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

PhotoDisc

Mail Order Food Safety

Convenience means many things to many people, but anything that helps save time is always high oneveryone’s list of conveniences. With more Americans working and being more time-crunched than ever, the

ultimate time saver and convenience is home delivery of mail order foods.

While the mail order industry enjoys a good safety

record, ordering food through the mail may cause

concerns about food safety, shelf life, and

distribution. It’s imperative to develop some mental

checklists for how both food and packaging should

look when perishable mail order foods arrive. This is

especially true for meat, poultry, fish, and other

perishable foods such as cheesecake, which must be

carefully handled in a timely manner to prevent

foodborne illness.

The following food safety tips will help the purchaser

and recipient determine if their perishable foods have

been handled properly:

• Make sure the company sends perishable

items, like meat or poultry, cold or frozen and

packed with a cold source. It should be

packed in foam or heavy corrugated

cardboard.

• The food should be delivered as quickly as

possible — ideally, overnight. Make sure

perishable items and the outer package are

labeled “Keep Refrigerated” to alert the

recipient.

• When you receive a food item marked “Keep

Refrigerated,” open it immediately and check

its temperature. The food should arrive

frozen or partially frozen with ice crystals still

visible or at least refrigerator cold—below

40 °F as measured with a food thermometer.

Even if a product is smoked, cured, vacuumpacked, and/or fully cooked, it still is a

perishable product and must be kept cold. If

perishable food arrives warm -- above 40 °F

as measured with a food thermometer, notify

the company. Do not consume the food. Do

not even taste suspect food.

COOLER LID

CORRUGATED

DOUBLE-STRENGTH 

BOX

PLENTY OF 

WRAPPED 

DRY ICE

REUSABLE 

INSULATED 

COOLER

2.75 MILS-THICK 

POLYETHYLENE FILM 

USED AS FINAL LAYER OF 

INSULATION AND 

PROTECTIVE SHRINK WRAP

“MINIATURE DEEP-FREEZE” PACKAGING

• Tell the recipient if the company has promised

a delivery date. Or alert the recipient that

“the gift is in the mail” so someone can be

there to receive it. Don’t have perishable

items delivered to an office unless you know it

will arrive on a work day and there is

refrigerator space available for keeping it

cold.

Americans also enjoy cooking foods that are family

favorites and mailing these items to family and

friends. The same rules that cover the mail order

industry also apply to foods prepared and mailed

from home. Make sure perishable foods are not held

at temperatures between 40 and 140 °F, the “Danger

Zone”, for longer than 2 hours. Pathogenic bacteria

can grow rapidly in the “Danger Zone”, but they may

not affect the taste, smell, or appearance of a food.

In other words, you cannot tell that a food has been

mishandled or is unsafe to eat.

Use the handy chart, compiled by the USDA Meat and

Poultry Hotline and FDA Outreach and Information

Center, to plan your purchase, send a home-prepared

item, and store popular mail order foods.
Food Safety Questions?

The USDA is an equal opportunity

 provider and employer.

Revised January 2008

Mail Order Food Safety

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.

For perishable foods prepared at home

and mailed, follow these guidelines:

• Ship in a sturdy box.

• Pack with a cold source, i.e., frozen gel packs

or dry ice.

When using dry ice:

• Don’t touch the dry ice with bare hands.

• Don’t let it come in direct contact with food.

• Warn the recipient of its use by writing

 “Contains Dry Ice” on the outside of the box.

• Wrap box in two layers of brown paper.

• Use permanent markers to label outside of

the box. Use recommended packing tape.

• Label outside clearly; make sure address is

complete and correct.

• Write “Keep Refrigerated” on outside of the

box.

• Alert recipient of its expected arrival.

• Do not send to business addresses or where

there will not be adequate refrigerator

storage.

• Do not send packages at the end of the

week. Send them at the beginning of the

week so they do not sit in the post office or

mailing facility over the weekend.

