Sausages and Food Safety

What is on the label?

USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline

1-888-MPHotline

(1-888-674-6854)

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is the public health agency 

in the U.S. Department of Agriculture responsible for ensuring that the nation’s commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg products is safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled and packaged.

Food Safety Information

United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

summer sausage, kielbasa, bologna, bratwurst: The list goes on and on. There are so many varieties of sausage. How long can you store them — and where? Are they fully cooked or not? The following background information 

will answer these questions and others. Use the chart as a guideline for safe storage.

Sausages are either uncooked or ready to eat. They can be made from red 

meat (for example, beef, pork, lamb, or veal), poultry (turkey or chicken, for 

example) or a combination. Uncooked sausages include fresh (bulk, patties, or 

links) and smoked sausages. 

To prevent foodborne illness, uncooked sausages that contain ground beef, 

pork, lamb or veal should be cooked to 160 °F. Uncooked sausages that contain ground turkey and chicken should be cooked to 165 °F.

Ready-to-eat sausages are dry, semi-dry, and/or cooked. Dry sausages may 

be smoked, unsmoked, or cooked. Semi-dry sausages are usually heated in 

a smokehouse to fully cook the product and partially dry it. Cooked sausages 

(for example, bologna, and frankfurters) are cooked and may also be smoked.

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) inspects all sausages in 

interstate commerce and all sausages that are exported to other countries. If 

sausages are made in a retail establishment (such as a grocery store, meat 

market, or restaurant) and are sold within the State where the establishment 

is located, the sausage may be under the jurisdiction of that State’s health or 

agriculture department.

The label provides consumers with information about a product at the time of 

sale. Labels are required to bear certain mandatory features including: 

(1) the product name; 

(2) an ingredients statement; 

(3) the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or 

 distributor; 

(4) an accurate statement of the net quantity of contents; 

(5) the inspection legend and USDA establishment number; 

(6) a safe handling statement if the product is perishable (for example, 

 “Keep Frozen” or “Keep Refrigerated”); 

(7) safe handling instructions, if the meat or poultry component of the 

 product is not ready to eat; and 

(8) nutrition facts information. The Nutrition Facts information on the label 

 can help consumers compare products and make more informed, 

 healthy food choices. If sausages are made and packaged in a local 

 store, the nutrient information on the package is voluntary or it may be

 at the point of purchase. The application of a “use” or “sell by” date is 

 optional.

Types of Sausages

Who inspects sausages?
Sausages and Food Safety

Food Safety Information 2

The labeling for sausages under FSIS inspection that are NOT ready to eat 

must bear certain features such as safe handling instructions. In cases where 

the sausage is partially cooked or otherwise appears cooked but requires 

cooking by the consumer for safety, FSIS requires additional labeling features 

such as a prominent statement on the principal display panel, for example, 

“Uncooked, Ready to cook, Cook before eating, Cook and serve,” or “Needs to 

be fully cooked.” 

In addition, the product should display cooking directions that are sufficient 

for the intended user. The manufacturer would have to validate that the 

cooking directions are sufficient to destroy any pathogens that could be 

present.

If a sausage is perishable, the label must say “Keep Refrigerated.” Some 

federally inspected shelf-stable sausages are not ready to eat. If so, they will 

be labeled as above but will not have “Keep Refrigerated” on the label. 

Fresh sausages are a coarse or finely “comminuted” (reduced to minute 

particles) meat food product prepared from one or more kinds of meat, or 

meat and meat “byproducts” (heart, kidney, or liver, for example). They 

may contain water not exceeding 3% of the total ingredients in the product. 

They are usually seasoned, frequently cured, and may contain binders and 

extenders (for example, wheat flour, and non-fat dry milk). They must be 

kept refrigerated and thoroughly cooked before eating.

•	 “Fresh Pork Sausages” may not contain pork byproducts and may 

contain no more than 50% fat by weight. 

•	 “Fresh Beef Sausages” may not contain beef byproducts and may 

contain no more than 30% fat by weight. 

•	 “Breakfast Sausages” may contain meat and meat byproducts and no 

more than 50% fat by weight.

