Food Technology Consulting International

(FTC International Consulting)

Shelf Life

FTC International Consulting can help you find the optimum shelf life for your product and help you achieve it. Pathogen Modeling & Challenge studies can be an effective means of testing whether your product supports the growth of disease causing organisms. Our shelf life consultants have been through product shelf life designs, shelf life studies, shelf life extension and shelf life testing with various health authorities and satisfied customers.

Shelf Life Studies and Testing

Frequently, food manufacturers and health authorities inspect products and facilities for bacteria, viruses, yeast and mold. Some organisms are pathogenic (disease causing), whereas others are completely harmless and in some cases even beneficial both to the product as well as to the consumer. Even the presence of some harmful bacteria may not spell disaster for your product or your facility.

At FTC International Consulting, we can help you interpret the test results, review & recommend procedures for control of organisms and get  food microbiology working for you.

For some more information on Microbiology

The shelf life of a product is determined by several factors:

Packaging - whether a package is designed to keep oxygen, light, moisture & bacteria out of your product;

Storage - whether a product is stored at ambient, refrigerated or frozen temperatures;

pH - the amount of acid in your product is intimately related with how likely it is that bacteria will grow and spoil your product;

Water activity - a measure of the available water in your product for organisms to grow can provide an accurate prediction of how stable your product is;

Free fatty acids - a measure of the stability of the fat in your product, an whether it is likely to go rancid;

Stability of emulsions and mixes - certain emulsions are more stable than others. How do you prevent weeping and separation?

Heat processing - What are the temperatures that you use to process your product? Are they adequate to destroy the organisms that can cause spoilage, or worse, disease?

Transportation - The variations in temperature that your product will be subjected to during transport, as well as the vibration may cause major problems;

Ingredients - How clean and stable are the ingredients you buy? Do they improve your product, or do they cause problems?