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:
Clean -- Wash hands and surfaces often.
Separate -- Don't cross-contaminate.
Cook -- Cook to proper temperatures.
Chill -- Refrigerate promptly.
Shopping
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.
Storage
Always refrigerate perishable food within
2 hours. Refrigerate within 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.
April 2003 Information for Consumers
Food Safety
and Inspection
Service
Basics for Handling
Food Safely
2
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.
Preparation
Always wash hands before and after
handling food.
Don't cross-contaminate. Keep raw
meat, poultry, fish, and their juices away
from other food. After cutting raw meats,
wash hands, cutting board, knife, and
countertops with hot, soapy water.
Marinate meat and poultry in a covered
dish in the refrigerator.
Sanitize cutting boards by using a
solution of 1 teaspoon chlorine bleach in
1 quart of water.
Thawing
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.
Cooking
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.
Serving
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).
Leftovers
Discard any food left out at room
temperature for more than 2 hours
(1 hour if the temperature was above
90 F).
3
Place food into shallow containers and
immediately put in the refrigerator or
freezer for rapid cooling.
Use cooked leftovers within 4 days.
Refreezing
Meat and poultry defrosted in the
refrigerator may be refrozen before or after
cooking. If thawed by other methods, cook
before refreezing.
Cold Storage Chart
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
unopened
3 days
10 days
Does not freeze well
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
unopened package
1 week
2 weeks
1 to 2 months
1 to 2 months
Luncheon meats
opened package
unopened package
3 to 5 days
2 weeks
1 to 2 months
1 to 2 months
4
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
unopened
3 weeks
3 months
1 to 2 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
unopened
3 to 5 days
6 to 9 months
1 to 2 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
half
slices
7 days
3 to 5 days
3 to 4 days
1 to 2 months
1 to 2 months
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
5
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
For further information, contact:
USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline:
1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854); 1-800-256-7072 (TTY)

E-mail: mphotline.fsis.usda.gov
FSIS Web site: www.fsis.usda.gov
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