I just ate some spoiled chicken. So scared of food poisoning.

[carrhart]

Oh man, I haven't signed on here in so long, since my anxiety has improved a lot in the past few years. But I find myself freaking out right now.

So today I bought some Sara Lee lunch meat and nibbled on it a bit when I got home earlier in the day and it seemed to be fine. Then about a half hour ago I took it out of the fridge to make a sandwich, had a few bites, and thought it smelled a bit off. It was the "Cajun Chicken" kind, so it's a little spicy and I kind of dismissed the odd smell of it at first because of that. (I might mention I've been a vegetarian for almost 9 years and only recently started eating meat again, so I stupidly didn't think to check.) The date on the package said June 6th. I took it over to my boyfriend and asked him if it smelled rotten to him, and he immediately recoiled and said "oh god get that away from me. Throw that away!" He was amazed that I was even able to take a few bites of it without immediately knowing it had gone bad.

So now I'm really afraid that I'll get food poisoning, that I've eaten too much Salmonella or whatever and it's only a matter of time. I can't actually tell if I feel sick yet or not. My stomach is empty besides the few bites I had, and I'm getting so anxious my head is spinning. When will I know if I'll actually be sick? Is there any way to prevent it, or is it inevitable?

And might I say, I've missed this community a lot. You're all so supportive and helpful, and I appreciate you all.

[MarrickFait]

It would be best to rationalise the situation. Do you feel sick? Any sourfeeling distinct from anxiety...? I should say, you would know within 20 minutes. People who aren't that in tune, or do not practice total body proprioception (entroception and introception or whatever it's called) will usually forgo the immediate symptoms, which are usually bloating and indigestion. But again,take it easy ^-^"

[gumdropper1]

Wow, this is the kind of thread that makes me wonder if I'm crazy for being emet. I think a normal person in your situation would be calling poison control and asking if vomiting should be induced.

But to answer your question, it's processed chicken so it is probably not containing anything harmful. Most of the time when food goes what we think of as "bad," it merely affects the taste and appearance and doesn't contain anything toxic.

Or you could call poison control at (800) 222-1222.

[MarrickFait]

^That and, it's usually a sell by date.

[cinque]

Sorry you're going through this! I think you have a good chance of being okay - I don't think you'd get salmonella poisoning from it. I think that is more when chicken has not been properly cooked. It's bad that the meat went off on the use-by date; it should still be okay to eat on the use-by date.

I don't think a 'normal' person would be calling poison control. I don't feel there's serious danger involved. I wonder whether it really was that bad or just smelt strong because of the flavouring? I think the fact you only took a few bites also goes in your favour. Let us know how you are feeling. I'm sorry I can't give more definite reassurance xxx

[carrhart]

Thank you all for your helpful reassurances. I made it through the night just fine! I think I really let my boyfriend's reaction trigger me, and if he hadn't freaked out about it so much I probably would have just decided, "Eh, this doesn't taste very good, I'll just put it back" and moved on. But the fact that he was so alarmed that I actually ate it made me panic. I tried to keep that in mind and tell myself if I hadn't put so much energy into worrying, I would feel just fine and dandy and think nothing of it.

But now I will definitely be way more careful about meat products so this kind of thing doesn't happen again! Thanks again everybody.

[spilled_milk]

I would call the store you bought it from and report it. They will probably give you a refund but, more importantly, they will check that batch and make sure it's okay and it's good to let the administration know that their meat storing practices might not be that great.

[Erica1649]

Are you feeling ok? Today is te sixth so it shouldn't be bad. Hope you were ok!

[jbsmom]

glad to hear you made it ok. I know how frustrating that can be. I have thrown away many items thinking that they are bad when I bet they were perfectly fine. The way food is processed puts so much preservatives in it we really dont have anything to worry about. My mom freaked me out one day by eating some chicken nuggets that had been in my car overnight. My son didnt eat all of his happy meal and when she got in the next day she started munching on them. I screamed and she calmly said, I know these are from yesterday but they are fine. And of course they were.