Food storage
How long does food last in the fridge?
Meat, fish, dairy, leftovers and vegetables in one chart, with the rule of thumb for each and what to cook before it turns.
Most food in the fridge does not go off on a date. It goes off on a curve: fine, then a bit tired, then suddenly not fine. The times below are how long each food stays safe and good in a fridge at the right temperature, taken from US and UK food safety guidance. Use them to decide what to cook tonight, not as a reason to throw things out early.
The short version: raw chicken, mince and fish get 1 to 2 days. Cooked leftovers get 3 to 4 days (cooked rice, only 1). Eggs, hard cheese and most root vegetables last weeks. Leafy greens, berries and mushrooms are the ones that catch people out.
Check your fridge temperature first
Every time in this guide assumes a cold fridge. The USDA says 40°F (4°C) or below; the UK Food Standards Agency says 5°C (41°F) or below. Many fridges run warmer than their owners think, especially when full or opened often, and a few degrees can take days off everything inside. The dial on most fridges is a setting, not a thermometer, so a cheap fridge thermometer on the middle shelf is worth having.
Two more rules sit underneath everything else:
- The two-hour rule. Perishable food should not sit at room temperature for more than two hours (one hour on a very hot day). Get leftovers into the fridge promptly: cooling on the side all evening shortens their life.
- Use-by is not best-before. A use-by date is about safety: do not eat food after it, however it looks. A best-before date is about quality: food is usually fine after it if it has been stored properly.
Meat, fish and eggs
The colour dots below match what Make Do shows when it reads your fridge: use soon, about a week, keeps.
| Food | In the fridge | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Raw chicken and turkey | 1–2 days | Freeze on the day you buy it if you will not cook it by tomorrow. |
| Raw ground meat (mince) | 1–2 days | More surface area than a steak, so it turns faster. |
| Raw fish and seafood | 1–2 days | Keep it on the bottom shelf, in the coldest part of the fridge. |
| Raw steaks, chops and roasts | 3–5 days | Whole cuts keep longer than anything minced or diced. |
| Bacon | About 7 days | Once opened; check the pack for its own date. |
| Deli meat, opened | 3–5 days | Sliced ham, turkey and similar. |
| Raw eggs in their shells | 3–5 weeks | Store in the box, not the door, where the temperature swings. |
| Hard-boiled eggs | About 1 week | Peeled or not. |
Leftovers and cooked food
This is where the US and UK advice differ most, so both are here.
| Food | In the fridge | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Cooked meat and poultry | 3–4 days | USDA guidance. Reheat until steaming hot all the way through. |
| Soups, stews, curries | 3–4 days | Or freeze in portions for 2–3 months. |
| Cooked rice | 1 day | UK Food Standards Agency advice. Cool it quickly, and reheat it only once. |
| Pizza and takeaway | 3–4 days | Treat it like any other cooked leftover. |
Rice gets its own rule because of a bacterium called Bacillus cereus. Its spores survive cooking, and if cooked rice sits warm, they can produce toxins that reheating does not destroy. Cool rice fast (spread it out on a plate), refrigerate it within an hour or so, and eat it the next day. Egg fried rice is the classic answer.
Dairy
| Food | In the fridge | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Milk, opened | About 7 days | Follow the label if it says less. Keep it on a shelf, not the door. |
| Yogurt | 1–2 weeks | A little liquid on top is whey. Stir it back in. |
| Soft cheese (brie, ricotta, mozzarella) | About 1 week once opened | Throw soft cheese away if it grows mould; do not cut it off. |
| Hard cheese (cheddar, parmesan) | 3–4 weeks once opened | A small spot of mould can be cut away with a generous margin. |
Fruit and vegetables
Produce times vary much more than meat or dairy, because they depend on how fresh it was when you bought it and how it is stored. Treat these as rough guides and trust your eyes and nose.
| Food | In the fridge | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Bagged salad and spinach | 3–5 days | Once opened, a few days at most. A paper towel in the bag absorbs moisture. |
| Berries | 2–5 days | Wash just before eating, not before storing. |
| Mushrooms | 3–7 days | A paper bag beats plastic, which makes them slimy. |
| Fresh herbs | About a week | Soft herbs keep best stood in a glass of water, like flowers. |
| Broccoli and cauliflower | 3–7 days | Yellowing florets are still fine to cook. |
| Peppers, zucchini (courgettes), cucumbers | About a week | Soft spots can be cut away. |
| Carrots and other roots | 2–4 weeks | Bendy carrots are fine: they have lost water, not safety. |
| Cabbage | 1–2 weeks or more | Peel off the outer leaves as they tire. |
| Apples and citrus | Several weeks | Much longer in the fridge than in a fruit bowl. |
Some things are better out of the fridge. Bread goes stale faster in the cold (freeze it instead). Tomatoes lose flavour below room temperature until they are fully ripe. Whole onions, potatoes and winter squash prefer a cool, dark cupboard.
How to tell if food has gone off
Dates and charts get you close. Your senses do the rest, with one big exception: the bacteria that cause food poisoning usually cannot be seen or smelled. So:
- Throw away anything past its use-by date, anything slimy or sticky that should not be, any mould on soft food, and anything that smells sour or wrong.
- Keep and cook vegetables that are soft, bendy or wrinkled, bread that is stale (toast it or make crumbs) and milk that is just on its date if it smells fine.
- When in doubt, throw it out. This applies above all to raw meat, fish and cooked rice.
Cook the right thing first
Knowing that chicken lasts two days only helps if you remember when you bought it. The simplest system is to keep a "use first" spot at the front of one shelf and to plan tonight's dinner around whatever is in it.
That is also what Make Do does for you. Photograph your fridge and it lists what it can see, marks each item as use-soon, about-a-week or keeps, and suggests five recipes that start with the food closest to turning. Scan again a few days later and it remembers how long each thing has been there.
Sources
- USDA / FoodSafety.gov: Cold food storage charts
- UK Food Standards Agency: How to chill, freeze and defrost food safely and Best before and use-by dates
This guide is general information, not medical advice. Pregnant people, young children, older adults and anyone with a weakened immune system should follow stricter guidance from their doctor or national food safety agency.
Questions
How long do leftovers last in the fridge?
US guidance (USDA) is 3 to 4 days for cooked leftovers such as meat, poultry, soups and stews, kept at 40°F (4°C) or below. Cooked rice is the exception: the UK Food Standards Agency says to eat it within a day.
What temperature should my fridge be?
The USDA says 40°F (4°C) or below. The UK Food Standards Agency says 5°C (41°F) or below. A cheap fridge thermometer is the only way to know, because the dial on most fridges is not a temperature.
Is it safe to eat food after the use-by date?
No. Use-by dates are about safety, so do not eat food after one, even if it looks and smells fine. Best-before dates are about quality: food is usually fine after them if it has been stored properly.
Can I freeze food on the day it expires?
Yes, up to and including the use-by date. Freezing pauses the clock, so food frozen on its last day should be cooked soon after thawing.
