Shelf Life Studies

Basics Concepts Principles

Presented by

Carol Zweep
Manager Packaging Services, GFTC

mocon

Advanced Packaging Solutions

Shelf-life Study Definition

A shelf-life study is an objective means to
determine how long a product can
reasonably be expected to keep, without an
appreciable change in quality, safety &
character

Shelf Life Factors

An acceptable shelf life is to allow desired sensory,

chemical, functional, microbiological and physical
characteristics of the product to be retained.

These are called the End Of Shelf life Parameters

or EOSLs

Tests employed to measure shelf life need to be

product-specific, taking into account the ESOLs

ThusThe exact test procedure is unique for each

product

Shelf Life Evaluation

Microbial examination
Chemical analysis (i.e. vitamin degradation)
Physical testing (i.e. color or viscosity change)
Sensory evaluation
Note: Key part of establishing
usefulness of any analytical
measurement is correlation
with sensory quality

Factors Influencing Shelf Life

Initial quality of the food

Inherent nature of the product
Processing methods
Barrier properties of the packaging
Transportation and storage conditions
(temperature & relative humidity)

Food Deterioration
Shelf Stable
Food

Perishable
Food

Physical

Chemical

Physical

Microbiological

Chemical

Breakage
&
Moisture
Migration

Vitamin
Degradation,
Oxidation

Breakage,
Bruising &
Moisture
Migration

Spoilage &
Pathogenic
Microorganisms

Enzyme Activity,
Vitamin
Degradation,
Oxidation

Microbiological Activity
Spoilage
Microorganism

Pathogenic
Microorganism

Food Spoilage

Food Borne
Illness

Off color
Off flavor
Off odor
Off texture
Gas formation

Infection
(Microorganism)

Intoxication
(Pre-formed toxin)

Microbial Activity

Growth depends on environmental

conditions
Different microorganisms grow in
different environments and at different
rates

Factors Influencing Microbial Growth

Nutrients & chemical properties of food

Water
Temperature
Acidity
Oxygen
Chemicals

Water Activity of Foods or aw

Water activity (aw) is the term used to

describe availability of water

It is defined as the vapor pressure of water

divided by that of pure water at the same
temperature; therefore, pure water has a
water activity of exactly one.

aw is reduced by: drying, freezing, and

addition of solutes (sugar, salt)

Why is water activity important?

Controlling microorganism growth

Microorganisms need water and grow well with aw between
0.91 to 0.99. In low moisture, microorganisms survive, but
cannot grow

Controlling non-enzymatic reactions

Foods containing proteins and carbohydrates, for example,
are prone to non-enzymatic browning reactions, called
Maillard reactions which are rate dependent with aw

Slowing down enzymatic reactions

Most enzymatic reactions are slowed down at water activities
below 0.8.

Preventing Microbial Spoilage

1.

Create conditions unfavorable for microbial growth

2.

Reduce temperature
Reduce water activity
Lowering pH
Modify atmospheric condition
Add preservatives (sodium benzoate, sorbic acid,
propionic acid, sulfur dioxide, sulfites, nitrites and
nitrates)

Kill microorganisms

Heat treatment (Retort & UHT Aseptic)

Gentle processing techniques i.e. HPP

Approaches to Shelf Life Testing

Direct method

Indirect method

Determination of shelf life by the

direct method

Storing the product under selected conditions for a period of

time longer than the expected shelf life and checking it at
regular intervals to see when the product begins to
deteriorate.

Selected conditions typically take into account the proposed

processing, packaging, storage and distribution characteristics

Determination of shelf life by the

indirect methods
Indirect methods predict the shelf life of a product
without running a full length storage trial and are
useful for products with long shelf lives.

Method Examples
Method:
Desired Shelf Life:
Actual Test Time:
Temperatures:
Humidity:
Microbial:
`

Color:
Texture:
Taste:
Inspection:

Cold Cuts

Cookies

Direct
21 days
21 days
4,8,10oC
20%

Indirect
12 months
8 weeks
20,30,40oC
50% or 90%

aerobic
yeast
mold
psychrophilic
coliform
salmonella

aerobic
yeast
mold

important
important
important
1-2 days

n/a
important
important
1-2 weeks

Indirect Methods
Accelerated shelf life studies:

The test period is shortened by deliberately

increasing the rate of deterioration. This is
usually done by increasing the storage
temperature.

Note: Accelerated procedures can only be

used if the relationship exists between the
storage behavior under ambient storage
regime and the under an accelerated
condition.

Indirect Methods
Predictive models:

Uses information from a database to predict

bacterial growth under defined conditions
(temperature, pH, water activity, etc) . This
can be used to calculate the shelf life of a
food.

The shelf life should be verified by direct

method.

Accelerated shelf-life studies:

The Rule of Ten
Temperature Coefficient (Q10)
Q10 is a unitless quantity.
Q10 is the factor by which the rate increases when the temperature
is raised by ten degrees.
For typical chemical reactions, Q10 values are 2.0
Temperatures MUST be in 0C or 0K

The Rule of Ten

The temperature coefficient (Q10) represents the
factor by which the rate (R) of a reaction increases
for every 10-degree rise in the temperature (T).