• Whenever possible, send foods that do not

require refrigeration, e.g., hard salami, hard

cheese, country ham.

If mail order foods arrive in a

questionable condition,

you may contact the following organizations for help:

• USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-

MPHotline, weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET (1-

888-674-6854) (meat, poultry, and egg

products)

• FDA Outreach and Information Center 1 (888)

723-3366 weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET

(any foods other than meat, poultry, and egg

products)

• Direct Marketing Association, Consumer

Affairs Department, 1615 L Street N.W., Suite

1100, Washington, DC 20036.

Direct Marketing Association (DMA) offers a free

consumer service and acts as an intermediary

between consumers and direct marketing companies

to resolve complaints on a timely basis. Consumers

may register complaints with DMA by writing to the

above address or e-mailing to Consumer@theDMA.org; phone calls are not accepted.

Consumers requesting assistance through DMA

should include the complete name and address of

the company involved in the complaint, photocopies

(not originals) of any canceled checks, order forms,

other relevant documents, and a letter summarizing

the facts of the complaint.

DMA will refer the letter to the company on the

consumer’s behalf and ask that the company resolve

the matter. The majority of DMA complaints are

resolved successfully within a 30-day period.

Ask Karen!

FSIS’ automated response

system can provide food safety

information 24/7.

www.fsis.usda.gov

Call the USDA Meat & Poultry Hotline

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);

TTY: 1-800-256-7072.

 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.

Send E-mail questions to MPHotline.fsis@usda.gov.
Focus on Chicken Mail Order Food Safety

Food Safety Information 3

SAFE HANDLING OF MAIL ORDER FOODS

These short but safe time limits will help keep refrigerated foods from spoiling or becoming unsafe to

eat. Because freezing keeps food safe indefinitely, recommended storage times are for quality only.

N/A - not advisable

FOOD ITEM

MEATS

Beef and Lamb; steaks

and roasts

Game Birds

Pork, chops, and roasts

Turkey – smoked, cooked

Turkey – whole,

uncooked

Ham — country

Ham — whole, fully

cooked

Ham — canned, labeled

“Keep Refrigerated”

Ham — canned, shelf

stable

Ham — fully cooked,

vacuum sealed at plant,

undated, unopened

Ham — fully cooked,

vacuum sealed at plant,

dated, unopened

Sausage – dry

fermented, not labeled

“Keep Refrigerated”

Sausage – Summer, not

labeled “Keep

Refrigerated”

Sausage – Summer,

labeled “Keep

Refrigerated”

Frozen entrees – meat or

vegetable

CONDITION

UPON ARRIVAL

Frozen or

refrigerator cold

Frozen or

refrigerator cold

Frozen or

refrigerator cold

Frozen or

refrigerator cold

Frozen or

refrigerator cold

Room

temperature

Frozen or

refrigerator cold

Refrigerator cold

Room

temperature

Frozen or

refrigerator cold

Frozen or

refrigerator cold

Room

temperature

Room

temperature

Frozen or

refrigerator cold

Frozen

STORAGE

Pantry

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1 year

N/A

N/A

2 years

N/A

N/A

4-6 weeks

4-6 weeks

N/A

N/A

STORAGE

Refrigerator 40 °F

3-5 days

1-2 days

3-5 days

7 days

1-2 days

Sliced, 2-3 months

7 days

6-9 months unopened;

7 days opened

3-4 days opened

2 weeks

Use by date

6 months unopened;

2-3 weeks opened

6 months unopened;

2-3 weeks opened

3 months unopened;

3 weeks opened

3-4 days after cooking

STORAGE

Freezer 0 °F

1 year

1 year

6 months

6 months

1 year

1 month

1-2 months

1-2 months

opened

1-2 months

opened

1-2 months

1-2 months

1-2 months

1-2 months

1-2 months

2-3 months,

cook frozen
Food Safety Information 4

Mail Order Food Safety

SAFE HANDLING OF MAIL ORDER FOODS

N/A - not advisable

CONDITION

UPON ARRIVAL

STORAGE

Pantry

STORAGE

Refrigerator 40 °F

STORAGE

Freezer 0 °F

FOOD ITEM

SEAFOOD

Caviar — non-pasteurized

(fresh)

