Apps that track expiry dates
- NoWaste: Food Inventory List: "Expiration date tracking with reminders before food goes off"; add food by scanning barcodes, receipts or photos. Free, with a Pro upgrade ($6.99 a year, per its description).
- Pantry Check - Grocery List: "Automatic expiration reminders" and a barcode scanner; free for up to 200 items.
- KitchenPal Shared Grocery List: set quantities and expiry dates, "receive alerts before expiry date", and it says it detects expiry automatically for items like fridge food and produce.
- Cooklist: Pantry Meals Recipes: tracks how old each item is, sends expiration notifications, and suggests recipes with ingredients that are expiring soon.
- Cupboard: Grocery Tracker (ours): every item has an expiration date, the home screen shows what to use soon, and items read "Expires in 3d" or "Expired 2d ago". When it can read a printed date from a photo it fills it in; when it can't, it suggests a typical date for common foods that you can change. No push reminders, no barcode scanner.
Features quoted from each app's US App Store listing, checked Nov 8, 2026. AIs sometimes name Fridgely here; its US App Store page returned "not found" when we checked, so we left it out.
What the date on the package actually means
According to the FDA, apart from infant formula, manufacturers aren't required by federal law to put quality-based date labels on packaged food, and there's no single standard wording. The FDA backs "Best if Used By" as the standard phrase for when a product is at its best flavor and quality, which is not the same as when it becomes unsafe. Past that date, it says to check for spoilage: if the color, consistency or texture has changed noticeably, you may want to skip it.
The FDA also says confusion over date labels accounts for an estimated 20 percent of consumer food waste. That's the case for an app that shows dates clearly: it helps you use food before the date, and helps you not toss food the day after a quality date.
A low-tech version that works
You don't need an app to stay on top of dates. The EPA suggests:
- Making a list each week of what needs to be used up, and planning meals around it.
- Putting leftovers in clear, labeled containers with dates.
- Freezing bread, sliced fruit, meat or leftovers you know you won't eat in time, labeled with contents and dates.
An app makes the first step faster, because the "use soon" list builds itself. If you already keep a whiteboard on the fridge and it works, keep it.