How long doesHamlast?
- Fully cooked, slices, half, or spiral cut and 1 more3 days to 4 days
- Uncured, fresh, uncooked3 days to 5 days
- Fully cooked, bone-in, whole and 11 more1 week
- Fully cooked, vacuum packed, boneless and 1 more2 weeks
- Canned (“keep refrigerated” label) and 2 more6 months to 9 months
The USDA rates 20 kinds of this separately
The USDA files 20 separate entries under this name — canned (“keep refrigerated” label), fully cooked, bone-in, whole, fully cooked, bone-in, half and fully cooked, arm picnic shoulder, boneless, and 16 more listed below — and they do not keep for the same time: at its best the shortest-keeping of them holds 3 days to 4 days outside the freezer, the longest 6 months to 9 months.
The shortest of these, Ham, fully cooked, slices, half, or spiral cut at 4 days, is a safety limit, and past it the food goes out untasted.
Every storage figure the USDA publishes for this item
All three places the USDA recognizes are rated here — pantry, refrigerator and freezer — which only 65 of the 466 foods in the data manage. The source also indexes it as canned, keep refrigerated, label and refrigerated.
Ham, canned (“keep refrigerated” label)
- In the freezernot recommended
- Unopened · in the fridge6 months to 9 months
Ham, fully cooked, bone-in, whole
- In the freezer1 month to 2 months
- Unopened · in the fridge1 week
Ham, fully cooked, bone-in, half
- In the freezer1 month to 2 months
- Unopened · in the fridge1 week
Ham, fully cooked, slices, half, or spiral cut
- In the freezer1 month to 2 months
- Unopened · in the fridge3 days to 4 days
Ham, fully cooked, arm picnic shoulder, boneless
- In the freezer1 month to 2 months
- Unopened · in the fridge1 week
Ham, fully cooked, canned, boneless (refrigerated)
- In the freezer1 month to 2 months
- Unopened · in the fridge6 months to 9 months
- Once opened · in the fridge3 days to 5 days
Ham, fully cooked, vacuum packed, boneless
- In the freezer1 month to 2 months
- Unopened · in the fridge2 weeks
Ham, fresh, cook-before-eating, bone-in, whole
- In the freezer1 month to 2 months
- Unopened · in the fridge1 week
Ham, fresh, cook-before-eating, bone-in, half
- In the freezer1 month to 2 months
- Unopened · in the fridge1 week
Ham, fresh, cook-before-eating, shank or butt portion, bone-in
- In the freezer1 month to 2 months
- Unopened · in the fridge1 week
Ham, fresh, cook-before-eating, arm picnic shoulder, boneless
- In the freezer1 month to 2 months
- Unopened · in the fridge1 week
Ham, fresh, cook-before-eating, shoulder roll (butt), boneless
- In the freezer1 month to 2 months
- Unopened · in the fridge1 week
Ham, fresh, uncooked, whole leg, bone-in
- In the freezer1 month to 2 months
- Unopened · in the fridge1 week
Ham, fresh, uncooked, whole leg, boneless
- In the freezer1 month to 2 months
- Unopened · in the fridge1 week
Ham, fresh, uncooked, half leg, bone-in
- In the freezer1 month to 2 months
- Unopened · in the fridge1 week
Ham, country ham (whole or half)
- In the freezer1 month to 2 months
- Unopened · in the fridge1 week
Ham, shelf-stable cans
- Unopened · in the pantry6 months to 9 months
- Once opened · in the fridge5 days to 14 days
Ham, pre-packaged, luncheon/deli meat
- In the freezer1 month to 2 months
- Unopened · in the fridge2 weeks
- Once opened · in the fridge3 days to 5 days
Ham, uncured, fresh, cooked
- In the freezer3 months to 4 months
- In the fridge3 days to 4 days
Ham, uncured, fresh, uncooked
- In the freezer6 months
- In the fridge3 days to 5 days
What the USDA adds in words
The USDA attaches 1 handling note to this item, reproduced below word for word. It is not a storage time: it qualifies the figure above rather than replacing it. These are the source's own sentences, not ours, and they are the part of the FoodKeeper record that a table of durations cannot carry.
Ham, pre-packaged, luncheon/deli meat, in the freezer. Freezing not recommended.
Turning the range into a date
Each kind gets its own dated rows here, 41 rows across the 20 the USDA lists under this name, because a date is only worth printing against the window it belongs to.