Caviar — pasteurized,

vacuum package

Hors d’Oeuvres/Pastries

Lobster – live

Salmon – smoked, clear

vacuum package (e.g.,

Nova Lox)

Salmon — vacuum

packaged, and/or labeled

“Keep Refrigerated”

Salmon — smoked, heavy

metalic pouch in outer

cardboard container, shelf

stable

Frozen entrees – seafood

CHEESE PRODUCTS

Cheese – soft (e.g., cream

cheese)

Cheese –processed or hard

Cheesecake

FRUIT PRODUCTS

Fruit — fresh, whole*

Fruit — dried

Fruit Cakes/Plum Pudding

Fruit/Nut Breads

Refrigerator cold

Room temperature

Frozen or

refrigerator cold

Alive in sea water

Frozen or

refrigerator cold

Frozen or

refrigerator cold

Room temperature

Frozen

Refrigerator cold

Safe at room

temperature, but

refrigeration

prolongs quality

Frozen or

refrigerator cold

Refrigerator cold

or room

temperature

Room temperature

Cold or room

temperature

Cold or room

temperature

N/A

Refrigerate

upon arrival

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1 year

unopened

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

6 months unopened;

2 days opened

1 year unopened

3-4 days after cooking

1-2 days, alive

7 days unopened;

2 days opened

7 days unopened;

2 days opened

2 days opened

2 days after thawing

2 weeks opened

3-6 months unopened;

3-4 months opened;

2 weeks sliced

7 days

Do not freeze

Do not freeze

3 months

Do not freeze

2 months

2 months

N/A

1 year

N/A

small pieces

6 months

3 months

1 month

1 month,

quality better if

refrigerated or

frozen

N/A

* Fruit storage varies by type. After refrigerating, store

from 3 days to 3 weeks; prepared for freezing, fruits can

be frozen for up to 1 year.

6 months after opened

6 months

7 days

N/A

1 year

6 months
Food Safety Information 5

Mail Order Food Safety

SAFE HANDLING OF MAIL ORDER FOODS

N/A - not advisable

FOOD ITEM CONDITION

UPON ARRIVAL

STORAGE

Pantry

STORAGE

Refrigerator 40 °F

STORAGE

Freezer 0 °F

2 days

1 year

12 months

unopened

1 year

1 year

6 months

unopened;

3 months

 opened

6 months

unopened

2 years

unopened;

1 year opened

1 year

unopened;

1 month opened

1 year

2 years

unopened

1 year unopened

18 months

2 years

3 years

1-3 weeks

2 years

1 year

unopened;

2-3 months

opened

OTHER

Frosted cakes, layered

tortes, petit fours

Chocolate candy/other

confections

Jams/Jellies

Pickles, pickled vegetables

Olives

Oils, olive or vegetable

Oils, nut

Vinegar

Mustard

Honey

Pure Maple Syrup

Nuts – cans, jars, or

cellophane

Tea:

 Bags

 Loose

 Instant

Coffee:

 Whole beans,

 non-vacuum bag

 Ground, in can

 Instant, jars, & tins

Frozen or

refrigerator cold

Cold or room

temperature

Room temperature

Room temperature

Room temperature

Room temperature

Room temperature

Room temperature

Room temperature

Room temperature

Room temperature

Room temperature

Room temperature

Room temperature

Room temperature

Room temperature

Room temperature

Room temperature

3 days

1 year

6 months

2 months opened

2 weeks

N/A

4 months,

opened

N/A

1 year opened

N/A

1 year opened

6 months opened

N/A

N/A

N/A

2 weeks

2 weeks

2 weeks

2 months

1 year

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1 year opened

N/A

N/A

N/A

3-4 months

3-4 months

3-4 months