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– Second level
• Third level
Shelf
– FourthLife
level Study Introduction
» Fifth level

FPQAP AY1819 Oct

 What is shelf life study?

•• Definition
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of shelf life: text styles
“The time it takes a food product to deteriorate to an
– Second level
unacceptable degree under specific storage, processing,
and •packaging
Third levelconditions.”
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– by Institute of Food Technologists, the international professional
» Fifth
organization for foodlevel
industry

• Shelf life study: A study to find out how long a product

can be kept in a state that is acceptable to consumers &
the changes that happen during storage

• In other words, you want to find out both the end point
and the changes over time
 Why conduct shelf life study?

•• To
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allow edit Master text
of expiry styles
date/ best before date ->
mandatory requirement by Singapore Sale of Food Act
– Second level
• To evaluate the effect of new ingredients/ processing
• Third level
conditions/ packaging
– Fourth level materials on shelf life
» Fifth level
• To ensure food safety & win consumer trust

• To meet regulatory requirement (e.g. Singapore Food

Regulations & Singapore Standards -> Show students)

• To provide a competitive edge over competitors (if your

product can last longer than competitor’s product)
 What to test in shelf life study?

•• Chemical/
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physical text styles
tests
 E.g. pH, moisture, Aw, brix, colour, viscosity, texture
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analyser, etc.
• Third level
• Nutrient tests
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 E.g. loss of vitamin
» Fifth level A, & C over time, etc.
• Microbiological tests
 E.g. total plate count, E. Coli, Salmonella, etc.
• Sensory evaluation
 E.g. acceptance tests, descriptive tests, etc.
 Appearance, flavour, texture, overall, etc.
 Factors affecting shelf life

•• Intrinsic
Click tofactors
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(presence styles
of hurdles)
No. Hurdle
– 1Second level
High temperature
2 • Third level
Reduced Water Activity
3 – Fourth
Increased level
Acidity
4 Reduced Redoxlevel
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5 Preservatives
6 Competitive Flora

• Extrinsic factors
 Storage condition
 Packaging materials
 Consumer use/ misuse/ abuse (not responsibility of manufacturers)
 How to interpret results?

• Click to edit
Determining endMaster
point text styles
• Fail to meet regulatory requirement (e.g. microbiological
– Second level
limit; minimum nutrient requirement for claim)
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– Fourth level
• Deemed unsafe
» Fifth to consume (e.g. micro count too high;
level
strong off-flavour)

• Deemed unacceptable by consumers in sensory

evaluation (could be any sensory attribute; e.g. rancid
oil; colour fading; flavour change or loss; texture change)
 How to interpret results?

•• Plot
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to editandMaster
tables totext
showstyles
the trend over time (e.g.
count of TPC over 5 months); mark minimally acceptable
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level level1x104 CFU/g) to determine end point
(e.g. TPC
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– Fourth level
• Identify outliers and noises (e.g. unusual or abnormal
» Fifth level
results that do not fit into the trend) & explain; if
necessary, repeat tests

• Relate different tests to confirm the results (e.g. pH &

microbiological results; Aw & moisture; sensory & texture
analyser results)