, though. ---
**Author:** ![Banquo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Banquo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-frozen-raw-chicken-in-tin-foil/549411/4 "2010-08-06T16:24:20Z")
Swell. I was sure I hadn’t missed anything major, but I didn’t want to have it cooked and get a weird taste…or some kind of foil corrosion. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-frozen-raw-chicken-in-tin-foil/549411/5 "2010-08-06T16:31:39Z")
Hmm, I would never have thought to store raw meat in tin foil because it isn’t air-tight. I always store it in plastic wrap or a zip-top bag. The only downside to tin foil that I can think of might be a bit of freezer burn. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-frozen-raw-chicken-in-tin-foil/549411/6 "2010-08-06T16:51:56Z")
Yeah, the rec’s I’ve seen is to wrap stuff in foil and _then_ stuff the whole foil-wrapped package into a zip bag. But no, I don’t think chicken would eat through the foil the way an acidic tomato sauce would. The OP’s chicken will be, at worst, dried out and freezer-burned. Mmmm … raw chicken jerky!! ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-frozen-raw-chicken-in-tin-foil/549411/7 "2010-08-06T17:06:09Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Mmmm … raw chicken jerky!! I read this as raw chicken jelly twice before realizing it said jerky. ---
**Author:** ![Banquo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Banquo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/storing-frozen-raw-chicken-in-tin-foil/549411/8 "2010-08-06T17:21:22Z")
EEW. Well it’s only been in there a day and I wrapped it pretty well.