Cold Food Storage Chart
Thanks to the USDA and FDA center for food safety and applied nutrition.
| Product | Refrigerator (40° F) | Freezer (0° F) |
| Eggs | ||
| Fresh, in shell | 3 to 5 weeks | Don't freeze |
| Raw yolks, whites | 2 to 4 days | 1 year |
| Hardcooked | 1 week | Don't freeze well |
|
Liquid pasteurized eggs, egg substitutes, unopened |
3 days 10 days |
Don't freeze well 1 year |
| Mayonnaise | ||
| commercial refrigerate after opening | 2 months | Doesn't freeze |
| Deli & Vacuum-Packed Products | ||
| Store-prepared (or homemade) egg, chicken, ham, tuna, macaroni salads | 3 to 5 days | Doesn't freeze well |
| Hot dogs & Luncheon Meats | ||
|
Hot dogs, unopened package |
1 week 2 weeks |
1 to 2 months 1 to 2 months |
|
Luncheon meats, opened package unopened package |
3 to 5 days 2 weeks |
1 to 2 months 1 to 2 months |
| Bacon & Sausage | ||
| Bacon | 7 days | 1 month |
| Sausage, raw from chicken, turkey, pork, beef | 1 to 2 days | 1 to 2 months |
| Smoked breakfast links, patties | 7 days | 1 to 2 months |
| Hard sausage--pepperoni, jerky sticks | 2 to 3 weeks | 1 to 2 months |
|
Summer sausage--labeled "Keep Refrigerated" unopened |
3 weeks 3 months |
1 to 2 months 1 to 2 months |
| Ham, Corned Beef | ||
| Corned beef, in pouch with pickling juices | 5 to 7 days | Drained, 1 month |
|
Ham, canned--labeled "Keep Refrigerated" unopened |
3 to 5 days 6 to 9 months |
1 to 2 months Doesn't freeze |
| Ham, fully cooked vacuum sealed at plant, undated, unopened | 2 weeks | 1 to 2 months |
| Ham, fully cooked vacuum sealed at plant, dated, unopened | "use by" date on package | 1 to 2 months |
| Ham, fully cooked, whole | 7 days | 1 to 2 months |
| Ham, fully cooked, half | 3 to 5 days | 1 to 2 months |
| Ham, fully cooked, slices | 3 to 4 days | 1 to 2 months |
| Hamburger, Ground & Stew Meat | ||
| Hamburger & stew meat | 1 to 2 days | 3 to 4 months |
| Ground turkey, veal, pork, lamb & mixtures of them | 1 to 2 days | 3 to 4 months |
| Fresh Beef, Veal, Lamb, Pork | ||
| Steaks | 3 to 5 days | 6 to 12 months |
| Chops | 3 to 5 days | 4 to 6 months |
| Roasts | 3 to 5 days | 4 to 12 months |
| Variety meats--tongue, liver, heart, kidneys, chitterlings | 1 to 2 days | 3 to 4 months |
| Pre-stuffed, uncooked pork chops, lamb chops, or chicken breast stuffed with dressing | 1 day | Don't freeze well |
| Soup & Stews | ||
| Vegetable or meat added | 3 to 4 days | 2 to 3 months |
| Meat Leftovers | ||
| Cooked meat and meat casseroles | 3 to 4 days | 2 to 3 months |
| Gravy and meat broth | 1 to 2 days | 2 to 3 months |
| Fresh Poultry | ||
| Chicken or turkey, whole | 1 to 2 days | 1 year |
| Chicken or turkey, pieces | 1 to 2 days | 9 months |
| Giblets | 1 to 2 days | 3 to 4 months |
| Cooked Poultry | ||
| Fried chicken | 3 to 4 days | 4 months |
| Cooked poultry casseroles | 3 to 4 days | 4 to 6 months |
| Pieces, plain | 3 to 4 days | 4 months |
| Pieces covered with broth, gravy | 1 to 2 days | 6 months |
| Chicken nuggets, patties | 1 to 2 days | 1 to 3 months |
| Pizza | ||
| Pizza | 3 to 4 days | 1 to 2 months |
| Stuffing | ||
| Stuffing--cooked | 3 to 4 days | 1 month |
| Beverages, Fruit | ||
| Juices in cartons, fruit drinks, punch | 3 weeks unopened 7 to 10 days opened |
8 to 12 months |
| Dairy | ||
| Butter | 1 to 3 months | 6 to 9 months |
| Buttermilk | 7 to 14 days | 3 months |
| Cheese, Hard (such as Cheddar, Swiss) | 6 months, unopened 3 to 4 weeks, opened |
6 months |
| Cheese Soft (such as Brie, Bel Paese) | 1 week | 6 months |
| Cottage Cheese, Ricotta | 1 week | Doesn't freeze well |
| Cream Cheese | 2 weeks | Doesn't freeze well |
| Cream--Whipped, ultrapasteurized | 1 month | Doesn't freeze |
| Cream--Whipped, Sweetened | 1 day | 1 to 2 months |
| Cream--Aerosol can, real whipped cream | 3 to 4 weeks | Doesn't freeze |
| Cream--Aerosol can, non dairy topping | 3 months | Doesn't freeze |
| Cream, Half and Half | 3 to 4 days | 4 months |
| Eggnog, commercial | 3 to 5 days | 6 months |
| Margarine | 4 to 5 months | 12 months |
| Milk | 7 days | 3 months |
| Pudding | package date; 2 days after opening | Doesn't freeze |
| Sour cream | 7 to 21 days | Doesn't freeze |
| Yogurt | 7 to 14 days | 1 to 2 months |
| Dough | ||
| Tube cans of rolls, biscuits, pizza dough, etc. | Use-by-date | Don't freeze |
| Ready-to-bake pie crust | Use-by-date | 2 months |
| Cookie dough | Use-by-date unopened or opened | 2 months |
| Fish | ||
| Lean fish (cod, flounder, haddock, sole, etc.) | 1 to 2 days | 6 months |
| Fatty fish (bluefish, mackerel, salmon, etc.) | 1 to 2 days | 2 to 3 months |
| Cooked fish | 3 to 4 days | 4 to 6 months |
| Smoked fish | 14 days or date on vacuum package | 2 months in vacuum package |
| Shellfish | ||
| Shrimp, scallops, crayfish, squid, shucked clams, mussels and oysters | 1 to 2 days | 3 to 6 months |
| Live clams, mussels, crab, lobster and oysters | 2 to 3 days | 2 to 3 months |
| Cooked shellfish | 3 to 4 days | 3 months |
Note: These short but safe time limits will help keep refrigerated foods from spoiling or becoming dangerous to eat. Because freezing keeps food safe indefinitely, recommended storage times are for quality only. Storage times are from date of purchase unless specified on chart. It is not important if a date expires after food is frozen.
