Are Costco's new fried chicken bags safe? - Consumer Reports

Although my search for a plastic bag for rotisserie skewers failed, I wasn't stupid enough to leave Costco without at least one rotisserie chicken that cost me $4.99 and could feed two hungry people. My chicken was packaged in its traditional hard plastic wrapper and tray (others come in clamshell containers). I shook it like crazy over my sink and no liquid came out. It wasn't until I turned the container upside down and shook it again that a small trickle of liquid finally seeped through the pack.

I noticed that the stiff top of the old packaging was stiff and had more of a dome shape and didn't really come into contact with the top of the hot, steaming chicken inside. (This can vary depending on the size of the chicken, and of course the bottom of the chicken touches the plastic shell.) I asked Tunde Akinleye, CR's program manager for food safety testing, whether Costco's new softer plastic, which is flexible and completely in contact with hot, Cooked chicken poses more problems when it comes to plastic chemicals that could leach into food .

"The answer depends on the type of plastic bag," says Akinleye. "FDA-approved plastic bags for hot food storage include polypropylene or PP (#5 plastic) and polyethylene terephthalate or PET (#1 plastic). Both are considered safe for storing hot food. Others such as high density polyethylene or HDPE (#2 plastic) or low density polyethylene or LDPE (#4 plastic) are not as effective for hot food storage as PP or PET.

However, Akinleye adds that it is always advisable to keep hot foods in contact with plastic material for as short a time as possible. "This is because, for most types of plastic, conventional heating and high-temperature food storage can cause very small amounts of plastic additives to leach or break down the plastic polymer over time," he explains.

And under no circumstances should you reheat fried chicken in the plastic bag or other plastic, says Rogers. Instead, you can reheat skinless chicken in a skillet or glass baking dish by adding a shallow puddle of chicken broth or water, covering it with a layer or two of aluminum foil, and baking it at 375°F for 15 to 20 minutes. or until it registers 165°F on a meat thermometer .

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