No one wants to get food poisoning! See the chart below for how long you can store food in the refrigerator.
Follow food safety best practices of: clean, separate, cook and chill to ensure you don’t suffer any ill effects.
Follow these recommended refrigeration times for safety, and the freezing times for quality. If you store properly wrapped food in your freezer the quality may be maintained for longer periods of time.
How Long Can I Store This?
| Meats | Refrigerator 4°C (40°F) | Freezer -18°C (0°F) |
| Fresh meat | 2-4 days | 8-12 months |
| Fresh poultry | 2-3 days | 1 year |
| Fresh fish | 3-4 days | 2-6 months |
| Ham | 3-4 days | 2-3 months |
| Bacon | 7 days | 1 month |
| Sausage, raw | 1-2 days | 1-2 months |
| Sausage, cooked | 7 days | 1-2 months |
| Leftovers | ||
| Cooked dishes | 3-4 days | 2-3 months |
| Soups | 2-3 days | 4 months |
| Lunch Meat | ||
| Hot dogs | 1-2 weeks | 1-2 months |
| Deli meats | 3-4 days | 2-3 months |
| Eggs & Dairy | ||
| Fresh eggs | 3-4 weeks | —— |
| Liquid eggs | 10 days | 1 year |
| Milk | Best before date | 6 weeks |
| Yogurt | Best before date | 1-2 months |
| Cheese, soft | 1 week | —— |
| Cheese, semi-soft | 2-3 weeks | 8 weeks |
| Cheese, firm | 5 weeks | 3 months |
| Cheese, hard | 10 months | 1 year |
| Butter | 8 weeks | 1 year |
| Vegetables | ||
| Beans, green | 5 days | 8 months |
| Carrots, celery | 2 weeks | 1 year |
| Lettuce | 3-7 days | —— |
| Spinach | 2-4 weeks | 1 year |
| Squash | 2 weeks | 1 year |
| Tomatoes | —— | 2 months |
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