What an entered date can tell you.

The expiry tracker records a label type and date, plus an optional opened or prepared date. Choose the matching label type and preserve the exact package wording in Notes if it differs from the menu. Choose My planning date when you have selected a review day yourself. Notes can also hold product-specific instructions or a planned meal.

The inventory uses a simpler date field with Package label or My estimate as its source. Neither tool obtains a shelf life from the food name, barcode, category, or storage location. Moving an item to the freezer does not automatically change its date.

The tool reads an entered date as a local calendar date. It compares local midnight on that date with local midnight today and rounds the difference to a whole day. Times of day are not recorded, so a result of two days is a calendar difference, not a promise of 48 hours of remaining storage.

Hypothetical example with the browser date set to September 14, 2026: September 12 displays as a date passed two days ago; September 14 displays Date is today; September 16 is two days away. The same food could require action before its printed date because of handling, a recall, or product instructions.

The tracker sorts earlier entered dates first. Its colored emphasis changes for passed dates and dates within three days. The inventory's Date attention view includes dates already passed and dates within the next seven days. These are interface review windows, not official storage limits. Reload a page left open overnight so the comparison uses the new day.

An opened or prepared date is context displayed alongside the package date. The tracker does not replace the package date, choose a number of storage days, or add a new deadline. If opening changes the applicable instructions, consult the product directions and the correct food-specific reference, then deliberately record a review date.

For example, identifying “opened cooked deli meat” rather than “meat” changes which row to read in the federal cold-storage chart. That chart distinguishes opened and unopened products, raw and cooked forms, and refrigerator and freezer conditions. Refrigerator times and freezer quality guidance serve different purposes.

The USDA food product dating reference explains common U.S. quality and retail-inventory labels. Do not generalize one phrase to every product or country. Infant formula has a separate use-by requirement, and product-specific instructions still matter.

CrispSum's source library primarily uses U.S. consumer guidance. If you are elsewhere, check your local food authority and the actual product label before applying a U.S. date-label interpretation.

A date entry cannot reveal a failed refrigerator, time out of cold storage, cross-contamination, damaged packaging, or a recalled batch. A recent temperature reading also cannot reconstruct earlier temperatures. The FDA storage reference explains temperature control and why food may be unsafe without visible spoilage.

When the missing fact would change the decision, write Unknown instead of backfilling a guessed history in a note. Follow the relevant official instructions before choosing a meal or a freezing action. Do not taste food to resolve uncertainty.

Use Edit item in the inventory to correct a transcription mistake. In the separate date tracker, remove an incorrect row and add the corrected record. Retain the original package or a readable label photo outside the tool when product identity, a lot number, or preparation instructions matter. Export a backup before bulk changes; see the backup walkthrough for the file each tool supports.