diff --git a/src/game/game.ts b/src/game/game.ts
index e6b0856..2643de5 100644
--- a/src/game/game.ts
+++ b/src/game/game.ts
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import { OvenView } from '../scenes/oven';
 import { GrillView } from '../scenes/grill';
 import { PanView } from '../scenes/pan';
 import { FridgeView } from '../scenes/fridge';
-import { serializeStore, restoreStore, fetch as fetchStock, usableQuality, freshnessWord, type StoredItemSave } from '../sim/coldchain';
+import { serializeStore, restoreStore, fetch as fetchStock, usableQuality, type StoredItemSave } from '../sim/coldchain';
 import { AssemblyView } from '../scenes/assembly';
 import type { CutPattern } from '../sim/cutting';
 import type { IngredientId } from '../sim/ingredients';
@@ -143,6 +143,12 @@ export class Game {
       this.kitchen.flash(cut.knife === 'the_best_thing' ? 'cut with The Best Thing' : 'now toast it');
     };
     this.judgeView.onNext = () => {
+      // Commit any fridge consumption atomically with the day advance: a reload
+      // before this point re-derives the same fetch, so the cap can't be dodged.
+      if (this.pendingFridge) {
+        this.save.fridge = this.pendingFridge;
+        this.pendingFridge = null;
+      }
       this.save.day++;
       writeSave(this.save);
       this.beginDay();
@@ -560,20 +566,24 @@ export class Game {
   /** The pan day (M17): a fuel-aware hob — butter it, foam it, flip it, serve. */
   /** When a pan day fetches its food from the fridge, what came out. */
   private panIngredient: { quality: number; word: string } | null = null;
+  /** The fridge stock AFTER this day's fetch, held until the day actually advances
+   *  (committed in onNext) — so a mid-service reload re-fetches the same item and
+   *  can't dodge the rot-cap or silently lose the ingredient. */
+  private pendingFridge: StoredItemSave[] | null = null;
 
   private enterPan(): void {
     const p = this.order.pan!;
     this.panIngredient = null;
+    this.pendingFridge = null;
     if (p.fromFridge && this.save.fridge?.length) {
-      // Reach into the fridge you stocked: FIFO, at whatever freshness your
-      // storage left it. Then write the (now smaller) stock back to the save.
+      // Reach into the fridge you stocked: FIFO, at whatever freshness your storage
+      // left it. The consumed stock is HELD (pendingFridge), not written yet.
       const store = restoreStore(this.save.fridge);
       const got = fetchStock(store, p.food);
       if (got) {
         const q = usableQuality(got);
-        this.panIngredient = { quality: q.quality, word: freshnessWord(got) };
-        this.save.fridge = serializeStore(store);
-        writeSave(this.save);
+        this.panIngredient = { quality: q.quality, word: q.word };
+        this.pendingFridge = serializeStore(store);
       }
     }
     this.pan.reset(p.food, p.fuel);
diff --git a/src/game/judging.ts b/src/game/judging.ts
index 22bdfa3..a0af247 100644
--- a/src/game/judging.ts
+++ b/src/game/judging.ts
@@ -589,11 +589,15 @@ export function judgePan(r: PanResult, order: Order, seconds: number, ingredient
   // row — and a genuinely off ingredient CAPS the whole dish, because no sear
   // saves rot. You can't cook your way out of bad storage.
   if (ingredient) {
+    // Scored on the freshness BAND, not raw quality: a genuinely fresh ingredient
+    // is full marks (so perfect storage still leaves S on the table — the floors
+    // law), use-soon is a real dent, off/dangerous is near-zero and hard-caps below.
+    const bandScore = ingredient.word === 'fresh' ? 1 : ingredient.word === 'use soon' ? 0.55 : ingredient.word === 'off' ? 0.2 : 0;
     criteria.push({
       key: 'ingredient',
       group: 'pan',
       label: 'The Ingredient',
-      score: clamp01(ingredient.quality),
+      score: bandScore,
       weight: 1.2,
       detail: `off the shelf — ${ingredient.word}`,
     });
diff --git a/src/game/orders.ts b/src/game/orders.ts
index 689cdc0..71ecc1e 100644
--- a/src/game/orders.ts
+++ b/src/game/orders.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import { CUT_BANDS, type CutClass } from '../sim/slicing';
 import type { CutPattern } from '../sim/cutting';
 import type { IngredientId } from '../sim/ingredients';
 import type { JuicerId } from '../sim/juicing';
+import { FRIDGE_MUSHROOM_ID } from '../sim/coldchain';
 
