Smart Food Storage App Saves Time & Money
Are your leftovers still in the Fridge?
How do you know if the food in your pantry or fridge is still good to eat or if it needs to be tossed? What if there was an ‘Easy’ button or even better- an app- to help you determine the shelf life of foods? At Millennium Waste the safety and well-being of our community is important to us. Practicing food safety and the proper storage techniques will help save you time and money.The USDA, Cornell University and the Food Marketing Institute have developed a new app, called FoodKeeper. The free app allows users to find product-specific food storage timelines for more than 400 food items stored in the pantry, freezer, and refrigerator, as well as offering cooking tips for meat, seafood, and poultry items. By showing consumers how to store foods properly and reminding them to use items before they are likely to spoil, the FoodKeeper app will help to reduce the amount of safe food being wasted and save consumers time and money.
Consider these facts:
- Every year, billions of pounds of good food go to waste in the U.S. because home cooks are not sure of the quality and safety of items.
- USDA estimates that 21% of available food in U.S. goes uneaten at the consumer level.
- 36 lbs. of food per person is wasted each month at retail and consumer levels.
FoodKeeper syncs with your smartphone’s calendar. Allowing users to set reminders, note dates food items were purchased, and receive notifications "when they are nearing the end of their recommended storage date" so they get eaten, and not tossed. And if you still have questions, the app has a feature called ‘Ask Karen’, USDA’s 24/7 virtual helper who’s there to answer all of your food safety, storage, and safe food preparation questions.
FoodKeeper’s interface is easy to navigate. All you have to do is search for the foods in question to get the answer:
- Bananas should be consumed ‘when ripe’ in the pantry, last 3 days if refrigerated, or 2-3 months if frozen
- Ketchup keeps for 12 months in the pantry and six months after opening
- Shredded Cheese lasts 12 months if refrigerated from date of purchase.
The FoodKeeper is available online and as a mobile application for Android and Apple devices.
For more information about Millennium Waste and our services, explore our website and contact us today!Last Modified: