Left Chicken in Car--Am I going to die

You're fine.

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Am I going to die

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My professional opinion...... Yep.

if it didn't smell bad it should be fine.

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Am I going to die?

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Eventually.


Whether or not the chicken has anything to do with it remains to be seen.

You should probably stay close to a toilet, but you won't die.

With chicken and other proteins, there's a recommended safe zone between 40 and 140 degrees. The food can only hang around in between those temps for a limited time because the longer the food sits in that unsafe environment (danger zone), the faster the bacteria begin to spread. Two hours is sort of a minimum standard, four is pushing it, also depending on how cold your chicken was when you purchased it. The bacteria are what you're most concerned about, which is why we can cook different meats to different temps. It also depends on whether you purchased thin strips or whole chickens. Obviously, whole chickens will remain colder longer.

It's actually recommended that you NOT cook protein immediately after coming out of the fridge anyway. The fibers will tighten up and you'll have tough meat. If they're whole birds, I actually will intentionally leave them out for a couple of hours.

As was said however, a hospital bill is far more expensive than your $20 from Costco.