GRAVETTE — Even the most inexperienced of cooks can often piece together a meal after rummaging in the refrigerator. Some mashed potatoes with gravy, a little chicken casserole - but is everything on your plate really safe to eat?
“It’s better to be safe than sorry,” says Carla Haley, Miller County extension agent with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.
Hers are some of the food storage safety guidelines that Haley recommends:
Eggs: Uncooked, still in the shell, they’re good for three to five weeks; Hardcooked, one week; Raw, but separated into yolks and whites, two to four days; As an ingredient in a cooked dish, three to four days’
Deli Products: Egg, chicken, tuna, ham or macaroni salad will keep for three to five days; Stuffed lambchops, pork or chicken breasts should be thrown out after one day; Storecooked entrees should last for three to four days.
Meats: Raw ground or stew meat (beef, turkey, veal, pork or lamb is safe in the refrigerator for one to two days; Canned ham should be eaten or thrown out within six to nine months if unopened, or three to five days if opened; A fully cooked whole ham will be fine for seven days.In slices, it is safe for three to four days;
Corned beef, in a pouch with pickling juices, can be stored for five to seven days; Hot dogs and lunch meats, in unopened packages, are OK for two weeks. After opening, hot dogs should be eaten or thrown out within one week and lunch meats are three to five days; Uncooked bacon is good for seven days, raw sausage for one to two days and smoked breakfast links and patties for seven days; Summer sausage can be kept for three months in an unopened package, or three weeks after opening; Pepperoni is good for two to three weeks.
Casseroles with cooked chicken, meat or fish can be eaten without worry for up to three to four days; Gravy, broth, patties and nuggets are good for a day or two; soups and stews are good for three to four days; Steaks, chops or roasts can be stored for three to five days; Chicken or turkey, whole or in parts, as well as fresh fish or shellfish should be eaten or discarded within one to two days of refrigeration.
Dr. Denise Brochetti, assistant professor of nutrition for the Cooperative Extension Service, says the “use-by” dates on products like lunchmeats often refer to a food’s quality rather than its safety. Although foods may be safe for a short time after their “useby” dates, she recommends that you not eat them later than that because they may have been mishandled and may pose a health risk.
In addition to monitoring how long things stay in the refrigerator, you also to need to take care in moving foods from the refrigerator to the table, says Haley. “I follow the two-hour rule: foods should not be left in the temperature danger zone, which is 40 degrees to 140 degrees, for more than two hours,” she says. “When foods are in that temperature danger zone, that’s when bacteria really starts to grow.”
As for frozen foods, the storage guidelines are a bit different. “Safety-wise, you can leave things in the freezer indefinitely, as long as your freezer is working properly and there is no temperature abuse,” says Haley. “It just starts to lose its quality. After awhile, it’s not going to taste very good, it may be dried out and it’s not going to have the same nutritional value.”
Haley reminds that frozen meats should be thawed in the refrigerator, not on the countertop where it will fall into the temperature danger zone. “It usually takes 24 hours for every five pounds,” says Haley. “That’s a good rule of thumb.”
News, Pages 9 on 03/03/2010