How Long Does Sausage Last? Fridge and Freezer Times

USDA FSIS says uncooked fresh sausage keeps 1 to 2 days in the refrigerator and 1 to 2 months in the freezer. Sausage you have cooked keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated. Hard or dry sausage and summer sausage keep 3 weeks once opened. Frozen sausage stays safe indefinitely at 0°F; the times are for quality.

Sausage storage time is the number of days or months a sausage keeps its best quality in the refrigerator or freezer, according to the USDA FSIS chart. This guide lays out the full FSIS chart so you can see how long sausage lasts for each type, and it says plainly where the chart stops. It does not give shelf lives for homemade sausage.

Which Type of Sausage Do You Have?

FSIS says sausages are either uncooked or ready-to-eat. Uncooked sausages include fresh (bulk, patties or links) and smoked sausages. Ready-to-eat sausages are dry, semi-dry and/or cooked. FSIS lists pepperoni and Genoa salami as dry sausages, summer sausage, Lebanon bologna, Cervelat and Thuringer as semi-dry, and hot dogs, bologna and knockwurst among cooked sausages. Fresh raw sausage means the uncooked fresh type (bulk, patties or links). Find your type first, then read its row in the chart.

How Long Does Raw Sausage Last in the Fridge and Freezer?

FSIS gives fresh raw sausage (its “Fresh Sausage, Uncooked” row) 1 to 2 days in the refrigerator, whether the package is unopened or opened, and 1 to 2 months in the freezer. FSIS says to freeze sausage if you cannot use it within the refrigerator times. For food safety, cook uncooked sausage made with ground beef, pork, lamb or veal to 160°F, and sausage made with ground turkey or chicken to 165°F.

How Long Does Cooked Sausage Last?

FSIS gives fresh sausage you cook yourself 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator and 2 to 3 months in the freezer. Hot dogs and other cooked sausage get 2 weeks unopened and 7 days after opening, and 1 to 2 months in the freezer.

How Long Do Hard, Dry and Summer Sausage Last?

Whole hard or dry sausage keeps 6 weeks in the pantry or indefinitely in the refrigerator, then 3 weeks after opening. Summer sausage (semi-dry) keeps 3 months unopened and 3 weeks after opening. Whole and opened packages are separate rows in the chart, not a conflict. FSIS also says some dry sausages are shelf stable, and that because dry sausages are not cooked, people at risk (older adults, very young children, pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems) might want to avoid eating them.

What Does the Full FSIS Storage Chart Say?

The chart below is copied by value from the FSIS Sausages and Food Safety page. FSIS says all sausage except dry sausage is perishable and must be kept refrigerated, and that the times are for maximum quality. Use it to see how long sausage lasts for your type.

How to use the chart:

1. If the package has a “Use-By” date, FSIS says to follow it.
2. Otherwise find your sausage type in the chart and use the refrigerator time.
3. If you cannot use it within the refrigerator time, freeze it.

What Do Sell-By and Use-By Dates Mean on Sausage?

FSIS says dating is voluntary, and if a date is used it must state what the date means. A “Sell-By” date tells the store how long to display the product and is not a purchase or safety date. A “Best-if-Used-By/Before” date is the date to use the product for best flavor and quality, and is not a purchase or safety date. A “Use-By” date is the last date recommended for use at peak quality, and is not a safety date except on infant formula. FSIS says the product can be used after the date if it was stored safely.

Does Freezing Change Safety?

Freezing changes quality, not safety. The FSIS freezing page says freezer storage is for quality only and frozen foods remain safe indefinitely; food kept constantly at 0°F will always be safe. The FSIS freezer chart gives bacon and sausage 1 to 2 months. Our guide to how long vacuum-sealed meat lasts in the freezer has the longer chart for other meats; see how to label frozen meat for dating packages and how to thaw vacuum-sealed meat for thawing and refreezing.

SAFETY: USDA FSIS: Fresh sausage must be kept refrigerated and thoroughly cooked before eating. Follow the Use-By date on the package, and freeze sausage you cannot use within the refrigerator times.

What Does the Chart Not Cover?

The FSIS page is about sausages sold packaged and inspected (it has a section on dates on packaged sausages). It does not say it covers homemade fresh, smoked or dry-cured sausage, so do not extend these numbers to your own dry-cured batches.

Cooked homemade summer sausage shows the difference. Our venison summer sausage recipe says to use it within 4 days, following FSIS smoking guidance, while the FSIS sausage chart gives commercial semi-dry summer sausage 3 months unopened and 3 weeks opened. These come from different guidance for different products, and we show both rather than choose one. For making your own, see our manual sausage stuffer guide and how to smoke sausage in an electric smoker.

Sausage Shelf Life: Quick Answers