Are my leftovers still within recommended storage guidance?
Enter what you have, when it was cooked or purchased, and how it was stored. We compare the elapsed time with published U.S. government food-safety guidance from USDA FSIS and FoodSafety.gov.
Important: Time alone cannot prove that food is safe. This calculator compares storage time against published rules—it cannot detect microbiological contamination. If food was mishandled or its storage history is uncertain, discard it.
Three published rules do most of the work
The two-hour rule
USDA guidance states that perishable food should be refrigerated within 2 hours of cooking or serving, or within 1 hour when ambient temperatures exceed 32°C / 90°F.
Most cooked leftovers: 3–4 days
USDA FSIS and FoodSafety.gov advise using most refrigerated cooked leftovers within 3–4 days when stored at 4°C / 40°F or below.
74°C / 165°F
FoodSafety.gov and USDA list 74°C / 165°F as the safe minimum internal temperature when reheating leftovers, with soups and gravies brought to a rolling boil.
Leftover storage guides by food
Each guide explains the cited government storage window, practical cooling and container tips, freezer quality guidance, and reheating rules for that food.
Turn a vague “is this too old?” question into a dated storage window
LeftoverCalculator performs date arithmetic and compares your timeline against published USDA and FoodSafety.gov tables. It separates initial cooling history from refrigerator age and freezer quality windows so important assumptions are never hidden behind a single date.
Can I eat leftovers after 4 days?
For most cooked leftovers, USDA FSIS recommends using refrigerated portions within 3–4 days. Beyond 4 days (or 5 days for a baked quiche), the food is outside the recommended refrigerated storage window and should be discarded, even if it looks and smells normal.
What if leftovers sat out for more than 2 hours?
USDA guidance states perishable food should not sit at room temperature for more than 2 hours (or 1 hour above 32°C / 90°F). Chilling or reheating food after that limit has passed does not reliably make it safe.
Sources are part of the product
We use USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and FoodSafety.gov as primary sources. Every calculator result links directly to its rule source, and our methodology page documents how food names map to official storage categories.