Shelf Life Studies
Shelf life studies can be defined as the studies carried out to determine the expiry date of a food and to determine whether the food preserves its nutritional values within the specified period.
A food item must retain its taste, appearance and nutritional values until the expiration date. The shelf life of foods is affected by product-specific internal and external factors.
In general, shelf life studies and how long a product is processed and stored under
- Taste and quality
- Physical, chemical and microbiological properties
carried out to determine whether it can be protected.
Shelf life studies in foods are carried out in two different ways as "Full Time Shelf Life Determination" and "Accelerated Shelf Life Determination".
Full Time Shelf Life Studies:Food is stored under normal conditions for longer than the estimated shelf life in this method. At the end of the storage process, quality, nutritional value, chemical and physical changes are evaluated in terms of microbiological changes.
Accelerated Shelf Life Studies: It is based on estimating the shelf life of food using accelerated factors. It is a method generally used in foods with a long shelf life.
General stages of shelf life studies:
- Shelf life is estimated.
- Internal and external factors that may cause food spoilage are determined.
Internal factors: Product quality, product content, water activity, pH, preservatives etc.
External factors: type of food processing, presence of oxygen, type of packaging, storage conditions, transportation conditions, consumer use, etc.
- Tests to be performed as a result of the study: Sensory evaluation, microbiological load, chemical and physical tests
As Nanolab Laboratories Group, we carry out "Determination of Nutrient Elements" test procedures in many parts of Turkey in accordance with the relevant legal regulations and standards.
