how to tell if chicken has gone bad

Raw chicken has gone bad if it smells sour, rotten, or like ammonia, looks gray/green/yellow instead of pink, or feels slimy, sticky, or tacky. If it’s past the fridge-safe window for raw chicken or you’re unsure at all, throw it out.

Quick signs

• Smell: bad chicken often has a pungent, sour, or rotten-egg odor.

• Color: fresh raw chicken is usually pink with white fat; spoilage can look gray, greenish, dull, or discolored.

• Texture: a slimy, sticky, or filmy surface is a red flag.

• Packaging: liquid leakage, strange stains, or signs it thawed and refroze are also warning signs.

Storage rule

Raw chicken should generally be refrigerated only 1 to 2 days, so even if it looks okay, age matters.

Cooked chicken

Cooked chicken that smells off, looks moldy, turns gray/green/blue, or feels mushy/slimy should be discarded.

Safe rule

When a piece of chicken seems questionable, the safest choice is to discard it rather than taste-test it.

TL;DR: smell it, look at it, touch it, and check how long it’s been in the fridge; if any part seems off, toss it.