•	 “Whole Hog Sausage” contains meat from swine in such proportions 

as are normal to a single animal and no more than 50% fat by 

weight. 

•	 “Italian Sausage Products” are cured or uncured sausages containing 

at least 85% meat, or a combination of meat and fat, with the total 

fat content constituting not more than 35% of the finished product. 

It contains salt, pepper, fennel and/or anise and no more than 3% 

water. Optional ingredients permitted in Italian Sausages are spices 

(including paprika) and flavorings, red or green peppers, onions, 

garlic and parsley, sugar, dextrose and corn syrup. 

Cooked and/or smoked sausages are made of one or more different kinds of 

chopped or ground meats which have been seasoned, cooked and/or smoked. 

Meat byproducts may be used. Included in this category are: 

•	 liverwurst 

•	 hot dogs 

•	 bologna 

•	 knockwurst 

•	 cooked bratwurst 

•	 braunschweiger 

•	 cooked Thuringer

•	 cooked salami*

*Cooked Salami (not dry) is made from fresh meats which are cured, stuffed 

into casings and cooked in a smokehouse at high temperature. It may be air 

dried for a short time. It has a softer texture than dry and semi-dry sausages 

and must be refrigerated.

Definition of Fresh 

Sausages

Content of Fresh 

Sausages

Cooked and/or Smoked 

Sausages

What must be listed on 

the label of sausages 

that are NOT ready to 

eat?
Sausages and Food Safety

Food Safety Information 3

Some meat specialties are ready-to-eat sausage-like products. These are 

made from comminuted meats that are seasoned and usually cooked or baked 

rather than smoked. They are usually sliced and served cold. Included in this 

category are: 

•	 chopped ham loaf 

•	 peppered loaf 

•	 head cheese 

•	 jellied corned beef 

•	 ham and cheese loaf 

•	 honey loaf 

•	 old fashioned loaf 

•	 olive loaf 

•	 pickle and pimento loaf 

•	 scrapple 

•	 souse 

•	 veal loaf

Dry and semi-dry sausages are possibly the largest category of dried meats, 

particularly in the United States. These products can be fermented by

bacterial growth for preservation and to produce the typical tangy flavor. 

Alternatively, they may be cultured with lactic acid — much as cheese, pickle, 

and yogurt makers do — to eliminate the fermentation phase and shorten the 

process. They are, with a few exceptions, cooked. 

Fermentation is one of the oldest methods of preserving meats. Dry sausages 

— such as pepperoni, and semidry sausages such as Lebanon bologna and 

summer sausage, have had a good safety record for hundreds of years. 

In this procedure, a mixture of curing ingredients, such as salt and sodium 

nitrite, and a “starter” culture of lactic acid-bacteria, is mixed with chopped 

and ground meat, placed in casings, fermented, and then dried by a carefully 

controlled, long, continuous air-drying process. The amount of acid produced 

during fermentation and the lack of moisture in the finished product after 

drying typically have been shown to cause pathogenic bacteria to die.

Dry sausages require more time to make than other types of sausages and 

are a more concentrated form of meat. Dried sausages range from 60% to 

80% of their original weight before drying.

Semi-dry sausages are usually heated in the smokehouse to fully cook the 

product and partially dry it. Semi-dry sausages are semi-soft sausages with 

good keeping qualities due to their lactic acid fermentation and sometimes 

heavy application of smoke. Some are mildly seasoned, and some are quite 

spicy and strongly flavored. 

Dry sausages include:

•	 Sopressata (a name of a salami)

•	 pepperoni (not cooked, air dried) 

•	 Genoa Salami (Italian, usually made from pork but may have a small 

amount of beef; it is moistened with wine or grape juice and seasoned 

with garlic)

Semi-dry sausages include:

•	 summer sausage 

•	 Lebanon bologna 

•	 Cervelat

•	 Thuringer

Meat Specialties

Dry and Semi-Dry 

Sausages

What are examples 

of dry and semi-dry 

sausages?
Sausages and Food Safety

Food Safety Information 4

Some dry sausages are shelf stable (in other words, they do not need to 

be refrigerated or frozen to be stored safely). Dry sausages require more 

production time than other types of sausage and result in a concentrated 

form of meat. If the product is shelf stable and ready to eat, the product is 

not required to have a safe handling statement, cooking directions or a “Keep 

Refrigerated” statement.

