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Storing Food
Many foods can be stored safetly at room temperature. However, if food was refrigerated or frozen at the store, it is generally best to keep it in a similar environment at home, unless you are preparing to cook it right away or thaw it for cooking within a safe timeframe. Some shelf stable foods will need to be refrigerated once opened — always read the package for recommendations.
Food Package Dates
Dates indicated on food packages can help both retailers and consumers manage their food supplies safely. Some dates relate to the safety of the product, while others can help indicate when food is at peak quality. Learn about different food package dates to help avoid unnecessary food waste, save money, and ensure best practices for food quality and safety.
Sell By or Pull Date
This date indicates when stores must remove products. Food will be safe to eat after this date if it has been refrigerated. Dairy products will usually be edible at least one week longer than the sell-by date. Eggs will be kept for 3 to 5 weeks after the listed date. Foods that use sell-by or pull dates include milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, cream, eggs, lunchmeats, and packaged salad mixes.
Best If Used By Date
This date is a recommendation to consumers when the product’s flavor or quality is highest. It is not a purchase or safety date.
Pack Dates
This date, typically found on canned foods, crackers, cookies, and spices, indicates the date the product was packaged. Manufacturers and retailers use it to track inventory, rotate stock, and locate items in the event of a recall. Since each manufacturer may use its own dating system, it can be hard for consumers to interpret the date.
- Packages of food will be safe for long periods after the pack date, but may not be as flavorful.
- Canned foods will be safe but may have changes in taste and texture for many years after this date.
- If the container has bulges or dents, throw it away.
- Any product with a broken seal or “off” smell should not be eaten.
Use By Date
This is the last date recommended to ensure a product’s peak quality. The manufacturer of the product has determined the date.
Expiration Date
Expiration dates are printed on infant formula, baby food, vitamins, over-the-counter drugs, yeast, baking powder, cake mixes, and pectin.
- Expires 2/15/27
- Do not use after 2/15/26
Infant formula, baby food, and over-the-counter drugs should never be consumed after the expiration date because they may not function in the body as initially intended. Leavening agents like yeast will be safe but may not be as effective after this date. The same applies to baking mixes and pectin used for jams and jellies.
Quality Assurance Date
It is best if foods with a long shelf life are used before expiration, but they may begin to lose flavor or develop off-flavors. The date indicated estimates how long the food will be of optimum quality. Quality is defined as odor, taste, and texture; it is not a measure of safety.
If the product smells or tastes bad or the seal on the package has been broken, don’t use it. Packaged food mixes, such as macaroni and cheese, boxed soups, bakery products, cheese, some canned foods, cold cereals, peanut butter, and mayonnaise often use this date stamp.
Cold Storage
Keep cooled foods safe by storing them in appropriate temperatures as quickly as possible – and do not let perishable food stay at room temperature for more than two hours. The two-hour safety window starts as soon as frozen, raw, or refrigerated food is taken from a cold grocery shelf, refrigerator, freezer, or cooler. Transport time counts too!
Storing meat in the refrigerator
Once I get the meat in the refrigerator it’s fine and won’t spoil, right?
Meat comes from animals that can carry bacteria which might make us sick. Because of this storing meat safely to prevent the growth of any bacteria that may be present is important.
Bacteria can multiply rapidly and cause food to spoil or make it unsafe. Bacteria produce the slime, toxins, off colors and odors associated with food spoilage. However, disease-causing bacteria can grow without changing the odor, color or texture of the food. For this reason, keeping meat cold enough to prevent bacterial growth (or heating it to a temperature which kills them) is critical. Food spoilage bacteria grow best at environmental temperatures of 70° to 100°F. They will grow more slowly at temperatures above and below this temperature range. Your refrigerator should be between 34° and 40°F, because most bacteria grow extremely slowly, if at all, in this range.
Check the temperature of your refrigerator with a thermometer even if your refrigerator is new. To measure the temperature in the refrigerator:
- Put a glass kitchen thermometer (candy thermometer) in a glass of water and place it in the middle of the refrigerator.
- Wait 5 to 8 hours.
- If the temperature is not 38° to 40°F, adjust the refrigerator temperature control.
- Check the temperature again after 5 to 8 hours.
Tips for Refrigerator Safety:
- Do not open the refrigerator frequently, especially on warm humid days because this raises the temperature of the refrigerator.
- Clean the refrigerator regularly to cut down on food odors. Remove spoiled foods immediately to prevent decay from spreading to other foods.
- Store raw meat, poultry and seafood on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator so juices don’t drip onto other foods and cause cross-contamination.
- When thawing meat in the refrigerator meat should be placed on a plate or in a container to prevent juices from contaminating other foods.
- Use food stored in the refrigerator quickly. Don’t depend on maximum storage time.
- Keep uncooked, ground meat and poultry in the refrigerator only one or two days before cooking or freezing (see Tables Refrigerator Storage of Meats, Refrigerator Storage of Poultry, and Refrigerator Storage of Fish).
- Practice: “First In, First Out”
Thawing Frozen Foods
Follow safe practices for thawing frozen food. Improper thawing can create an environment where bacteria can grow and multiply quicky on the food, leading to an increased chance of foodborne illness.
Have More Food Storage Questions?
Check out USDA's FoodKeeper resource for a comprehensive list of refrigeration and freezer recommendations for a wide variety of foods and beverages. The resources is also available as the FoodKeeper App on both Android and Apple devices!