Q: What are some food storage guidelines?


 A: Following is a rundown of storage guidelines for some of the foods that are regulars on America's dinner tables.

PRODUCT STORAGE PERIOD
In Refrigerator
40 degrees Fahrenheit
(5 degrees Celsius)
In Freezer
0 F (-18 C)
Fresh Meat:
Beef: Ground
Steaks and roasts

1-2 days
3-5 days

3-4 months
6-12 months
Pork: Chops
Ground
Roasts
3-5 days
1-2 days
3-5 days
4-6 months
3-4 months
4-6 months
Cured meats:
Lunch meat
Sausage

3-5 days
1-2 days

1-2 months
1-2 months
Gravy 1-2 days 2-3 months
Fish:
lean (such as cod, flounder, haddock)
fatty (such as blue, perch, salmon)

1-2 days
1-2 days

up to 6 months
2-3 months
Chicken: whole
parts
giblets
1-2 days
1-2 days
1-2 days
12 months
9 months
3-4 months

Dairy Products:
Swiss, brick, processed cheese
Milk
Ice cream, ice milk


3-4 weeks
5 days
-

*
1 month
2-4 months
Eggs: fresh in shell
hard-boiled
3 weeks
1 week
-
-
* Cheese can be frozen, but freezing will affect the texture and taste.

(Sources: Food Marketing Institute for fish and dairy products, USDA for all other foods.)

Publication No. (FDA) 00-2244

 

Source: Excerpted from FDA Consumer - The Unwelcome Dinner Guest: Preventing Foodborne Illness, Jan.-Feb. 1991; Revised Dec. 1997, Feb. 1999, Oct. 1999, and June 2000

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