Example:
T1
20oC

T2
30oC

T3
40oC

R1
15

R2
24

R3
38

Example calculations
Q10 = (24/15)(10/(30-20)) = 1.61 = 1.6

Q10 = (38/24) (10/(40-30)) = 1.581 = 1.58

Here we find that the actual Q10 value is 1.6 not 2

How Q10 values can be applied

A (Accelerated Aging Rate) = Q10 ((Te - Ta)/10)
Where...

Ta = Ambient Temperature
Te = Elevated Temperature
Q10 = Reaction Rate

And...

B (Accelerated Aging Time Duration) = Desired Real Time/A

FOR EXAMPLE
If the desired expiration date of the product is one year, and the test
temperature is chosen to be 55C, Q10 is 2; the AATD is determined as
follows...
A = 2 ((55-22)/10) = 9.85
B = 365 days/9.85 = 37.06 days
or
B = 37 days for every year of desired shelf life

How Q10 values can be applied

ACCELERATED AGING EQUIVALENCY TABLE
based on Q10 =2
ambient Temp. = 22C

DEGREES C
35

DEGREES F
95

1 YEAR SHELF LIFE

EQUIVALENCY (WKS)
21.1

40

104

14.9

45

113

10.6

50

122

7.5

55

131

5.3

60

140

3.8

B = 37 days for every year of desired shelf life

Summary- we have just scratched the surface!

Shelf life studies can be complex and need to be product specific

Shelf life studies require detailed information about the product to

establish the End Of Shelf Life parameters

Water activity can be a critical aspect of shelf life studies

Direct methods provide the most accurate results and should be used for
products with shorter shelf lives (perishable)

Accelerated studies can be used to provide results for products with

longer shelf lives (shelf stable) in a shorter time period.

With verification, Q10 value can be a useful tool for accelerated studies

Product Shelf Life

Case Study
Presented by

Alan Shema
MOCON
Product Manager Consulting & Testing Services

mocon

Advanced Packaging Solutions

Overview:
Aleadingmanufacturerofchipsnackfoodswantsto
increaseitscurrentshelflifefrom16weeksto36weeks.
Testingwillincludeanacceleratedshelflifestudyto
analyzepackagingmaterialchangesandtheimpactof
M.A.P.Nitrogengasflush.
Themanufacturersuppliedproductsamplespackagedin
variousfilmstructuresplussamplesthathavebeen
nitrogengasflushedinoneparticularfilm.

TestingProposal:
All samples were stored at accelerated/elevated temperature &
humidity conditions, approximately 110F and 90% - 100% RH for a
period of about 5 6 weeks. Test samples were pulled from storage
weekly and tested for the following:

Water Activity
Texture
Oxidation of Fats
Oxygen Head Space content
Moisture Content
Human Sensory for taste, odor, color an appearance

Figure5.Wateractivityofchipswithacceleratedstorage.

Figure6.Wateractivityofchipswithambientstorage.

Figure1.Textureofchipswithacceleratedstorage.

Figure2.Textureofchipswithambientstorage

Figure9.TBARvalueforchipsunderacceleratedconditions

Figure3.%moistureforchipswithacceleratedstorage.

Figure4.%moistureforchipswithambientstorage.

ShelfLife:
To predict the end of shelf life, a Q10 value was determined.
For this product the value was 2.19 based on rates of
moisture change at 45oC and 25oC.
Texture measurements and sensory evaluation indicate that
end of shelf life is reached at a moisture level of 2.5 %.
At this moisture level the chips were tough, chewy, and had
a stale taste. Based on this end of shelf life parameter the
predicted shelf life at 25C (ambient) was calculated.

Table1.Predictedshelflifeat25C
Film

Shelflife(wks)at25C

AClearFilm

16.8

BNONMAP

64.6

BMAP

86.0

Recall that customer stated their current shelf life is 16 weeks

Thank You
MOCON Inc.
webinars@mocon.com
Presenters:
Alan Shema CTS Product Manager, MOCON INC.
ashema@mocon.com
Carol Zweep Manager - Packaging Services,
Guelph Food Technology Centre
czweep@gftc.ca

Mocons Advanced Packaging Solutions

ModesofFoodDeterioration
ShelflifeModelingandStudies
MicrobialStudies
AcceleratedAgingStudies
ChemicalandPhysicalAnalysisoffoodandpackaging
GasMixOptimization
MAPSystemsAudits
ShelflifeOptimization
TransportationTesting
Humanevaluationpanels

Questions??
Email webinars@mocon.com if you have
any further questions or comments.

A link to view the recorded presentation

will be sent to you within 24 hours
following the seminar.

Upcoming Events
MOCON Webinars:
Introduction to Modified Atmosphere Packaging I June 8th at 10am Central
Introduction to Modified Atmosphere Packaging II July 13th at 10am Central
www.mocon.com/events.php to register

GFTC Course:
Shelf Life Determination & Food Safety June 14, 8:30am 4:30pm
Contact Erin Moore at emoore@gftc.ca or www.gftc.ca to register

Trade Show:
GFTC is part of the PACKEX show (June 21-23, Toronto Ontario).
Exhibiting (Booth #781) and speaking at the Innovation Briefs.
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