Because dry sausages are not cooked, people “at risk” (older adults, very 

young children, pregnant women, and those with immune systems weakened 

by disease or organ transplants) might want to avoid eating them. The 

bacterium E. coli O157:H7 can survive the process of dry fermenting, and in 

1994, some children became ill after eating dry cured salami containing the 

bacteria.

After the outbreak, FSIS developed specific processing rules for making dry 

sausages that must be followed or the product must be heat treated. These 

products are included in the FSIS microbial sampling program for E. coli 

O157:H7, and in 1997, FSIS began to test fermented sausages for Salmonella 

and Listeria monocytogenes.

Although dating is a voluntary program and not required by the Federal 

government, if a date is used, it must state what the date means. The product 

can be used after the date, provided it was stored safely. Follow the guidelines 

on the following page for maximum quality in sausage products. 

•	 “Sell-By” date - tells the store how long to display the product for sale. 

You should buy the product before the date expires. 

•	 “Best if Used By (or Before)” date - date by which the product should 

be used for best flavor and quality. It is not a purchase or safety date. 

•	 “Use-By” date - the last date recommended for use of the product 

while at peak quality.

Are any sausages shelf 

Stable?

Should people “at risk” 

eat dry sausages?

Dates on Packaged 

Sausages

Storage All sausage — except dry sausage — is perishable and therefore must be kept 

refrigerated. For maximum quality, follow the storage times in the Sausage 

Storage Chart.
Food Safety Questions?

Sausages and Food Safety

The USDA is an equal opportunity

 provider and employer.

 Revised May 2011

FSIS encourages the reprint and distribution of this publication for food safety 

purposes. However, the included image from PhotoDisc, used under license, is 

protected by the copyright laws of the U.S., Canada, and elsewhere, and may not be 

saved or downloaded except for printing of this publication.

Call the USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline

Send E-mail questions to MPHotline.fsis@usda.gov.

SAUSAGE STORAGE CHART

•	 If the sausage has a “use-by” date, follow that date. It is the last date recommended for the use of the 

product while at peak quality. The date has been determined by the manufacturer of the product. 

•	 If the sausage has a “sell-by” date, or no date, store it for the times recommended below.

•	 Freeze sausage if you can’t use it within times the times recommended for refrigerator storage. Once 

frozen it doesn’t matter if the date expires because foods kept frozen continuously are safe indefinitely. 

TYPE OF SAUSAGE

Fresh Sausage, uncooked 

Fresh Sausage, after cooking 

by consumer 

Hard/Dry Sausage 

Hot Dogs and other Cooked 

Sausage 

Luncheon meat

Summer Sausage (Semi-dry)

REFRIGERATOR - 

UNOPENED

1 to 2 days unopened 

or opened

(not applicable) 

Whole, 6 weeks in 

pantry; indefinitely in 

refrigerator.

2 weeks

2 weeks

3 months 

REFRIGERATOR - 

AFTER OPENING

1 to 2 days unopened 

or opened

3 to 4 days

3 weeks 

7 days

3 to 5 days

3 weeks

IN FREEZER

(for best quality)

1 to 2 months

2 to 3 months

Sliced, 

1 to 2 months

1 to 2 months

1 to 2 months

1 to 2 months

Ask Karen!

FSIS’ automated response 

system can provide food safety 

information 24/7 and a

live chat 

during 

Hotline 

hours.

If you have a question 

about meat, poultry, or 

egg products, call 

the USDA Meat and 

Poultry Hotline 

toll free at 

1-888-MPHotline

(1-888-674-6854)

The hotline is open

year-round

 Monday through Friday from 10 

a.m. to 4 p.m. ET (English 

or Spanish).

Recorded food safety 

messages are available 24 hours a day. 

Check out the 

FSIS Web site at

 

www.fsis.usda.gov. AskKaren.gov

PregunteleaKaren.gov