Ham, canned (“keep refrigerated” label)
- Unopened · in the fridgeUse by6 months to 9 months after the day you bought it
Ham, fully cooked, bone-in, whole
- In the freezerUse by1 month to 2 months after the day you bought it
- Unopened · in the fridgeUse by1 week after the day you bought it
Ham, fully cooked, bone-in, half
- In the freezerUse by1 month to 2 months after the day you bought it
- Unopened · in the fridgeUse by1 week after the day you bought it
Ham, fully cooked, slices, half, or spiral cut
- In the freezerUse by1 month to 2 months after the day you bought it
- Unopened · in the fridgeUse by3 days to 4 days after the day you bought it
Ham, fully cooked, arm picnic shoulder, boneless
- In the freezerUse by1 month to 2 months after the day you bought it
- Unopened · in the fridgeUse by1 week after the day you bought it
Ham, fully cooked, canned, boneless (refrigerated)
- In the freezerUse by1 month to 2 months after the day you bought it
- Unopened · in the fridgeUse by6 months to 9 months after the day you bought it
- Once opened · in the fridgeUse by3 days to 5 days after the day you opened it
Ham, fully cooked, vacuum packed, boneless
- In the freezerUse by1 month to 2 months after the day you bought it
- Unopened · in the fridgeUse by2 weeks after the day you bought it
Ham, fresh, cook-before-eating, bone-in, whole
- In the freezerUse by1 month to 2 months after the day you bought it
- Unopened · in the fridgeUse by1 week after the day you bought it
Ham, fresh, cook-before-eating, bone-in, half
- In the freezerUse by1 month to 2 months after the day you bought it
- Unopened · in the fridgeUse by1 week after the day you bought it
Ham, fresh, cook-before-eating, shank or butt portion, bone-in
- In the freezerUse by1 month to 2 months after the day you bought it
- Unopened · in the fridgeUse by1 week after the day you bought it
Ham, fresh, cook-before-eating, arm picnic shoulder, boneless
- In the freezerUse by1 month to 2 months after the day you bought it
- Unopened · in the fridgeUse by1 week after the day you bought it
Ham, fresh, cook-before-eating, shoulder roll (butt), boneless
- In the freezerUse by1 month to 2 months after the day you bought it
- Unopened · in the fridgeUse by1 week after the day you bought it
Ham, fresh, uncooked, whole leg, bone-in
- In the freezerUse by1 month to 2 months after the day you bought it
- Unopened · in the fridgeUse by1 week after the day you bought it
Ham, fresh, uncooked, whole leg, boneless
- In the freezerUse by1 month to 2 months after the day you bought it
- Unopened · in the fridgeUse by1 week after the day you bought it
Ham, fresh, uncooked, half leg, bone-in
- In the freezerUse by1 month to 2 months after the day you bought it
- Unopened · in the fridgeUse by1 week after the day you bought it
Ham, country ham (whole or half)
- In the freezerUse by1 month to 2 months after the day you bought it
- Unopened · in the fridgeUse by1 week after the day you bought it
Ham, shelf-stable cans
- Unopened · in the pantryUse by6 months to 9 months after the day you bought it
- Once opened · in the fridgeUse by5 days to 14 days after the day you opened it
Ham, pre-packaged, luncheon/deli meat
- In the freezerUse by1 month to 2 months after the day you bought it
- Unopened · in the fridgeUse by2 weeks after the day you bought it
- Once opened · in the fridgeUse by3 days to 5 days after the day you opened it
Ham, uncured, fresh, cooked
- In the freezerUse by3 months to 4 months after the day you stored it
- In the fridgeUse by3 days to 4 days after the day you stored it
Ham, uncured, fresh, uncooked
- In the freezerUse by6 months after the day you stored it
- In the fridgeUse by3 days to 5 days after the day you stored it
It is past the date. Now what?
Say the shortest window under this name — it at 3 days to 4 days in the fridge — has run out, or the container sat out on the counter overnight. Throw the container out without tasting it, and count any hours it already spent out of the refrigerator as part of that window rather than on top of it.
