As World Health Day approaches next week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is reasserting its commitment to reduce food waste by launching FoodKeeper--a new food app developed by the agency’s Food Safety and Inspection Service along with Cornell University and the Food Marketing Institute.

The app helps users with all kinds of food safety advice  and features:

• Food storage tips--proper methods, maximizing freshness and quality and extending shelf life of certain items in the refrigerator, freezer and pantry
• Cooking tips--for meat, poultry, seafood and eggs--information that is aimed at helping consumers to avoid foodborne illnesses
• Calendar reminders--notifies users when their purchased products are approaching expiration or spoilage
• Q&A--for topics not covered within the app, users can submit questions via ‘Ask Karen’--the app’s 24/7 virtual representative

All food related information within the app is searchable for over 400 food and beverage items--everything from fruits and vegetables to cookie dough and potato chips.

"This application will help reduce food waste by showing users how to store foods properly, and reminding them to use items before they are likely to spoil," says Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "This can help consumers save money and reduce the amount of safe food going to landfills."

The FoodKeeper app is available on Android and Apple devices.