When Does Bacon Go Bad After You Open It?

Unless you’re feeding a bunch of folks, even a big pack of bacon probably won’t disappear all at once. You might think that once you crack open a pack of bacon and stash it in the fridge, it’s good to go for a while. After all, bacon’s a preserved meat. But how long does it really last?

According to FoodSafety.gov, if your bacon is the regular kind, it can hang out in your fridge for about a week. But if you’ve got the uncured stuff, it’s more like four days.

So, what’s the deal with cured versus uncured bacon? Well, curing is a way of preserving meat using stuff like smoke, salt, and sugar. All bacon gets cured in some way, but when it’s labeled “uncured,” it means they’ve used different stuff to preserve it, skipping the usual nitrates and nitrites.

Now, about keeping your bacon fresh: The USDA says it’s about a week in the fridge, but only if your fridge is chilly enough—below 40 degrees Fahrenheit (that’s about 4 degrees Celsius). Your fridge needs to be cool to keep food fresh, right?

If you’ve got just a little bacon left and you know you’ll eat it soon, the fridge is fine. But if you want to keep it around longer, try the freezer. Properly frozen bacon, cured or uncured, can last up to a month. Just make sure you defrost it safely when it’s time to cook.

So, whether it’s a spur-of-the-moment breakfast or a well-planned meal, there’s always time for bacon!