 /**
  * A stop at the prep bench before the toaster. M11 shipped the 'cut' kind;
@@ -416,7 +417,7 @@ export const DAYS: Order[] = [
     butterSoftness: 0.5,
     who: 'the lunch rush',
     text: 'Pan-sear the mushrooms — the ones from your own fridge. Whatever shape they\'re in now is the shape you stored them in. Butter, foam, both faces. No excuses about the delivery; that was your fridge.',
-    pan: { food: 'button_mushroom', fuel: 'gas', fromFridge: true },
+    pan: { food: FRIDGE_MUSHROOM_ID, fuel: 'gas', fromFridge: true },
   },
 ];
 
diff --git a/src/scenes/fridge.ts b/src/scenes/fridge.ts
index a0a3fe2..822768c 100644
--- a/src/scenes/fridge.ts
+++ b/src/scenes/fridge.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import {
   coldStep,
   storeHealth,
   ZONE_COLD,
+  FRIDGE_MUSHROOM_ID,
 } from '../sim/coldchain';
 import { el, Panel } from '../ui/hud';
 
@@ -151,7 +152,7 @@ export class FridgeView implements View {
       { id: 'salad', perish: 1, rte: true, color: 0x5aa84a },
       { id: 'cheese', perish: 0.7, rte: true, color: 0xe6c34e },
       { id: 'berries', perish: 1.6, rte: true, age: 1, color: 0x8a3d78 },
-      { id: 'button_mushroom', perish: 1.3, color: 0xd8cbb0 },
+      { id: FRIDGE_MUSHROOM_ID, perish: 1.3, color: 0xd8cbb0 },
       { id: 'onion', perish: 0.3, color: 0xb99a5b },
     ];
     spec.forEach((sp, i) => {
diff --git a/src/sim/coldchain.ts b/src/sim/coldchain.ts
index f706789..de2cbd2 100644
--- a/src/sim/coldchain.ts
+++ b/src/sim/coldchain.ts
@@ -50,6 +50,10 @@ export const FRESH = 0.7;
 export const USE_SOON = 0.4;
 export const OFF = 0.15;
 
+/** The mushroom that ties the fridge day (delivery) to the pan day (fetch). One
+ *  id, so a rename can't silently uncouple the two days. */
+export const FRIDGE_MUSHROOM_ID = 'button_mushroom';
+
 /** Base spoilage per DAY at bench temp, before the item's own perishability.
  *  Spoilage lives on the day clock, not the second clock — food goes off across
  *  days (the cure system's twin), and a service leaves things out for a fraction
@@ -183,11 +187,15 @@ export function freshnessWord(it: StoredItem): FreshWord {
  * a serve you do not walk back.
  */
 export function usableQuality(it: StoredItem): { quality: number; safe: boolean; word: FreshWord } {
-  const word = freshnessWord(it);
   let q = it.freshness;
-  if (it.frozen) q *= 0.82; // thawed texture
+  if (it.frozen) q *= 0.78; // thawed texture — steep enough that a 3-day freeze on a
+  //                           mid-perishable no longer beats the coldest fridge shelf.
   if (it.contaminated) q *= 0.4;
-  return { quality: Math.max(0, q), safe: it.freshness > OFF && !it.contaminated, word };
+  q = Math.max(0, q);
+  // The word describes what you're ACTUALLY handed (post-thaw, post-drip), not the
+  // raw freshness — a frozen item can read "fresh" on the shelf and "use soon" on the plate.
+  const word: FreshWord = q >= FRESH ? 'fresh' : q >= USE_SOON ? 'use soon' : q >= OFF ? 'off' : 'dangerous';
+  return { quality: q, safe: it.freshness > OFF && !it.contaminated, word };
 }
 
 /** The inspector's storage read: hygiene, rotation, and what's gone off on your watch. */
@@ -222,10 +230,12 @@ export function serializeStore(s: ColdStore): StoredItemSave[] {
   return out;
 }
 
-/** Rebuild a store from a save snapshot (a fresh Rng — spoilage is deterministic). */
+/** Rebuild a store from a save snapshot (a fresh Rng — spoilage is deterministic).
+ *  Corruption-tolerant: a garbled save (unknown zone, non-array, junk item) yields
+ *  an empty/partial store rather than an uncaught crash — the save intent of loadSave. */
 export function restoreStore(items: StoredItemSave[], seed = 20260720): ColdStore {
   const s = newColdStore(seed);
-  for (const it of items) s.zones[it.zone].push({ ...it });
+  if (Array.isArray(items)) for (const it of items) if (it && s.zones[it.zone]) s.zones[it.zone].push({ ...it });
   return s;
 }