How Our Food Storage Data Works

Data scope

This preview uses 44 hand-transcribed, condition-specific entries from the official FoodSafety.gov Cold Food Storage Chart. It is not a complete import of the USDA FoodKeeper database.

Safety and quality

Refrigerator periods are general storage guidelines when food is handled promptly and kept at or below 40°F / 4°C. Freezer periods at or below 0°F / −18°C indicate best quality, not a safety deadline. Calculated windows do not certify that any food is safe to eat.

What we do not know

The calculator cannot establish your actual temperatures, hygiene, unopened-package dates, recalls or time outside refrigeration. When handling is uncertain, a date calculation should not be used to make a safety decision.

Geographic scope

These pages represent the United States only. UK and EU recommendations will be researched, sourced, and published separately rather than copied from American guidance.

Updates

Source chart last reviewed September 19, 2023. Prototype source records reviewed October 18, 2026; editorial validation remains in progress. Public indexing is intentionally disabled.

UK editorial scope

Our early UK section is source-backed signposting on leftovers, cooked rice, date labels and chilling. It does not copy the 44 US product periods. Specific UK product rules require independent editorial verification before a UK calculator is released.

FoodKeeper v128 full dataset

The additional FoodKeeper library reproduces 661 USDA FSIS product records grouped into 509 product-and-category pages. The source snapshot is the official English JSON from USDA FSIS, containing version 128 modified September 6, 2018. Original storage conditions, purchase-date distinctions, opening conditions, nonnumeric instructions and documented missing data remain separate. Library pages remain excluded from indexing during quality review. These records are separate from our 44 independently checked Cold Food Storage Chart entries.