How long does food last?
Pick the food and where you keep it: get the dates to use it by, from USDA FoodKeeper.
The date starts at today. For an opened jar or package, enter the day you opened it.
How long does food last in the refrigerator?
The USDA FoodKeeper data, built by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) with Cornell University and the Food Marketing Institute, counts from the date of purchase: 1 to 2 days for ground beef and for a whole chicken, 3 to 5 days for steaks and pork chops, 1 week for bacon, 2 weeks for unopened hot dogs and 3 to 5 weeks for eggs in the shell. Cooked leftovers get 3 to 4 days. FSIS says to keep the refrigerator at 40 °F or below, and that these short limits help keep food from spoiling or becoming dangerous to eat.
Is food still safe after the date on the package?
Usually the date is about quality. FSIS explains that a “Best if Used By/Before” date shows when a product will have its best flavor or quality and is not a purchase or safety date, and that a “Use-By” date is the last date recommended for peak quality, not a safety date (infant formula is the exception). Federal rules do not require dates on most shelf-stable foods, and FSIS calls that dating a quality guide. A date does not make spoiled food safe, though: if it smells, looks or feels wrong, or the can is dented, rusted or swollen, throw it out. FSIS’s rule of thumb is “when in doubt, throw it out.”
How long can food stay in the freezer?
For safety, indefinitely: FSIS says food kept constantly at 0 °F stays safe, so freezer times are for quality only. For best quality FoodKeeper lists 3 to 4 months for ground beef, 4 to 12 months for steaks, chops and roasts, 12 months for a whole chicken or turkey, 1 month for bacon and 6 months for ice cream. After that, food may lose flavor, color or moisture; FSIS suggests checking the smell after thawing and using food that is not picture-perfect in soups or stews.
Why do some times differ from other charts?
The FoodKeeper data file that FSIS publishes is version 128, last modified September 6, 2018. FSIS’s Cold Food Storage Chart, reviewed September 19, 2023, lists a few different numbers: shrimp 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator (FoodKeeper: 1 to 3), fresh crab meat 2 to 4 days (1 to 3), fatty and lean fish 1 to 3 days (1 to 2), sliced cooked ham 3 to 5 days (3 to 4), cooked leftovers 2 to 6 months in the freezer (2 to 3). Where the two differ, the result shows the FoodKeeper window and the chart’s number next to it. For fresh fish and shellfish, the shorter figure is the safer one.
Which date do I count from?
From the day the clock starts for that kind of food. FoodKeeper counts most fresh foods from the date of purchase (“DOP” in its data file), packaged foods like cheese, crackers or condiments again from opening for the “opened” times, and cooked dishes from the day you made them. Pick “opened” for a jar or package you have already opened and enter the day you opened it; pick “thawed” for food you defrosted in the refrigerator. The table under the result lists every time FoodKeeper gives for the food.
How the calculator works
Each food has up to six times in the FoodKeeper data: pantry unopened and opened, refrigerator unopened, opened and after thawing, and freezer. The calculator takes the one that matches your choices, adds the minimum and maximum to your date (weeks as 7 days, months and years on the calendar, so one month from January 31 is the last day of February), and shows the earliest and latest day. Some foods have no number: milk and sour cream say only to use them by the package date, bananas and tomatoes are kept “until ripe”, and sugar, salt and bottled water keep indefinitely. The calculator says so instead of inventing one.
Cooking a turkey or a roast for the leftovers? See the meat temperature chart and the turkey calculator. Putting food up yourself? The canning altitude calculator gives the pressure for your elevation, and the high altitude baking calculator adjusts recipes baked above 3,500 feet.
For general information only: the times are guides from the data set, not a guarantee, and they assume the refrigerator is at 40 °F or below and the freezer at 0 °F. If a health condition makes you more vulnerable to foodborne illness, ask your doctor which foods to avoid. Sources: USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, FoodKeeper data (FMA-Data-v128, version 128, modified September 6, 2018; public domain, CC0, on data.gov); FSIS Cold Food Storage Chart on FoodSafety.gov (reviewed September 19, 2023); FSIS Freezing and Food Safety (updated August 9, 2024); FSIS Food Product Dating (updated April 23, 2025); FSIS Shelf-Stable Food Safety (updated October 24, 2024); FSIS Leftovers and Food Safety (updated July 31, 2020). Data checked October 7, 2026. How we check our calculators.