Formula storage time guide
A prepared bottle’s time limit using US CDC guidance. Check room-temperature, refrigerated and feeding cutoffs. A time limit does not establish safety.
What happened to this bottle?
This is a maximum time limit, not a safety check. Use sooner if the label or your care team says so. Discard leftovers as soon as the feed ends.
Dates use this device’s time zone and clock. Check both. This page is not an alarm and sends no notifications.
The times you enter stay on this page. They are not sent, saved or added to the URL.
The three time limits
- Room temperature: 2 hours from preparation, if feeding has not started.
- Immediately refrigerated and untouched at 4°C / 40°F or below: 24 hours from preparation, not from when it went into the fridge.
- Never refrigerated and feeding underway: the earlier of 2 hours from preparation or 1 hour from the start of feeding.
- Once the feed ends, discard any leftover formula immediately. Cooling does not restart a clock.
What this guide cannot check
For prepared powdered infant formula only. Not for breast milk, opened ready-to-feed containers or bottles removed from the fridge or warmed. It cannot check cleanliness, temperature or contamination. Follow the label and local health advice. Babies under 2 months, born prematurely or with weakened immunity need extra preparation precautions; ask their care team. No mixing ratios or feeding amounts are calculated.