How long hot dogs, bacon and deli meat last in the fridge, according to the USDA

A package of hot dogs, a slab of bacon or a pound of turkey from the deli counter is easy to lose track of at the back of the fridge, and the date printed on the label doesn't always answer the question people actually have: how long is it still fine to eat once it's been opened?

FoodSafety.gov, the federal government's food safety site, publishes a cold food storage chart with refrigerator and freezer limits for each food, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service publishes the same timelines. The refrigerator limits assume a fridge at 40°F or below and are meant to keep food from spoiling or becoming dangerous to eat, while the freezer limits are for quality only. The six slides below cover hot dogs, bacon and two kinds of deli meat, then what freezing changes and what to check at home.

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An unopened package of hot dogs keeps for two weeks in the refrigerator, and once the package is open the limit drops to one week, according to FoodSafety.gov. Both limits assume the fridge is at 40°F or below.

Hot dogs are fully cooked, but that doesn't make them risk-free. USDA says Listeria can be present in ready-to-eat foods such as hot dogs and luncheon meats and can grow slowly at refrigerator temperatures, so people at increased risk of foodborne illness should reheat hot dogs until steaming hot before eating. USDA also says hot dogs shouldn't sit at room temperature for more than two hours, or more than one hour when it is above 90°F.

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Bacon keeps for one week in the refrigerator, per the FoodSafety.gov chart, and for about one month in the freezer for quality. Seven days is the limit to follow once the package is open.

Fully cooked, shelf-stable bacon follows different rules. University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension, summarizing the federal FoodKeeper guidance, lists unopened shelf-stable bacon as good in the pantry for six months or until the "use by" date, and opened packages as good in the refrigerator for five to 14 days.

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Meat sliced at the deli counter, along with any luncheon meat once its package is opened, lasts three to five days in the refrigerator, according to FoodSafety.gov. That is much shorter than the two weeks allowed for an unopened package, which gives a pound bought at the counter the shortest clock of the foods covered here.

The freezer limit for luncheon meat is one to two months for quality.

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Prepackaged luncheon meat keeps for two weeks unopened, according to FoodSafety.gov, and the FoodKeeper guidance adds that the limit is two weeks or the "use by" date on the package, as summarized by University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension. Once it's open, the limit falls to three to five days.

USDA's chart lists vacuum-packed sliced lunch meat the same way: two weeks unopened and three to five days opened.

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Freezing stops the clock on safety but not on quality. Food kept continuously at 0°F or below stays safe indefinitely, according to FoodSafety.gov, and the freezer times in the chart are recommendations for quality: one to two months for hot dogs and luncheon meat, and one month for bacon.

If you freeze meat in its original package for longer than two months, USDA's chart advises overwrapping it with heavy-duty foil, plastic wrap or freezer paper, or putting the package inside a plastic bag.