How Long Does Italian Sausage (Raw) Last?

Raw Italian sausage shares breakfast sausage's 1-2 day fridge window, since both are raw ground pork products where bacteria get distributed throughout the meat during grinding and stuffing rather than staying concentrated at a single surface.

A sour or notably rancid odor, along with a casing that's turned sticky or slick to the touch rather than simply glossy from its natural fat content, are the clearest signs raw Italian sausage has spoiled. Links bought loose from a butcher counter, rather than in factory-sealed packaging, are generally treated as being toward the shorter end of that fridge window, given the additional handling involved. As with any raw ground pork product, Italian sausage needs to reach 160°F internally when cooked, regardless of whether it's sold in links or loose for crumbling into a sauce.

Sausage that's been left unrefrigerated for more than two hours after cooking, such as sitting out at a barbecue, should be discarded rather than returned to the fridge, since that same food-safety window applies to cooked sausage as it does to any other cooked meat.

Sausage kept toward the back of a fridge shelf, rather than the door, experiences less temperature swing with every opening, which helps it more reliably reach the full end of its short 1-2 day window.

Links that feel unusually slimy through the casing itself, rather than just glossy from natural fat, or that have developed a strong sour smell noticeable before the package is even opened, should be discarded rather than cooked and tasted to check.

See Italian Sausage (Raw)'s full storage & shelf-life guide (with spoilage signs) →