How to Find Shelf Life and Storage Info for a Specific Food on DoesItGoBad.com

Updated

Use the search box first, then fall back to category browsing if your food is a broad type rather than a single item. DoesItGoBad.com is organized around individual food pages (for example, cream cheese, leeks, kale) plus category hubs and "epic guides" for wider topics, so the fastest path depends on how specific your question is.

Start with the search box

The site's own search prompt is "Looking for something specific? Try cream cheese," which tells you the intended use: type a single food name, not a full question.

  • Enter the food name only — "cream cheese," "kale," "ghee" — rather than "how long does cream cheese last."
  • Check the result title for the two things you need. Pages are typically framed as shelf-life questions ("How Long Do Leeks Last and How to Tell if They're Bad?") or storage questions ("Does Mayonnaise Need to Be Refrigerated?"). The first answers duration, the second answers placement.
  • If nothing matches, shorten the term. A specific variety may not have its own page, but the parent food usually does.

Browse by category when you don't know the exact name

The site lists these categories: Alcohol, Baking and Baked Goods, Condiments, Dairy, Dips and Sauces, Dishes, Drinks, Fats, Food Information, Fruits, Grains, Nuts, Proteins, Spices, Sweets, Vegetables.

Use a category when your question is about a type of food rather than one item — for example, "how long do nuts last" fits under Nuts, and cheese questions fit under Dairy. This is also the better route when you want to compare several foods in the same group.

Use the epic guides for broad questions

The site separates "Epic Guides" from regular posts. These cover a whole topic rather than one food, such as:

  • How Long Do Nuts Last? Storage & Shelf Life of Nuts
  • Do Spices Ever Go Bad? Shelf Life and When To Toss Them
  • How Long Does Cheese Last in The Fridge?

Choose a guide when your question spans multiple items ("do spices expire?"), and a single post when you have one food in hand.

Match the page type to your question

Your question Where to look
How long does this one food last? Search the food name; open the "How long does X last" post
Does this food need refrigeration? Search the food name; open the storage-titled post
How do I tell if it's spoiled? Same post — spoilage signs are usually included (e.g., "4 Spoilage Signs" for kale, "3 Main Spoilage Signs" for bell peppers)
What do the dates on the package mean? The "Decoding Storage Dates: Beyond the Label" section, covering Best Before, Use By, and Sell By
A whole food group Category page or an Epic Guide

What the site covers, and what it doesn't

The site's stated scope is shelf life, storage, and spoilage signs across food products, including the difference between label dates and real shelf life, and how to spot spoilage that isn't obvious ("More Than Meets the Eye"). It does not present itself as a pricing, nutrition, or recipe resource, so don't expect those from a food page.

If a food has no page, the closest category or an epic guide is your best substitute — treat the general guidance there as a starting point and check the specific item's own packaging or a food-safety source for anything you're unsure about.