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Food Safety and
Inspection Service http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/pubs/facts_basics.htm United States Department of Agriculture Washington, D.C. 20250-3700 |
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Food Safety and
Inspection Service http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/pubs/facts_basics.htm United States Department of Agriculture Washington, D.C. 20250-3700 |
Safe steps in food handling, cooking, and storage are essential to prevent foodborne illness. You can't see, smell, or taste harmful bacteria that may cause illness. In every step of food preparation, follow the four Fight BAC!™ guidelines to keep food safe:
Purchase refrigerated or frozen items after selecting your non-perishables.
Never choose meat or poultry in packaging that is torn or leaking.
Do not buy food past "Sell-By," "Use-By," or other expiration dates.
Put raw meat and poultry into a plastic bag so meat juices will not cross-contaminate ready-to-eat food or food that is eaten raw, such as vegetables or fruit.
Plan to drive directly home from the grocery store. You may want to take a cooler with ice for the perishables.
Always refrigerate perishable food within 2 hours (1 hour when the temperature is above 90 °F).
Check the temperature of your refrigerator and freezer with an appliance thermometer. The refrigerator should be at 40 °F or below and the freezer at 0 °F or below.
Cook or freeze fresh poultry, fish, ground meats, and variety meats within 2 days; other beef, veal, lamb, or pork, within 3 to 5 days.
Perishable food such as meat and poultry should be wrapped securely to maintain quality and to prevent meat juices from getting onto other food.
To maintain quality when freezing meat and poultry in its original package, wrap the package again with foil or plastic wrap that is recommended for the freezer.
In general, high-acid canned food such as tomatoes, grapefruit, and pineapple can be stored on the shelf for 12 to 18 months. Low-acid canned food such as meat, poultry, fish, and most vegetables will keep 2 to 5 years -- if the can remains in good condition and has been stored in a cool, clean, and dry place. Discard cans that are dented, leaking, bulging, or rusted.
Refrigerator: The refrigerator allows slow, safe thawing. Make sure thawing meat and poultry juices do not drip onto other food.
Cold Water: For faster thawing, place food in a leak-proof plastic bag. Submerge in cold tap water. Change the water every 30 minutes. Cook immediately after thawing.
Microwave: Cook meat and poultry immediately after microwave thawing.
Cook ground meats to 160 °F; ground poultry to 165 °F.
Beef, veal, and lamb steaks, roasts, and chops may be cooked to 145 °F; all cuts of fresh pork, 160 °F.
Whole poultry should reach 180 °F in the thigh; breasts, 170 °F.
Hot food should be held at 140 °F or warmer.
Cold food should be held at 40 °F or colder.
When serving food at a buffet, keep food hot with chafing dishes, slow cookers, and warming trays. Keep food cold by nesting dishes in bowls of ice or use small serving trays and replace them often.
Perishable food should not be left out more than 2 hours at room temperature (1 hour when the temperature is above 90 °F).
Discard any food left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours (1 hour if the temperature was above 90 °F).
Place food into shallow containers and immediately put in the refrigerator or freezer for rapid cooling.
Use cooked leftovers within 4 days.
Meat and poultry defrosted in the refrigerator may be refrozen before or after cooking. If thawed by other methods, cook before refreezing.
These short, but safe, time limits will help keep refrigerated food from spoiling or becoming dangerous to eat. Because freezing keeps food safe indefinitely, recommended storage times are for quality only.
| Product | Refrigerator (40 °F) |
Freezer (0 °F) |
|---|---|---|
| Eggs | ||
| Fresh, in shell | 3 to 5 weeks | Do not freeze |
| Raw yolks & whites | 2 to 4 days | 1 year |
| Hard cooked | 1 week | Does not freeze well |
| Liquid pasteurized eggs, egg substitutes | ||
| opened | 3 days | Does not freeze well |
| unopened | 10 days | 1 year |
| Mayonnaise Commercial, refrigerate after opening |
2 months | Do not freeze |
| Frozen Dinners &
Entrees Keep frozen until ready to heat |
-- | 3 to 4 months |
| Deli & Vacuum-Packed Products | ||
| Store-prepared (or homemade) egg, chicken, ham, tuna, & macaroni salads | 3 to 5 days | Does not freeze well |
| Hot dogs & Luncheon Meats | ||
| Hot dogs | ||
| opened package | 1 week | 1 to 2 months |
| unopened package | 2 weeks | 1 to 2 months |
| Luncheon meat | ||
| opened package | 3 to 5 days | 1 to 2 months |
| unopened package | 2 weeks | 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" | ||
| opened | 3 weeks | 1 to 2 months |
| unopened | 3 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" | ||
| opened | 3 to 5 days | 1 to 2 months |
| unopened | 6 to 9 months | Do not 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 |
| half | 3 to 5 days | 1 to 2 months |
| 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 breasts stuffed with dressing | 1 day | Does not freeze well |
| Soups & Stews Vegetable or meat added |
3 to 4 days | 2 to 3 months |
| Cooked Meat Leftovers | ||
| Cooked meat & meat casseroles | 3 to 4 days | 2 to 3 months |
| Gravy & 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 Leftovers | ||
| 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, cooked | 3 to 4 days | 1 to 2 months |
| Stuffing, cooked | 3 to 4 days | 1 month |
Meat and Poultry Hotline:
FSIS Web site: www.fsis.usda.gov
"The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer."
For Further Information Contact:
FSIS Food Safety
Education Staff
Meat and Poultry Hotline:
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