How We Test Food Storage Guidance

Every page on Home Storage Guide passes a five-step process before it publishes. Here is exactly how we work.

Step 1 — Start with the authoritative source

We begin with tier-1 guidance: the USDA FoodKeeper App, USDA FSIS fact sheets, FDA food facts, CDC food-safety pages, and university extension resources (Cornell, Clemson, and others). These sources set every duration and temperature we publish.

Step 2 — One page, one question, one intent

Each page answers one search question — "how long does milk last" — completely. We never split one question across two pages, and we never stack keywords.

Step 3 — Verify every number

Every claim is checked against its source and cited. A duration with no citation is removed. When sources disagree (for example, freezer quality time vs. food safety time), we publish both and explain the difference.

Step 4 — Test in a real kitchen

For method guides we run the steps ourselves: freezing ground beef, vacuum sealing salmon, storing strawberries. We record what actually happened — texture changes, freezer burn, how long it took — and we say "we tested this in our own kitchen" only when we did.

Step 5 — Credentialed review

Before anything goes live, the page is reviewed by Rebecca Torres, RD. Safety-tier pages require her sign-off by name. The review date is printed on every page, and re-review happens every 6 to 12 months.

What we never do

• We never copy competitor content or scrape other sites.
• We never publish a safety claim without a source.
• We never let an advertiser change a test result.

Found an error in our process or a number that does not match the source? Tell us.