How Long Does Tuna Salad Last (And Why)?

Exact Answer: 2 Hours-5 Days

It happens quite that you cook a lot of food and then are not able to finish it. Many times when you plan a party and prepare food for your guests, you are left with some leftover food.

You can’t just throw the leftover food or leave it wherever it is. It is necessary to store the food the right way to make sure it remains good. Various food items need to be stored in various ways.

Especially when you cook something, its shelf life decreases. When you cook a dish, you need to store it the right way so that it doesn’t get spoiled. Some dishes need to be stored in the fridge while some need to be put in the freezer.

How Long Does Tuna Salad Last?

Tuna Salad is one of those dishes that people love a lot. If you have a get-together or a small party, tuna salad is there for the guests to enjoy. But, all of the tuna salad you prepare doesn’t get finished. You are left with leftover tuna salad that you need to store well.

Many people don’t know how long tuna salad can stay fresh in the fridge. If you are also one of them, the answer is entirely dependent on the storage conditions. If you buy Tuna salad from the market or make it at home, make sure that you put it in the fridge to keep it fresh. 

You need to keep the tuna salad in an airtight container before putting it in the fridge. When you do this, it helps in extending the shelf life of tuna salad and keeps it fresh and safe for eating. The tuna salad should keep in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days if properly refrigerated.

If you’re planning to leave it out at room temperature, keep in mind that anything left out for more than 2-2.5 hours must be discarded. Because germs begin to proliferate fast between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, this is the case.

It happens sometimes that it appears fine even after 5 days and you don’t know whether it is spoiled or not. In that case, you should just throw it instead of tasting it. This is because it can be harmful to you. Instead, keep an eye out for foul odours, discolouration, or mold.

If it has been opened, it should be discarded after 4 to 5 days, just as the tuna salads. It will keep for one to two months in the freezer, whether opened or unopened.

Tuna salad is an exception to this rule, and it should never be frozen. This is because the mayonnaise’s eggs, when frozen, might modify the salad’s consistency in a short amount of time.

Why Does Tuna Salad Last That Long?

The mayonnaise and flesh in the tuna salad, which is an important ingredient of tuna salad, spoils it faster than other foods. This is why it can’t be stored in the refrigerator for long periods.

Any salad containing mayonnaise, in general, should not be kept in the refrigerator for longer than 4 or 5 days. If it isn’t adequately sealed, the time it takes for food to spoil will be reduced even more.

Meat and fish are perishable items that can’t be kept for long once they’ve been opened. If you put it in the coldest area of the refrigerator and use a lot of vinegar or lemon, you might be able to extend its shelf life by a day.

Preserving it is another approach to extend it. Tuna salad, on the other hand, smokes, freezes, and pickles poorly. Additionally, canning it under the right conditions to preserve it can be quite difficult.

Lunch meat is another option for sandwiches and salads that may be kept in the refrigerator for a longer time. A sealed lunch meat package can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks if it hasn’t been opened.

Refrigerator doors move more than refrigerator shelves. So, it would be better if you don’t keep your tuna salad in the door. It will be better if you keep it on a shelf in the fridge.

Conclusion

If you used to make tuna salad in excess and were not able to finish all of it, you know the right way to store it now. You can store your tuna salad for around 5 days in the fridge without getting spoiled. You should not put it in the open for more than 2 hours because it will get spoiled.

References

1. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ejlt.200900180
2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168160514006230
3. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4337801