The Impact of Food Waste Part 3A - Meat, Diary, & Eggs
The Impact of Food Waste: Part Three - Food Storage Basics: Meats, Dairy, and Eggs
By: Samantha McCarthy MS, RD/LDN
As March comes to end, I’d like to wrap up my series on food waste by discussing how to safely store meats, dairy, and eggs. These 3 items are some of the quickest foods to spoil. Proper storage is imperative to prevent food waste and also keep you from getting sick. Below is a chart of several different types of meat, eggs, and dairy products. Follow the chart for proper storage of each item.
Food | Refrigerator (temperature at or below 40F) | Freezer (temperature at or below 0F) |
Beef, Pork, Veal, or Lamb (raw/fresh) | 3-5 days | 6-12 months |
Beef, Pork, Veal, or Lamb (Cooked) | 3-4 days | 2-3 months |
Ground Meats, uncooked | 1-2 days | 4 months |
Ground Meats, cooked | 3-4 days | 4 months |
Chicken and turkey, raw/fresh | 1-2 days | 9-12 months |
Chicken and turkey, cooked | 3-4 days | 4 months |
Lunch meat/deli meat, opened | 3-5 days | 1-2 months |
Lunch meat/deli meat, unopened | 2 weeks | 1-2 months |
Bacon, opened | 1 week | 1 month |
Bacon, unopened | 2 weeks | 1 month |
Sausage, raw | 1-2 days | 1-2 months |
Sausage, pre-cooked/smoked | 1 week | 1-2 months |
Ham, fresh, uncooked, uncured | 3-5 days | 6 months |
Ham, fresh, uncooked, cured | 5-7 days | 3-4 months |
Ham, fully cooked, vacuum sealed | 2 weeks or “use by” date | 1-2 months |
Eggs, fresh, in shell | 3-5 weeks | Do not freeze |
Egg whites and yolks, raw | 2-4 days | 1 year |
Egg substitutes, opened | 3 days | Do not freeze |
Egg substitutes, unopened | 10 days | 1 year |
Cheese, soft | 1 week | 6 months |
Cottage/ricotta cheese | 1 week | Do not freeze |
Cream cheese | 2 weeks | Do not freeze |
Butter | 1-3 months | 6-9 months |
*Source: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “Keep It Cool: Refrigerator/Freezer Food Storage Chart” Infograph. https://www.eatright.org/-/media/homefoodsafety/multimedia/downloads/keepitcool-refrigerator-storage-chart.pdf?la=en&hash=A172FE0936C28E2687D48F86A74C3EC2B483C694