How long does chicken last?
Chicken or turkey, whole or in pieces, keeps 1 to 2 days in the refrigerator and 9 months to 1 year in the freezer, per the official charts.
| Form | Where | Official window |
|---|---|---|
| whole | refrigerator | 1 to 2 days |
| whole | freezer | 1 year |
| pieces | refrigerator | 1 to 2 days |
| pieces | freezer | 9 months |
| raw, from chicken, turkey, pork, or beef (sausage) | refrigerator | 1 to 2 days |
| raw, from chicken, turkey, pork, or beef (sausage) | freezer | 1 to 2 months |
The official discard rule
Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days or frozen for 3 to 4 months.
These are the official windows, when in doubt follow the source linked below.
Grounded in: foodsafety.gov, fsis.usda.gov. Every window above appears
verbatim in the linked sources.
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checkthetemp.com USDA safe cooking temperatures
freezeornot.com what freezes well and how long it keeps
getthestainout.com gentle stain removal, step by step
readthetag.com laundry care symbols, decoded
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ismyplantdying.com diagnose a struggling plant
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