What is the shelf life of the foods you eat?

March 6, 2013 - By Nautilus Plus

Temps de lecture 2 minutes

When cooking at home, it can sometimes be tricky to know how long foods will stay edible once prepared. It is indeed super practical to prepare meals in advance, but first we have to make sure they will still be good when we eat them!

First, some hygiene rules are to be followed when preparing foods:

-Wash your hands thoroughly before and after;
-Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers so that they cool down faster;
-Avoid keeping leftovers more than 2 hours in a zone where the temperature is between 4 °C and 60 °C, which favours the spreading of bacteria.

The table below will shed light on the shelf life of various foods (do not hesitate to indicate the date at which the foods are prepared on the container in which they are preserved):

Foods	Refrigerator (≤ 4 °C)	Freezer (≤ -18 °C)
*Meat and alternatives*
Ground or cubed meat	1 to 2 days	3 to 4 months
Beef, veal, and fresh lamb	3 to 5 days	9 months
Fresh pork	3 to 5 days	6 months
Cooked meat	3 to 4 days	2 to 3 months
Fresh poultry	1 to 2 days	9 months
Cooked poultry	2 to 4 days	4 to 6 months
White fish	1 to 2 day	6 months
Fatty fish (salmon, trout, mackerel…)	1 to 2 days	2 to 3 months
Cooked fish	3 to 4 days	4 to 6 months
Crustacean, and raw shellfish	2 days	3 months
Crustacean, and cooked shellfish	3 to 4 days	3 months
Fresh eggs	3 to 5 weeks	–
Sausages and deli meats	2 weeks	1 to 2 months
Bacon	7 days	1 months
Cooked ham	7 days	1 to 2 months

*Prepared foods*
Soups and stews	3 to 4 days	2 to 3 months
Sauces and broths	1 to 2 days	2 to3 months
Pizza	1 to 2 days	1 to 2 months
Main course	3 to 4 days	3 to 6 months
Jams	3 weeks	1 year

*Milk and alternatives*
Butter	1 to 2 months	3 months
Firm cheese	3 to 4 weeks	6 months
Soft cheese	1 week	3 months
Cottage, Ricotta	1 week	Avoid

Inspired from the Thermoguide developed by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPAQ).

Bon appétit!

By Marilyne Petitclerc

What is the shelf life of the foods you eat? is a post from Nautilus Plus. The Nautilus Plus blog aims to help people in their journey to fitness through articles on training, nutrition, motivation, exercise and healthy recipes.
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