Safe Frozen Food Storage Temperatures and Time LimitsFrozen food storage can be done almost indefinitely without spoiling. The quality of the food does diminish over time. By storing at the optimal temperature, the food can be stored for the longest time and still be of good quality.
Meat is best stored for short term use at 28 degrees Fahrenheit. This is as opposed to storing it in a cooler. For long term storage it can be stored at -10 degrees. Ice Cream keeps best at -15 degrees. General frozen food keeps best at -10 degrees and frozen juice at -5. Large operations can have separate walk-ins at each temperature if needed. Small operations can have individual reach-ins at the different temperatures. The 28 degree box must be a freezer and not a cooler turned down low. In actual practice freezers are usually kept at 0 to -10 degrees and everything is mixed together. Here is an article about the maximum freezer temperature. freezer temperature Here is an in depth article about cold food storage. cold food storage Frozen Food Storage - How Long is too Long?One Year Raw egg yolks and whites Unopened liquid pasteurized eggs, egg substitutes, Chicken or turkey, whole Margarine Nine Months Chicken or turkey, pieces Eight to Twelve Months Juices in cartons, fruit drinks, punch Six to Twelve Months Fresh beef, lamb, veal, pork steaks Six to Nine Months Butter Six Months Cooked poultry pieces covered with gravy or broth Cheese, Hard (such as Cheddar, Swiss) Cheese Soft (such as Brie, Bel Paese) Commercial eggnog Lean fish (cod, flounder, haddock, sole, etc.) Four to Twelve Months Fresh beef, lamb, veal, pork roasts Four to Six Months Fresh beef, lamb, veal, pork chops Cooked poultry casseroles Cooked fish Four Months Fried chicken Cooked chicken pieces, plain Half and half , cream Three to Six Months Shrimp, scallops, crayfish, squid, shucked clams, mussels and oysters Three to Four Months Hamburger Stew meat Ground turkey, veal, pork, lamb & mixtures of them Fresh beef, lamb, veal, pork steaks variety meats Chicken or turkey giblets Three Months Buttermilk Milk Cooked shellfish Two to Three Months Soups and stews with vegetables or meat added Cooked meat and meat casseroles, leftovers Gravy and meat broth, leftovers Fatty fish (bluefish, mackerel, salmon, etc.) Live clams, mussels, crab, lobster and oysters Two Months Ready-to-bake pie crust Cookie dough Smoked fish it vacuum package One to Three Months Chicken nuggets, patties One to Two Months Pizza Sweetened whipped cream Yogurt Hot dogs Luncheon meats Raw sausage from chicken, turkey, pork, beef Smoked breakfast sausage links and patties Hard sausage - pepperoni, jerky sticks Summer sausage Opened canned ham Fully cooked ham, opened or sealed One Month Bacon Corned beef, in pouch with pickling juices Corned beef, drained Cooked stuffing
Frozen Food Storage Is Not Recommended for these Products Fresh eggs in shells Hard boiled eggs Opened pasteurized eggs, egg substitutes Mayonnaise Egg, chicken, ham, tuna, macaroni salads Cottage cheese Ricotta cheese Cream cheese Whipped cream, ultra-pasteurized Canned whipped cream Pudding Sour cream Tube cans of various dough Pre-stuffed, uncooked pork chops, lamb chops, or chicken breast stuffed with dressing That completes our discussion of frozen food storage. For information on safe food storage in a refrigerator go here. safe food storage
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