The costs of wasted food go far beyond the money you may have wasted buying something and letting it spoil. We've talked about ways to stop wasting food before, but if all you really need to know is "How long will this stay fresh and how should I store it," this helpful chart will help.
This chart, sent over to us by our friends at Visual.ly, does a great job at listing some common foods and how long they'll stay fresh and safe to eat based on different storage methods (along with a few that you might be tempted to freeze but really shouldn't.) At the bottom the chart goes into detail about the differences between the "sell by," "use by," and "expires on" dates you commonly see on packaging at the store. Put simply, those dates refer to the quality of the food and how often a store should rotate its stock to ensure freshness—it has nothing to do with the safety of the food.
Its also worth noting that while the chart has good data, don't forget to trust your nose—if you've stored your food properly, you can usually beat most expiration dates and keep your food fresher, longer. For another reference, check out previously mentioned Still Tasty and type in the type of food you're curious about. Otherwise, click the chart below to enlarge, or hit the link below to see it at Visual.ly.
update: A couple of you noticed a few typos on the chart (like the shelf life of tomatoes, for example!) We reached out to the team at Visual.ly with your feedback, and they've updated their chart with the correct information. We've posted a new version below, so it's up to date. Thanks, everyone!
The Shelf Life of Food | Visual.ly