Food Storage Guide: How Long Should You Keep Food?

Food accounts for a good chunk of the monthly household budget. Unfortunately, we still make mistakes when it comes to buying and storing food items properly. Make sure you're eating safe food with our handy guide:

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  Leftovers: Cooked Meat and Soups with Veggies or Meat
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  Store: Place in shallow, covered containers and refrigerate. If freezing, place in freezer-safe plastic containers.
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  Shelf life: 3 to 4 days in refrigerator; 2 to 6 months in freezer 

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• Beef
• Store: Keep beef in its original packaging or repackage; the package must be secure and airtight. Label accordingly, noting down the date of purchase.
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  Shelf life: It is best to cook beef within 3 to 5 days. If you are going to keep it for later, wrap the packaging in aluminum foil or freezer-grade plastic wrap, or keep in a freezer-friendly plastic container in the freezer.
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• Steaks: 3 to 5 days in refrigerator; 6 to 12 months in freezer
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  Roasts: 3 to 5 days in refrigerator; 4 to 12 months in freezer
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  Ground: 1 to 2 days in refrigerator; 3 to 4 months in freezer
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• Chicken
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  Store: Store as soon as you get home, making sure it doesn't sit in room temperature for more than 15 minutes. Keep chicken in its original packaging or repackage; the package must be secure and airtight. Label accordingly, noting down the date of purchase.
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  Shelf life: It is best to cook chicken within 2 to 3 days. If you are going to keep it for later, wrap the package in aluminum foil or freezer-grade plastic wrap, or keep in freezer-friendly plastic container in the freezer.
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  Whole: 1 to 2 days in refrigerator; 1 year in freezer
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  Pieces: 1 to 2 days in refrigerator; 9 months in freezer
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• Fish
  Store: Clean fish, removing gills and scales. Dry with paper towels, then wrap in plastic wrap, wax paper, or aluminum foil. Store in the chiller. If you are going to keep it for more than two days, it is best to freeze it. Clean, dry, wrap in aluminum foil, then wrap again in freezer paper before placing in the freezer.
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  Shelf life:
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  Lean fish: 1 to 2 days in refrigerator; 6 months in freezer
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  Fatty fish: 1 to 2 days in refrigerator; 2 to 3 months in freezer
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  Cooked fish: 3 to 4 days in refrigerator; 4 to 6 months in freezer
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  Smoked fish: 14 days in refrigerator; 2 months in freezer

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See Also

Tip of the Week: Why You Should Label Your Freezer Items

May 14, 2015

Text and tips by Jing Lejano were published as part of the "Shop and Store" feature in the August 2014 issue of Yummy magazine

Chicken image from Pixabay.com