Shelf life Testing and Stability Studies
Manufacturers are responsible for determining the shelf-life of foods they produce according to national and international food safety and hygiene regulations.
Best before and use by date labels are essential to consumers’ health, as it provides key information on how long food can be kept before it begins to deteriorate or may become unsafe to eat. Our customised shelf-life studies enable the determination and display of your products’ best before date and use-by date.
Our Shelf Life Testing Services
Our custom-designed shelf-life or stability studies enable the determination of a product’s use-by date. This service is needed for new product formulations, to verify a new production or storage method, or a change in distribution conditions. Studies of this type are designed to help ensure quality throughout the lifecycle of your product.
During the study design phase, our team will assist in evaluating which component of the food product is most likely to fail during storage. For many products, it is the growth of spoilage organisms. In other products, this can include lipid oxidation, colour fading or nutrient stability. Off-flavor and odour can also be tested using sensory research.
In specific cases, accelerated protocols can be proposed to anticipate best-before date determination.
We take a case-by-case approach to designing shelf-life and stability studies
We provide the following analytical methods, according to customer requirements:
- Organoleptic parameters: appearance, colour, odour, flavour
- Texture using a texture analyzer
- Consumer Acceptability
- Physical-chemical parameters: pH value, viscosity, density, monitoring of ingredient formulation
- Microbiological parameters: microbial count
- Lipid oxidation
- Nutrient stability Screening of aromatic substances to determine the qualitative and quantitative fragrance alteration.
Mérieux NutriSciences’ reliable food testing laboratory network provides manufacturers with advanced scientific capabilities. Contact our experts to discuss the shelf-life of your food product and how we can help you.
