Freezing and refrigerating meat can cause a delay in the growth of bacteria. However, these processes can never stop them from doing so. Moreover, frozen meat stays fresh for a longer period of time compared to refrigerated meat but what people should always remember is that their refrigerators must have a temperature which is not more than 40°F to prevent bacteria from growing at an incredible speed.
Plus, foods in your refrigerator should be placed at the farthest distance from its door and that door should never be left open. It would also be better for you to purchase a thermostat for your refrigerator so you can easily update its temperature when needed.
In instances of a power blackout lasting for 2 hours, any refrigerated food which already has a temperature of more than 40°F should be thrown away immediately.
Actually, there are 2 types of bacteria: spoilage and pathogenic .The first type damages refrigerated food and its effects can be tasted, smelled and seen. However, it can’t cause you any sickness unlike the pathogenic bacteria.
On the other hand, the 2nd type of bacteria can never be seen by the naked eye and worst, we can eat unrefrigerated foods that they have infected without knowing that those items are already contaminated.
Below are the time periods in which refrigerated meats are safe to be digested:
- 1 day: chicken breasts, lamb chops and tuffed pork
- 1-2 days: shellfish, fish, poultry, stew meats, veal and ground beef
- 3-5 days: tuna and any kind of salad
- 3-7 days: ham, roasts and steaks
- 4 days: leftovers that are already cooked
- 1 week: bacon, opened packages of hotdogs and eggs (hard boiled)
- 2 weeks: unopened packages of hotdogs
- 3-5 weeks: eggs (raw)
The different time periods mentioned above starts from the day that you have bought the food and brought it to your refrigerator. The periods were also made assuming that you didn’t let your groceries stay under the sun for a long time.