Something in this refrigerator has died and I cannot find it
Six containers, no labels. All three of us swear we've never seen the green one. — Roommate, 2024
Until the 1970s, the date on store food was in code, there so the store could rotate its stock, and no shopper could read it. In 1977 New York State put out a guide to cracking the codes and called it "Blind Dates." The milk carton has since learned to speak plain English. Leftovers never did. The food-safety people give most of them three to four days, and the soup you made Sunday isn't saying what day it's on. Somebody has to keep track. It's going to be you.
For now: freeze leftovers by day four. Frozen, they stay safe indefinitely.
The full file
Some rules from the people whose job this is. Don't leave food out more than two hours. If it's over 90°F, like in a hot car or at a picnic, make that one hour.
Don't wait for a big pot of soup to cool on the stove. Split it into shallow containers and put it in the refrigerator while it's still warm. When you heat it back up, get it to 165°F.
Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below and the freezer at 0°F or below. At 0°F, food stays safe indefinitely; the time limits on frozen food are about taste, not safety. Write the day on the lid while you're at it. The soup won't tell you.
Relates to No. 00450.
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