Understanding the significance of Shelf Life in greater depth for New food product development

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UNDERSTANDING THE
SIGNIFICANCE OF SHELF LIFE IN GREATER DEPTH FOR
NEW FOOD PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
An Academic presentation by Dr. Nancy Agnes,
Head, Technical Operations, FoodResearchLab
Group www.foodresearchlab.com Email
info_at_foodresearchlab.com
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Today's Discussion
OUTLINE
Introduction Key Factors Affecting the Shelf Life
of Food Product About Food Research Lab
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Introduction
Shelf life is defined as the time of storage that
a product remains safe to consume and retains
its desired properties such as sensory,
functional, chemical and microbiological
properties. Customers no longer rely on the
traditional methods to dictate how to store them
and have to solely depend on the manufacturers
instruction. Whether Food Standards Code (FSC)
from Australia or the UK or India, it has been
generally stated that the Standard requires
packaged food, to be the date marked, and
prohibits the sale of packaged food after the
expiration of the use-by date. Contd...
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Consumers often substitute one word for another,
which is not accurate. Understated hygienic
storage conditions, use-by date implies that the
intact package of food should not be consumed
after the mentioned date for health and safety
reasons. On the other hand, the best before day
implies the food product may start to
deteriorate, such as loss of functionality,
texture, color, taste or may develop an odor,
after the mentioned date. This will, in turn,
reduce the overall consumer acceptance and
likability but may not have any health
implications. Contd...
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Contd...
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Establishment of printed expiry dates on
products, the safety, quality of the food
product is measured and assessed based on the
shelf-life analysis. The food manufacturer or
food scientists is responsible for determining
the shelf life of food when developing a new
food product. The manufacturer should have the
extensive product knowledge to determine the
various factors, such as formulation, packaging,
storage conditions and distribution
characteristics, that will influence the overall
shelf life. The most effective way to ensure
food safety is to meet the internationally
recognized protocols such as Hazard Analysis and
Critical Control Points (HACCP) system, adopted
by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, under
realistic, defined conditions. Contd...
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However, most manufacturers are reluctant to try
conventional methods (such as direct methods) as
they want to market the product at the
earliest. Accelerated shelf-life tests are
usually carried out to minimize costs using
higher than normal temperatures and statistical
models such as predictive models by deliberately
increasing the rate of deterioration. Besides,
variables on the growth of spoilage and
pathogenic organisms should also be
considered. Contd...
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Direct methods are good for products with shorter
shelf lives while indirect method for products
with longer shelf lives especially for shelf-life
claim. Figure 1a below shows the conditions as pe
r International Conference on Harmonisation
(ICH) and (b) sampling plan of the shelf life
study. Contd...
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Contd...
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Contd...
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Key Factors Affecting the Shelf Life of Food
Product
PROCESSING MICROBIOLOGICAL
The type of food processing, such as pasteurizatio
n,
Ultra High Temperature (UHT), High-Pressure
Processing (HPP) or freezing, can add or reduce
the shelf life of the product.
A commercially sterilized food product with
proper packagings, such as packaged drink or
canned foods, quick-frozen berries, will reduce
microbial load and limit further
growth. Contd...
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Few other key factors considered
include Intrinsic properties, such as pH, water
activity, presence of preservatives Extrinsic
properties, such as temperature, humidity and
atmospheric pressure WATER ACTIVITY ( ) Aw is
a critical factor that governs if an organism
will grow in food, as most foods are delicate to
lose or gain of water. This is, in turn,
controlled by the type of packaging used by the
food manufacturer. Contd...
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Contd...
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Biscuits, cookies or even savouries snacks suffer
loss in quality due to moisture gain. on the
contrary, baked foods as cakes may suffer from
extensive dryness. Another great example is
milk, which has a shorter shelf life than pasta
(more shelf- stable) due to its low water
activity. BIOCHEMICAL Most food products underg
o possible reactions which may not be beneficial o
r attractive to the consumer. The important
reactions to look out for are oxidation,
non-enzymatic browning etc. Contd...
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For instance, oxidation of fats and oils leads to
rancidity and the development of
off-flavour. This predominantly limits the shelf
life of products containing fats and oils at
ambient temperatures, such as potato crisps,
savoury snacks, biscuits and cookies. Although
freezing arrests microbial and water activity,
frozen food can also have its shelf life limited
by fat oxidation, for instance, fish and
meats. FOOD PACKAGING AND THEIR
INTERACTION Most of the food products depend on
the particular packaging (material) to achieve
or maintain their expected shelf life. Contd...
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For instance, potato chips are packed under a modi
fied atmosphere normally achieves only six weeks
of shelf life. However, if the manufacturer
chooses to pack the same potato crisps in plastic
with less-barrier properties, it may achieve a
six-month shelf life. Canned foods are processed
in lacquered cans which minimizes the possibility
of tin dissolution into the food. The maximum
tin content requirement by Food Standards is 250
mg/Kg. Contd...
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A novel food packaging currently uses active packa
ging materials (pads and sachets placed inside
of packages). Active packaging possesses active
ingredients or using active functional polymers
to inhibit spoilage or pathogenic
microorganisms. TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE The
environment that a food product is exposed to
plays a key role in shelf life. Transporting
foods outside of prescribed temperatures may
result in food spoilage, oxidation, and other
unfavourable outcomes. Contd...
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Potentially hazardous foods should be stored
under 4C throughout their life. Variances in
storage temperature between 0C and 4C in the
refrigerator, exposure to sunlight, might result
in loss of shelf life, activation of chemical
reactions and microbial activity. Therefore, the
date marked on the product will no longer be
valid and true. The following Table offers some
recommendations of typical storage
temperature. Contd...
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Contd...
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About Food Research Lab (www.foodres
earchlab.com)
With many years of passion and experience in the

• food and beverage development industry, Food
  Research Lab serves as a one-stop solution for
  all your food business needs, from designing
  your new product, shelf life analyses, or
  testing or to enhance an existing one.

Our food technology experts will help you through
a plethora of rules and regulations across the
globe to enable your product (food
nutraceuticals/supplements) to reach customers
hands promptly. Contd...
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By working directly with us, youre assured of
getting a dynamic, innovative product of your
specifications. We will also help you with a
cost analysis of a new food product development
for the specification and certification process
of your product. Reach us at salessupport_at_foodres
earchlab.com Dr Raj is a trained food scientist
from New Zealand with 10 years of experience.
Upon completion of his PhD, he worked for various
FMCGs. Contd...
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He is the recipient of the Oxoid food science
award from the Heriot-Watt University and
Callaghan grant from the University of Otago and
Callaghan Innovations for his academic
performance. Raj writes early in the morning,
then spends the rest of the day working as a
full-time technologist and as a consultant at
Food Research Lab (www.foodresearchlab.com),
Chennai the UK, where he makes his experiments
work.
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