Refrigerate Promptly
These short but safe time limits will keep refrigerated food from spoiling or becoming dangerous to eat. These limits will keep frozen food at top quality.
Note: When you freeze the items below, wrap them in freezer wrap, aluminum foil, or freezer bags.
Cold Storage
| Food | Refrigerator (40°F) | Freezer (0°F) |
| Eggs | ||
| Fresh (in shell) | 3 weeks | Don't freeze |
| Raw yolks or whites | 2-4 days | 1 year |
| Hard boiled | 1 week | Don't freeze |
| Liquid pasteurized eggs, or egg substitutes | ||
| Opened | 3 days | Don't freeze |
| Unopened | 10 days | 1 year |
| Store-bought mayonnaise | ||
| Opened | 2 months | Don't freeze |
| Precooked frozen foods (TV dinners, frozen casseroles) | ||
| (Keep frozen until ready to serve) | 3-4 months | |
| Deli items, vacuum-packed products | ||
| Egg, chicken, tuna, ham, or macaroni salads (store-prepared or homemade) | 3-5 days | |
| Pre-stuffed pork or lamb chops, or chicken breasts stuffed with dressing | 1 day | |
| Store-cooked convenience meals | 1-2 days | |
| Soups, stews | ||
| Vegetable or meat | 3-4 days | 2-3 months |
| Ground meat, hamburger, stew meats | ||
| Hamburger or stew meats | 1-2 days | 3-4 months |
| Ground turkey, veal, pork, or lamb, or mixtures of them | 1-2 days | 3-4 months |
| Hotdogs, lunch meats | ||
| Hotdogs (opened) | 1 week | |
| Hotdogs (unopened) | 2 weeks | |
| Lunch meats (opened) | 3-5 days | 1-2 months |
| Lunch meats (unopened) | 2 weeks | |
| Bacon, sausage (unopened or opened) | ||
| Bacon | 1 week | 1 month |
| Raw sausage made from pork, beef, or turkey | 1-2 days | 1-2 months |
| Smoked breakfast links or patties | 1 week | 1-2 months |
| Hard sausage, pepperoni, or jerky sticks | 2-3 weeks | 1-2 months |
| Ham, corned beef (unopened or opened) | ||
| Corned beef in pouch with pickling juices | 5-7 days | 1 month |
| Canned ham (label says "keep refrigerated") | 6-9 months | Don't freeze |
| Canned ham (whole) | 1 week | 1-2 months |
| Canned ham (half) | 3-5 days | 1-2 months |
| Canned ham (sliced) | 3-4 days | 1-2 months |
