How this checker works
A narrow, explainable checker for a small set of common food situations—not a guarantee that food is safe.
From your answers to a result
Your answers are checked against predefined food-safety rules based on official UK guidance. The checker returns one of four results: within current guidance, act now, discard, or cannot confirm. The rules are fixed and reviewed over time; generative AI does not make the food-safety decision.
Which official guidance applies?
England, Wales and Northern Ireland use Food Standards Agency sources. Scotland uses Food Standards Scotland sources. The checker does not substitute guidance from another country or UK nation when the required evidence is unavailable.
Conservative site policy
Sometimes official guidance gives a cooling or display window without stating an exact discard point. In those cases, this checker takes the more cautious option and clearly labels that as our interpretation—not as a quotation from an authority.
What “cannot confirm” means
This is a valid safety result, not a technical error. It means information is missing, the situation is not covered, or suitable guidance for your UK nation has not been confirmed. Smell and appearance alone are not proof that food is safe.
What this checker covers
Supported
- Cooked leftovers left out after cooking
- Cooked rice
- Fridge storage for properly cooled leftovers
- Reheating cooked leftovers
- Selected chilled picnic and buffet foods
- Use-by dates
- Best-before dates
- England
- Wales
- Northern Ireland
- Scotland
Not supported yet
- Refrigerated food accidentally left out
- Fridge storage time after food was cooked by its use-by date
- Defrosting after food was frozen by its use-by date
- Eggs after their best-before date
- Power cuts
- Baby food or formula
- Food recalls
- Allergies
- Unusual raw meat situations
How guidance is reviewed
We record which UK nation and topic each official source applies to, when it was last checked, and when it should be reviewed again. The checker only gives a definite result when the relevant rule and official source are ready to use.