diff --git a/foodie_utils.py b/foodie_utils.py
index 7e029cd..a2822ce 100644
--- a/foodie_utils.py
+++ b/foodie_utils.py
@@ -29,6 +29,8 @@ from foodie_config import (
 load_dotenv()
 client = OpenAI(api_key=os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY"))
 
+IMAGE_EXPIRATION_DAYS = 7  # 7 days, consistent with foodie_automator_rss.py
+
 def load_json_file(file_path, expiration_hours):
     entries = []
     cutoff = datetime.now(timezone.utc) - timedelta(hours=expiration_hours)
@@ -1180,12 +1182,16 @@ def prepare_post_data(summary, title, main_topic=None):
         new_title = response.choices[0].message.content.strip()
         logging.info(f"Generated new title: '{new_title}'")
         
-        search_query, relevance_keywords, skip_flag = smart_image_and_filter(new_title, summary)
+        # Update to unpack four values
+        search_query, relevance_keywords, generated_main_topic, skip_flag = smart_image_and_filter(new_title, summary)
         if skip_flag:
             logging.info("Summary filtered out during post preparation")
             return None, None, None, None, None, None, None
         
-        image_url, image_source, uploader, page_url = get_flickr_image(search_query, relevance_keywords, main_topic)
+        # Use the provided main_topic if available, otherwise use the generated one
+        effective_main_topic = main_topic if main_topic else generated_main_topic
+        
+        image_url, image_source, uploader, page_url = get_flickr_image(search_query, relevance_keywords, effective_main_topic)
         if not image_url:
             image_url, image_source, uploader, page_url = get_image(search_query)