Ready-to-eat food that needs refrigeration, and that a kitchen keeps more than 24 hours, has to be marked with the date it must be used, sold or thrown out. The limit is seven days at 41°F or below, and the day it was made counts as day one, so chicken salad made on Monday is gone by the end of Sunday. The same goes for a commercially processed ready-to-eat food once its package is opened, a package of sliced turkey, say, and never past the maker's own safety use-by date. Food mixed from ingredients with different dates takes the earliest. Time the food spends frozen doesn't count toward the seven days. Food without a mark, or past it, is thrown out. In the example below, a Nebraska food co-op's deli sets up its marking.
The short version
- Ready-to-eat, refrigerated food kept over 24 hours gets a date mark.
- Seven days at 41°F or below, at most.
- The day it's made is day one.
- Opened commercially processed ready-to-eat food is marked too.
- A mix of ingredients takes the earliest date.
- Your state's version of the Food Code applies.
- TaroStack keeps each batch with its lot and use-by date. More below.
How to count
| Made or opened | Discard by the end of |
|---|---|
| Monday | Sunday |
| Tuesday | Monday |
| Wednesday | Tuesday |
| Thursday | Wednesday |
| Friday | Thursday |
How the deli cools its soups first is in cooling log template, and the co-op's year in food co-op business plan.
The rules
| Rule | Where |
|---|---|
| Which food | Refrigerated, ready-to-eat TCS food prepared and held in a food establishment for more than 24 hours (Food Code 2026, 3-501.17(A)) |
| How long | Consumed, sold or discarded within seven days at 41°F or less, the day of preparation counted as day 1 (3-501.17(A)) |
| Opened packages | Commercially processed ready-to-eat TCS food, once opened and held more than 24 hours, marked the same way, the day opened as day 1, never past the maker's safety use-by date (3-501.17(B)) |
| Mixed food and discard | A mix keeps the date of its earliest-prepared ingredient (3-501.17(C)); food unmarked or past its date is discarded, time frozen not counted (3-501.18(A)) |
| Adoption | Applies as your state or locality has adopted it (FDA, Food Code adoption) |
This is general information, not legal advice.
An example: a deli cooler
Sandhill Food Co-op, the made-up member-owned grocery in Lincoln, Nebraska, I use in these examples, makes salads and soups in its deli and checked its cooler one Thursday:
| Item | Made or opened | Marked | Status on Thursday |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken salad | Monday | Use by Sunday | In date |
| Quinoa salad | Thursday | Use by Wednesday | In date |
| Sliced turkey, from an opened package | Friday last week | Use by Thursday | Last day; into today's sandwiches or out at close |
| Lentil soup | Wednesday, cooled overnight | Use by Tuesday | In date |
| Pasta salad with Friday's turkey | Tuesday | Use by Thursday, the turkey's date | Last day |
The pasta salad was made Tuesday, but its turkey came from a package opened the Friday before, so it takes the turkey's date, not its own. Each container gets a day dot when it's filled; the deli's procedure says what comes out at close. Dates on what the co-op packs for its own shelves are a different job, in best by date format.
Get the checker
Download the date marking calculator. One sheet: each item, the date it was made or opened, and the earliest date of anything mixed in; the discard-by date fills in, seven days counting day one. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The calculator counts the days. What the deli made, what it sold and what it threw out each day is what tells it how much to make, and day dots don't add that up.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each deli batch with its lot and dates, so what was made when, and what was thrown out, is on record.
Batches with dates. Each batch of deli is a lot with its production date and its use-by date.
An alert before a date. An alert comes before a lot's date runs out, so it's used or marked down instead of found too late.
Waste with a reason. What's thrown out is recorded with its reason, expired or spoiled, by item, so the salad that keeps going to waste shows up.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| What was made when | Tape on the container | Lots with dates |
| Food nearing its date | Found on the shelf | An alert before the date |
| What went to waste | Not counted | Waste by reason |
Lots, dates, alerts and waste by reason are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.