StillGoodFor

How long does it really last?

Shelf life, storage, and spoilage signs — opened or not.

Look up a product

Type what's in your hand. 670 foods, drinks, and medicines — each with its own storage times, opened and unopened.

Describe it however you like (“korean fermented veggies”, “that red sauce for fries”). Every storage time comes from our verified database — matching a phrase never changes a number. Want the full opened-vs-unopened, pantry-vs-fridge-vs-freezer answer? Use the Shelf Life Checker →

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Most looked-up

Item	Keeps for	Store at
Cottage cheese	5–7 days	Refrigerate at 40°F (4°C) or below
Mayonnaise	2 months	Cool, dark pantry unopened; refrigerate at 40°F (4°C) or below after opening
Almond milk	7–10 days	Shelf-stable cartons in the pantry unopened; refrigerate after opening and use within 7–10 days
Soy sauce	1–2 years	Shelf-stable; refrigerate after opening for best flavor
Salsa (jarred)	2–4 weeks	Pantry unopened; refrigerate at 40°F (4°C) or below after opening
Barbecue sauce	4 months	Pantry unopened; refrigerate at 40°F (4°C) or below after opening
Ketchup	6 months	Pantry unopened; refrigerate after opening for best quality
Robitussin (cough syrup)	Printed date	Room temperature 68–77°F (20–25°C), tightly capped, away from heat and moisture — not the bathroom cabinet
Acetaminophen tablets (Tylenol)	Printed date	Room temperature 68–77°F (20–25°C), dry, in the original bottle with the cap closed — not the bathroom
Sunscreen	Printed date	Below 77°F (25°C), out of direct sun — a beach bag in the sun is the fastest way to ruin it
Eggs (in shell)	3–5 weeks	Refrigerate at 40°F (4°C) or below
Butter	1–2 months	Refrigerate at 40°F (4°C) or below
Milk (plain or flavored)	Until the package use-by date	Refrigerate at 40°F (4°C) or below
Beef (ground)	1–2 days	Refrigerate at 40°F (4°C) or below
Bacon (meat)	1 week	Refrigerate at 40°F (4°C) or below
Hummus (commercial (pasteurized, with preservatives))	7 days	Refrigerate at 40°F (4°C) or below
Cream cheese	2 weeks	Refrigerate at 40°F (4°C) or below
Yogurt	1–2 weeks	Refrigerate at 40°F (4°C) or below
Orange juice (commercially packaged carton)	7–10 days	Refrigerate at 40°F (4°C) or below
Peanut butter (commercial)	2–3 months	Cool, dry pantry, sealed — refrigerating after opening is optional and mainly preserves quality

After-opening window where one is published, otherwise the storage window from purchase. Tap through for the full table.

The three numbers that actually matter

Almost every food has three different shelf lives, and the label only ever prints one of them.

Unopened. How long the sealed package keeps, counting from the day you bought it. This is roughly what the printed “best by” date is about — and in the US that's a quality date set by the manufacturer, not a federal safety cutoff.
After opening. The one nobody prints. Breaking the seal lets in air and bacteria, and for a lot of products it cuts the window from months to days. This is the number this site exists for.
Frozen. At 0°F (−18°C) food stays safe indefinitely. The freezer windows here are about quality — after that it's still safe, just worse.

Food and drink storage times come from the USDA FoodKeeper database (v128, FSIS/USDA, public domain). Medicine rows are general FDA and product-label storage guidance — where to keep it and what the printed date means, never a dose and never a “safe to take” verdict. Spoilage signs are general guidance by category. Last updated 2026-08-07.

Guidance, not a guarantee. Storage temperature, how fresh it was when you bought it, and cross-contamination all change the real answer. Trust your senses and the label — and when in doubt, throw it out.