The Deadline timer is a post-it style paper tab that indicates if refrigerated food is past its prime of freshness. The company's research showed that most foods stay fresh for three to seven days, so Deadline uses a seven-day cycle to monitor food freshness. The paper is beige before use but starts changing color once attached to a food item in the refrigerator. The color changes every day until the entire paper tab has turned a range of colors, indicating that day seven has been reached and that the food item is now past its peak period of freshness.