Food: Keep or Toss?

July 9, 2025 General /Family

Food Safety Rules

Kendra found some leftover chicken in her fridge.
She didn’t remember when she made it.

Should she keep it or throw it away?
She didn’t want to waste food—but she also didn’t want to make her family sick.

To stay safe, remember these four food safety rules:

What Makes Food Unsafe?

Food can have harmful germs like bacteria, viruses, or parasites.
These germs can make you sick. Most food has some bacteria, but how you store, clean, cook, and handle food can stop it from becoming dangerous.

About 1 in 6 Americans gets sick from food every year.

How Do Germs Get into Food?

Germs can be almost anywhere—dirt, water, animals, and even people. Here are some common ways germs get into food:

Eating raw or undercooked meat, eggs, or seafood
Drinking raw milk or juice
Leaving food out too long
(between 40°–140°F is the “danger zone”)
Touching food with dirty hands
Using dirty dishes or kitchen tools
Eating food made by someone who is sick

When Should You Keep or Toss Food?

If something smells bad, it probably is bad.
But food can look or smell fine and still be unsafe. It’s better to follow a schedule.

Here’s a chart to help:

FOOD	FRIDGE	FREEZER
Ground beef, pork, lamb	1–2 days	3–4 months
Organ meats	1–2 days	3–4 months
Steaks, chops, roasts	3–5 days	4–12 months
Leftovers, casseroles	3–4 days	2–3 months
Ground poultry	1–2 days	3–4 months
Chicken pieces	1–2 days	9 months
Whole chicken	1–2 days	1 year
Cooked ham slices	3–4 days	1–2 months
Whole ham	1 week	1–2 months
Hard-cooked eggs	1 week	Doesn’t freeze well
Eggs in shell	3–5 weeks	Don’t freeze
Deli salads (chicken, egg, tuna, etc.)	3–5 days	Doesn’t freeze well
Fresh fish or shellfish	1–2 days	3–12 months
Cooked seafood	3–4 days	3 months

Processed meats (see below)	See below	1–2 months
Bacon	7 days	It’s best to limit how much processed meat you eat like hot dogs, bacon, or deli meats. Eating too much has been linked to cancer.
Deli meat (opened)	3–5 days
Deli meat or hot dogs (unopened)	2 weeks
Hot dogs (opened)	1 week
Jerky, pepperoni	2–3 weeks
Raw sausage	1–2 days
Fully cooked sausage	1 week

Easy Ways to Stay Organized

Want to keep track of when food was opened or cooked? Try these tips:

Foods with Mold You Can Keep:

Food

What to Do

Hard cheese (cheddar, Parmesan)

Cut off at least 1 inch around the mold.
Don’t let the knife touch the mold.

Firm fruits/veggies (carrots, cabbage, peppers)

Cut off at least 1 inch around the mold.

Hard salami, dry-cured ham

Scrub off the mold and eat.

Foods with Mold You Should Toss:

When in doubt, throw it out.

REFERENCES:

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service. (2024). Foodborne illness and disease.
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/foodborne-illness-and-disease

FoodSafety.gov. (2023, October 19). Cold food storage chart.
https://www.foodsafety.gov/food-safety-charts/cold-food-storage-charts

World Health Organization. (2015, October 26). Cancer: Carcinogenicity of the consumption of red meat and processed meat.
https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/cancer-carcinogenicity-of-the-consumption-of-red-meat-and-processed-meat

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service. (2013, August 22). Molds on food: Are they dangerous?
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/molds-food-are-they-dangerous

Lui, N. (2024, October 24). Is it safe to eat moldy bread? EatingWell.
https://www.eatingwell.com/article/8038039/is-it-safe-to-eat-moldy-bread/