Extension > Food > Food Safety > Preserving and preparing > Storage > Cold storage
Cold storage times
| Product | Refrigerator (40° F) | Freezer (0° F) |
|---|---|---|
Eggs |
||
| Fresh, in shell | 3 weeks | Don't freeze |
| Raw yolks, whites | 2–4 days | 1 year |
| Hardcooked | 1 weeks | Don't freeze well |
| Liquid pasteurized eggs or egg substitute — opened | 3 days | Don't freeze |
| Liquid pasteurized eggs or egg substitute — unopened | 10 days | 1 year |
Mayonnaise |
||
| Commercial, refrigerate after opening | 2 months | Don't freeze |
TV dinners, frozen casseroles |
||
| Keep frozen until ready to serve | – | 3–4 months |
Deli & vacuum-packed products |
||
| Store-made or homemade egg, chicken, tuna, ham, macaroni salads | 3–5 days | These products don't freeze well |
| Pre-stuffed pork & lamb chops, chicken breasts stuffed with dressing | 1 day | |
| Store-cooked convenience meals | 1–2 days | |
| Commercial brand vacuum-packed dinners with USDA seal | 2 weeks, unopened | |
Soups and stews |
||
| Vegetable or meat-added | 3–4 days | 2–3 months |
Hamburger, ground, and stew meats |
||
| Hamburger and stew meats | 1–2 days | 3–4 months |
| Ground turkey, veal, pork, lamb, and mixtures of them | 1–2 days | 3–4 months |
Hotdogs and lunch meats |
||
| Hotdogs — opened package | 1 week | In freezer wrap, 1–2 months |
| Hotdogs — unopened package | 2 weeks | |
| Lunch meats — opened | 3–5 days | |
| Lunch meats — unopened | 2 weeks | |
Bacon and sausage |
||
| Bacon | 7 days | 1 month |
| Sausage, raw from pork, beef, turkey | 1–2 days | 1–2 months |
| Smoked breakfast links, patties | 7 days | 1–2 months |
| Hard sausage — pepperoni, jerky sticks | 2–3 weeks | 1–2 months |
Ham, corned beef |
||
| Corned beef — in pouch with pickling juices | 5–7 days | Drained, wrapped: 1 month |
| Ham, canned — label says keep refrigerated | 6–9 months | Don't freeze |
| Ham, fully cooked — whole | 7 days | 1–2 months |
| Ham, fully cooked — half | 3–5 days | 1–2 months |
| Ham, fully cooked — slices | 3–4 days | 1–2 months |
Fresh meat |
||
| Steaks, beef | 3–5 days | 6–12 months |
| Chops, pork | 3–5 days | 4–6 months |
| Chops, lamb | 3–5 days | 4–6 months |
| Roasts, beef | 3–5 days | 4–12 months |
| Roasts, lamb | 3–5 days | 4–12 months |
| Roasts, pork and veal | 3–5 days | 4–6 months |
| Variety meats — tongue, brain, kidneys, liver, heart, chitterlings | 1–2 days | 3–4 months |
Meat leftovers |
||
| Cooked meat and meat dishes | 3–4 days | 2–3 months |
| Gravy and meat broth | 1–2 days | 2–3 months |
Fresh poultry |
||
| Chicken or turkey, whole | 1–2 days | 1 year |
| Chicken or turkey pieces | 1–2 days | 9 months |
| Giblets | 1–2 days | 3–4 months |
Cooked poultry, leftover |
||
| Fried chicken | 3–4 days | 4 months |
| Cooked poultry dishes | 3–4 days | 4–6 months |
| Pieces, plain | 3–4 days | 4 months |
| Pieces covered with broth, gravy | 1–2 days | 6 months |
| Chicken nuggets, patties | 2 days | 1–3 months |
Reviewed by Suzanne Driessen, University of Minnesota Extension educator, 2010. Source: Kitchen Companion: Your Safe Food Handbook, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, 2008.
