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This is a reference page. The numbers below come from USDA and FoodSafety.gov guidance rather than from us — we are home cooks, not food-safety inspectors, and this is an area where following published guidance beats judgement.
Two things matter more than any individual number, so they come first.
The two-hour rule beats the day count
“Three to four days” assumes the food went into the fridge promptly. The USDA advises refrigerating perishable food within two hours of cooking or removing it from the fridge — one hour if the surrounding temperature is above 90°F (32°C).
Food left on the hob to cool for four hours has already used up most of its margin before day one starts. If that happens, the guidance is to discard it rather than refrigerate and count from there.
Check your fridge is actually cold enough
The target is 40°F (4°C) or below for the fridge, and 0°F (-18°C) for the freezer. Fridge dials are often unlabelled and frequently wrong. An inexpensive fridge thermometer on the middle shelf is the only way to know, and it is the cheapest food-safety improvement available.
Door shelves are the warmest part. Milk and eggs do better on a middle shelf than in the door.
Fridge times
| Food | Fridge (at 40°F / 4°C or below) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Cooked meat, poultry, fish | 3–4 days | Includes the roast chicken in a meal prep batch |
| Soups and stews | 3–4 days | Cool in shallow containers, not the pot |
| Cooked rice and pasta | 3–4 days | Cool quickly; rice is worth being strict about |
| Pizza | 3–4 days | Same as any cooked leftover |
| Hard-boiled eggs, in shell | 1 week | Peeled, use sooner |
| Egg, chicken, tuna, pasta salads | 3–5 days | Mayonnaise-based |
| Cut fruit and vegetables | 3–4 days | Cut melon nearer three |
| Opened deli meat | 3–5 days | Unopened packs keep longer |
| Hard cheese, opened | 3–4 weeks | Cut mould off hard cheese with a margin |
| Soft cheese, opened | 1 week | Discard entirely if mouldy |
| Gravy and stock | 1–2 days | Shorter than most people assume |
Freezer times
Frozen food at 0°F (-18°C) stays safe indefinitely. These times are about quality — texture and flavour — not safety.
| Food | Freezer, for best quality |
|---|---|
| Cooked meat and poultry | 2–6 months |
| Soups and stews | 2–3 months |
| Cooked rice and pasta | 1–2 months |
| Bread, muffins, flapjacks | 2–3 months |
| Raw mince | 3–4 months |
| Raw chicken pieces | 9 months |
Reheating
- Reheat leftovers to 165°F (74°C) throughout. A probe thermometer is the only way to know rather than assume.
- Stir halfway through microwaving. Microwaves heat unevenly and the cold spot is the problem.
- Soups and gravies should reach a rolling boil.
- Reheat once. Repeated cycles of cooling and reheating add up.
Defrosting
Three safe methods: in the fridge, in cold water changed every 30 minutes, or in the microwave followed immediately by cooking. Defrosting on the counter is the one to avoid — the outside enters the danger zone long before the middle has thawed.
Why smell is not a test
This is the most important paragraph here. The bacteria that cause foodborne illness frequently produce no smell, no change in taste and no change in appearance. Food that smells fine can still make someone ill, and the spoilage organisms that do smell are often harmless.
Smell tells you about quality. Dates and temperatures tell you about safety. When they disagree, follow the dates — and when in doubt, throw it out.
Sources
- FoodSafety.gov — Cold food storage charts
- FoodSafety.gov — The danger zone
- USDA FSIS — Leftovers and food safety
Guidance is updated from time to time. If a number here disagrees with the source, the source is right.