What decides that is the food and not the shelf the source files it on: it is an animal food, or made with one. The USDA's limit for perishable food standing at room temperature is 2 hours, or 1 hour when the kitchen is above 90 °F, and that clock runs whatever the storage figure says. Freezing stops the clock but does not turn it back: food already past its window is not rescued by putting it in the freezer. The FoodKeeper entry this page is built from prints storage times and nothing else, so anything past them here is USDA and FSIS guidance rather than a figure from the source. The whole rule, including the cases the source does not cover, is set out under what to do when the date has passed.
Items that behave the same way
Ham carries no single window to compare — its 20 kinds each keep their own — so these 6 are simply what the USDA rates on the same shelf, shortest first: Sausage at 2 days through Retort pouches or boxes at 4 days.
- Sausagekeeps 1 day sealed in the fridgeraw bulk type or patties
- Rabbit, whole, freshkeeps 2 days in the fridge
- Chorizokeeps 1 day in the fridgefresh
- Variety meats, liver, tongue, chitterlings, etc.keeps 1 day sealed in the fridge
- Bratwurstkeeps 2 days in the fridgefresh
- Retort pouches or boxeskeeps 3 days in the fridge once opened
Products the USDA rates in the same places
Only 1 other product in the whole file carries the same set of rated places as this one, freezer, freezer from the day of purchase, pantry from the day of purchase, refrigerator, refrigerator from the day of purchase and refrigerator after opening: Bacon. That is 1 product out of 466, which makes this a rare shape of record rather than a common one, and it is worth knowing that the comparison below is drawn from a very small group. The longest-keeping of them is Bacon at 1 week.
- Bacon1 week in the fridge once opened
Closest by shape, but not an exact match — they share most of these places, not all of them.
- Hot dogs1 week in the fridge once openedup to 2 weeks sealed in the fridge
- Jerky2 months in the fridge once openedcommercially dried · up to 12 months sealed in the pantry
- Chorizo1 day in the fridgefresh
- Venison3 days sealed in the fridge
- Variety meats1 day sealed in the fridge
- Corned beef5 days sealed in the fridge
- Sausage1 day sealed in the fridgeraw bulk type or patties
The record this page is built from
This name is one of the crowded ones in the file: 20 rows carry it, starting at record 82, out of 661 rows in the snapshot altogether. All 20 are printed on this page as separate kinds, because a page that merged their windows into one figure would be publishing a number the USDA never did. No one of the 20 is the kind the plain name means, so this page prints no single figure: the kinds are listed with their own windows and you pick yours.
Where these numbers come from
Every range on this page is published by the USDA FoodKeeper and reproduced unchanged. The multipliers, the rankings, the percentages and the dates are ours, computed from those ranges. Where the source gives a span such as 3 to 5 weeks, comparisons use the upper figure, and the full span is always printed.
Rankings cover only the items the USDA gives a usable figure for, and identical ranges share a place rather than being ordered arbitrarily. Neighbors are chosen by nearest storage time within the same category, never alphabetically: two foods filed next to each other by name usually have nothing to do with each other. The freezer is excluded from ranking because it flattens almost everything.
Where the USDA lists several kinds under one name, they share one page here and every kind keeps its own windows: the source prints them as separate rows, and a page that merged them would be inventing a figure the source never published. Comparisons and the place in the category are computed for the kind the plain name means — the shell egg for eggs, the can for tuna — which is settled name by name rather than by the order the source lists its rows in, and the page names it. Where the plain name means no single kind, the page prints no single figure at all and lists the kinds instead.
Source: USDA FoodKeeper, retrieved 1 September 2026. This site computes every comparison on this page and takes responsibility for it. Found a figure that does not match the source? Tell us on the contact page, with the page and the row — the parsing is mechanical, so a mismatch is our bug and we want it. How the whole site is built, which figures are ours and where the source can be checked is on the method page.
USDA index terms: arm picnic, arm picnic shoulder, before-eating, bone, bone-in, boneless, butt, butt portion, can, canned, cans, cook-before-eating, cooked, country ham, deli, fresh, fully cooked, fully cooked uncured ham, half, half leg, keep refrigerated, label, leg, luncheon, luncheon/deli meat, packaged, pre-packaged, refrigerated, roll, shank, shelf, shelf stable, shelf stable cans, shoulder, shoulder roll, slice, slices, spiral cut, stable, uncooked, uncured, uncured ham, uncured ham uncooked, vacuum packed, whole, whole leg
KeepsUntil is an independent reference built on public USDA data. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the Food and Drug Administration. Whether a given window is a safety limit or a quality window is stated on the page that prints it.