How Long Can All The Food In My Refrigerator Remain Edible?

Attention food in the fridge! Your days are numbered.

How long does a jar of salsa really last in the fridge when there’s no expiration date on it? Can you keep eating it until it turns green? Or until you turn green?

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“The way expiration dates work on food is generally confusing,” says Meredith Carothers, MPH, a technical information specialist at the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the USDA. “People will commonly assume that a ‘Best If Used By’ or a ‘Sell By’ date on a product is the expiration date, but it’s not. Those dates refer to when a product should be sold by a store at its best quality. You’re actually seeing fewer and fewer expiration dates on food packaging these days.”

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So if there’s no specific expiration date, how do we know if something is still edible? Meats, fresh fruits, and vegetables are often the first (and most) obvious things that spoil. Dairy will also do a fairly decent job (sometimes) of telling you when it has turned. But what about all of the condiments and jarred goods that seem to take up permanent residence on your refrigerator shelves?

Turns out condiments are so durable that you can leave many of them out of the fridge altogether if unopened. “Except for dressings that may spoil when left out, most condiments are considered shelf-stable,” says Carothers, meaning these unopened goods don’t need to be refrigerated for safety reasons. People refrigerate condiments so that they last longer but they aren’t invincible to bacteria growth, it just takes longer in the cold.

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So can you actually get sick by eating something in the fridge past the expiration date? “Sometimes. One of the bigger health risks is listeria, a foodborne bacteria that grows very slowly at low temperatures and can be quite serious for someone who is immune-compromised or pregnant,” Carothers says. “Now, you’re more likely to get listeria from meats than a container of ketchup, but it’s probably best to toss things after the expiration date.” If they have one, that is.

That’s why we made this handy chart that breaks down just how long most fridge staples (so no meat, fruits, or veggies) can last, both opened and unopened, as recommended by the USDA. For a more detailed list, check out the FoodKeeper App, an excellent resource managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

And, you know, clean out the fridge a little more often while you’re at it.

Refrigerator Food Expiration Chart

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