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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 Eggs
Fresh, in shell Raw yolks & whites Hard cooked Liquid pasteurized eggs, egg substitutes opened unopened Commercial Mayonnaise Refrigerate after opening Frozen Dinners & Entrees Keep frozen until ready to heat Deli & Vacuum-Packed Products Store-prepared (or homemade) egg, chicken, ham, tuna, & macaroni salads

Refrigerator (40 F)
3 to 5 weeks 2 to 4 days 1 week

Freezer (0 F)
Do not freeze 1 year Does not freeze well

3 days 10 days 2 months Keep frozen

Does not freeze well 1 year Do not freeze 3 to 4 months

3 to 5 days

Does not freeze well

Hot dogs & Luncheon Meats

Hot dogs opened package unopened package Luncheon meat opened package unopened package 3 to 5 days 2 weeks 1 to 2 months 1 to 2 months 1 week 2 weeks 1 to 2 months 1 to 2 months

Bacon & Sausage

Bacon Sausage, raw -- from chicken, turkey, pork, beef Smoked breakfast links, patties 7 days 1 to 2 days 7 days 1 month 1 to 2 months 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 Ham, fully cooked, vacuum sealed at plant, undated, unopened Ham, fully cooked, vacuum sealed at plant, dated, unopened 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 3 to 5 days 6 to 9 months 2 weeks "Use-By" date on package 1 to 2 months Do not freeze 1 to 2 months 1 to 2 months

Hamburger, Ground & Stew Meat

Hamburger & stew meat Ground turkey, veal, pork, lamb, & mixtures of them 1 to 2 days 1 to 2 days 3 to 4 months 3 to 4 months

Fresh Beef, Veal, Lamb, Pork

Steaks Chops Roasts Variety meats -- tongue, liver, heart, kidneys, chitterlings Pre-stuffed, uncooked pork chops, lamb chops, or chicken breasts stuffed with dressing Soups & Stews with Vegetables or meat added 3 to 5 days 3 to 5 days 3 to 5 days 1 to 2 days 1 day 6 to 12 months 4 to 6 months 4 to 12 months 3 to 4 months Does not freeze well

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 Chicken or turkey, pieces Giblets 1 to 2 days 1 to 2 days 1 to 2 days 1 year 9 months 3 to 4 months

Cooked Poultry Leftovers

Fried chicken Cooked poultry casseroles Pieces, plain Pieces covered with broth, gravy Chicken nuggets, patties Pizza, cooked Stuffing, cooked 3 to 4 days 3 to 4 days 3 to 4 days 1 to 2 days 1 to 2 days 3 to 4 days 3 to 4 days 4 months 4 to 6 months 4 months 6 months 1 to 3 months 1 to 2 months 1 month

http://www.sdbest.com/Food_Safety/food_bacteria.html

So What Made Me Sick?

BACTERIA
Campylobacter

WHERE FOUND
Intestinal tracts of animals, raw milk, untreated water, and sewage.

SOURCE
Contaminated water, raw milk, and raw or undercooked meat, poultry, or shellfish.

SYMPTOMS
Fever, headache and muscle pain followed by diarrhea, abdominal pain, and nausea that appear 2 to 5 days after eating; may last 7 to 10 days. Toxin affects the nervous system. Symptoms usually appear 18 to 36 hours, but can sometimes appear as few as 4 hours or as many as 8 daysafter eating; double vision, droopy eyelids, trouble speaking and swallowing, and difficulty breathing. Fatal in 3 to 10 days if not treated. Diarrhea and gas pains mayappear 8 to 24 hours after eating; usually last about 1 day, but less severe symptoms may persist for 1 to 2 weeks.

Botulism

Widely distributed in soil, water, on plants, and intestinal tracts of animals. Grows only in little or no oxygen.

Bacteria produce a toxin that causes illness. Improperly canned foods, garlic in oil, vacuum-packed and tightly wrapped food.

Clostridium

Soil, dust, sewage, and intestinal tracts of animals. Grows only in little or no oxygen.

Food left for long periods in steam tables or at room temperature. Bacteria destroyed by cooking, but some toxinproducing spores may survive. Contaminated water, raw milk, raw or rare ground beef, unpasteurized apple juice or cider, uncooked fruits and vegetables; person-to-person. Ready-to-eat foods such as hot dogs, luncheon

E. coli

Intestinal tracts of some mammals, raw milk and unchlorinated water.

Diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, and malaise; can begin 2 to 5 days after food is eaten, lasting about 8 days.

Listeria

Intestinal tracts of humans and animals,

Fever, chills, headache, backache, sometimes upset

milk, soil, leaf vegetables; meats, cold cuts, can grow slowly at fermented or dry refrigerator temperatures. sausage, and other delistyle meat and poultry, soft cheeses and unpasteurized milk.

stomach, abdominal pain and diarrhea; may take up to 3 weeks to become ill. More serious illness may develop in pregnant women, newborns, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems. Stomach pain, diarrhea, nausea, chills, fever, and headache usually appear 8 to 72 hours after eating; may last 1 to 2 days. Disease referred to as "shigellosis" or bacillary dysentery. Diarrhea containing blood and mucus, fever, abdominal cramps, chills, and vomiting; 12 to 50 hours from ingestion of bacteria; can last a few days to 2 weeks. Severe nausea, abdominal cramps, vomiting, and diarrheaoccur 1 to 6 hours after eating; recovery within 2 to 3 days -- longer if severe dehydration occurs.

Salmonella (over 2300 types)

Intestinal tracts and feces of animals and sometimes in eggs.

Raw or undercooked eggs, poultry, and meat; raw milk and dairy products; seafood, and food handlers. Person-to-person by fecal-oral route; fecal contamination of food and water. Most outbreaks result from food, especially salads, prepared and handled by workers using poor personal hygiene. Person-to-person through food from improper food handling. Multiply rapidly at room temperature to produce a toxin that causes illness.

Shigella (over 30 types)

Human intestinal tract; rarely found in other animals.

Staphylococcus

On humans (skin, infected cuts, pimples, noses, and throats).