Shelf life is defined by the Institute of Food Science and Technology as the period wherein the product shall remain safe and in good quality; also retain its desired sensory, chemical, physical, microbiological, and functional characteristics; that can be triggered by any of the contributing factors. The characteristics of the product itself, including quality and consistency of ingredients, moisture content, and acidity levels, all play an important part in the shelf-life determination. External factors like storage, transportation, and packaging material also influence the stability of the food product.

CEGTH offers accelerated shelf-life studies, in which the food product has to be stored and conditioned at elevated temperature and relative humidity. As per the frequency of testing and sampling rate, quality changes of the product are evaluated. The accelerated shelf-life study can significantly reduce the time frame for testing to 1/4th of the standard or real-time shelf-life study.

Our shelf life testing services enable the manufacturers to define accurate dates for their products, maintaining the product quality and safety of the consumers. Some of the analyses carried out at our food testing laboratory include:

Further, there can be a difference in parameters depending on the food matrix to be tested.