Food Storage Times Table
Raw and unopened
| Food | Fridge | Freezer |
|---|---|---|
| Poultry, whole, raw | 1–2 days | 12 mo |
| Poultry, pieces, raw | 1–2 days | 9 mo |
| Ground meats, raw | 1–2 days | 3–4 mo |
| Steaks and roasts, raw | 3–5 days | 4–12 mo |
| Pork chops, raw | 3–5 days | 4–12 mo |
| Sausage, raw | 1–2 days | 1–2 mo |
| Fatty fish, raw | 1–3 days | 2–3 mo |
| Shrimp, raw | 3–5 days | 6–18 mo |
| Eggs, in shell | 3–5 weeks | not freezer-friendly |
| Eggs, hard-cooked | 1 week | not freezer-friendly |
Cured, deli and cooked
| Food | Fridge | Freezer |
|---|---|---|
| Bacon | 1 week | 1 mo |
| Sausage, fully cooked | 1 week | 1–2 mo |
| Lunch meat, opened | 3–5 days | 1–2 mo |
| Hot dogs, opened | 1 week | 1–2 mo |
| Ham, whole, cooked | 1 week | 1–2 mo |
| Ham, slices | 3–5 days | 1–2 mo |
| Soups and stews | 3–4 days | 2–3 mo |
| Leftover meat and poultry | 3–4 days | 2–6 mo |
| Pizza, cooked | 3–4 days | 1–2 mo |
| Casseroles with meat | 3–4 days | 2–3 mo |
Chart: FoodSafety.gov Cold Food Storage Chart (USDA/HHS, reviewed 2023). Fridge at 40°F or below, freezer at 0°F; frozen food stays safe indefinitely, month ranges mark quality. Room-temperature limit: 2 hours. Next steps: leftover storage calculator, leftovers eat-by planner, food waste calculator, emergency food calculator, ham cooking time table.
The chart everyone screenshots — how long chicken, eggs, bacon, fish and last night's soup really keep — works better as a picker than a poster. Choose a food, enter the date it went into the fridge, and read the exact eat-by window instead of counting on your fingers: raw chicken pieces get 1 to 2 days, eggs in the shell get 3 to 5 weeks, and the gap between those two numbers is where most fridges go wrong.
Freezer numbers on this page are a quality horizon, not a safety cliff: food kept frozen at 0 degrees stays safe indefinitely — that is USDA's own position — and the month ranges mark when taste and texture start to fade. The other real clocks are the fridge window itself and the 2-hour rule for anything left at room temperature; this tool tracks the first so the other two never surprise you.
How to use
- Pick the food from the chart — raw meats, cured and deli meats, seafood, eggs and cooked dishes each carry their own row.
- Enter the date you stored it and read the eat-by window for the fridge.
- Check the freezer horizon before you commit: freezing buys months of quality, but label the bag with the freeze date.
Frequently asked questions
How long do raw chicken and other poultry last in the fridge?
The shortest window on the chart: 1 to 2 days, whole birds and pieces alike. Cook it or freeze it by day two. The freezer is where poultry shines — pieces hold quality 9 months and a whole bird a full year.
Is frozen food safe forever?
For safety, effectively yes — at 0 degrees bacteria do not grow, so frozen food stays safe indefinitely. The month ranges here are USDA quality horizons: a 9-month rating means peak flavor ends there, not that day 300 is dangerous.
Why do eggs last 3 to 5 weeks when raw chicken gets 2 days?
The shell is a built-in barrier, and commercially sold eggs keep their protective coating; bacteria sit outside the egg, not inside the meat. Storage windows track how fast bacteria multiply inside the food — shell protection versus interior contamination is the whole difference.
Can I refreeze food that thawed in the fridge?
Yes — anything thawed in the refrigerator at 40 degrees or below can go straight back to the freezer, though quality takes a second hit. The never-refreeze line is food that sat at room temperature: past 2 hours on the counter, the chart no longer applies.
How long does ham last in the fridge?
It depends on the cure, more than any other meat: a vacuum-sealed unopened ham keeps 2 weeks, a whole cooked ham 1 week, slices 3 to 5 days, and canned keep-refrigerated ham 6 to 9 months unopened. The ham cooking table on this site lists every cured variant side by side.