In order to comply with regulatory (local, 状态, and federal) and retailer requirements, a wide range of products, including foods and beverages, pet food and animal feed, 补充, nutraceuticals and more, must undergo shelf-life testing to determine expiration dates, 最佳日期, 以及销售日期.
我们将帮助您确保产品质量和安全，并确定各种产品类型的保质期. im体育APP的全方位功能可以帮助您确保产品在整个保质期内的稳定性. 我们的咨询科学家有多年的经验，测试产品存储在各种各样的包装, including freeze-dried, vacuum-packed (sous vide), reduced oxygen packed (ROP) and modified atmosphere 包装.
Given the substantial storage capacity that is available, 可容纳多种产品和各种储存条件, 包括冷冻, 冷藏, and ambient shelf-life studies. Accelerated shelf-life testing is also available, 然而，加速条件可能会杀死这项研究旨在检测的腐败细菌. 我们的咨询科学家可以帮助您确定加速条件是否适合您的研究. With extensive experience with ISO, CTFA, Colipa USDA and FDA protocols, 我们定制的保质期研究计划旨在满足每个测试产品的独特特性, as well as regulatory requirements. 在开发和定制保质期测试协议时，通常会考虑以下关键因素:
- Microbiological risk parameters
- Spoilage indicator organisms
- Water activity and pH
- 标签声明
- 酸败
The im体育APP advantage
In addition to shelf-life studies on market-ready products, including food and dietary 补充, im体育APP还提供微生物挑战研究，以更好地详细说明新产品进入市场的微生物风险或腐败潜力.
要了解我们的保质期测试服务，或与我们的专家交谈， im体育APP 今天.
食物 shelf-life frequently asked questions
What is a product’s “shelf life”?
食品的保质期是食品加工和包装后保持其感官的一段时间, 功能, 物理, 在正常/推荐的储存条件下的微生物特性. 所有的食物都有保质期，“保质期”的长短取决于储存条件.
Why do I need a shelf-life study for my food products?
食品保质期研究确保顾客满意和品牌保护. 它们还帮助食品制造商了解储存条件如何随着时间的推移影响产品质量, in addition to providing valuable data to R&D teams for formulation improvement.
制造商在标签上提供日期代码，以帮助消费者和零售商确定食品的最佳质量. Except for infant formula, 日期不是产品安全的指标，也不是美国联邦法律所要求的.
然而, 各州可以采用FDA食品法典，该法典为零售商提供店内生产产品的保质期限制的指导方针. The 食物 Code 状态s that retailers selling foods produced, 打包, 由联邦检查机构持有和分发的食品可以使用产品标签上的保质期. 如果零售商打开这些产品来使用店内制造的产品(例如.g., made to order deli items and smoothies), there are stricter limits as to the shelf life of those items. 在英国等许多其他国家也有政府的要求, 欧洲, 澳大利亚, 和新西兰.
What does a shelf-life study tell me?
保质期研究告诉你在什么时间点(在设定的储存温度下)你的产品不再是可接受的. 此外, a well-designed shelf-life study demonstrates whether your product, 作为制定, 满足或超过贵公司的标准和客户对高质量产品的期望.
保质期研究还提供了有关产品物理变化的信息, 化学, 随着时间的推移，微生物会影响产品的感官质量.
Can I tell if a food product is safe by completing a shelf-life study?
大多数保质期研究的目的是表明食品的变质程度，而不是安全性. 许多产品在因病原体生长而变得不安全之前就会变质. 变质的细菌, yeast and molds compete for nutrients with pathogens, reducing the likelihood of growth and potential toxin formation (i.e.肉毒杆菌毒素). 食品变质会对食品销售产生负面的经济影响，并有可能损害品牌声誉.
食品制造商实施严格的良好生产规范(gmp), 危害分析关键控制点(HACCP)计划和食品安全计划(FSPs)，处理潜在的病原体污染, greatly reducing the risk of potential food poisoning.
When do I need to run a shelf-life study?
食物 shelf-life studies need to be completed:
- When a new product is developed;
- 当现有产品被重新配制或工艺发生变化时;
- When the current shelf life is extended, and/or
- When an existing shelf life needs to be validated.
What do I need to test for in a food shelf-life study?
What needs to be tested depends on the product and storage conditions. A knowledgeable food microbiologist can help determine the most appropriate tests. Typically, shelf-life studies test for spoilage organisms:
- Aerobic Plate Count (APC) – A general indicator of overall processing and product 质量.
- Total Coliform Count/E. 杆菌 -适当的加工和加工后产品处理的指标.g.，使用清洁和消毒的设备，戴手套，立即冷藏/冷冻储存等.).
- 酵母和霉菌 – Spoilage indicators of many perishable foods (e.g., fruits and vegetables, processed meats and chesses, breads, etc.).
- Psychrotrophic Plate Count -嗜冷细菌只在冷藏温度下生长，导致产品变质.
- pH -衡量产品的酸性程度，影响食品安全和质量. 当酸度足够时，可以防止食源性病原体的生长.
- 水活度(法律) -确定食物中有多少可供微生物生长的水分. Low water activity foods include crackers, 饼干, and spices while high water activity foods include milk, fresh fruits and vegetables.
How can I maximize the shelf life of my food product?
The shelf-life of food products can be maximized by:
- Using high 质量 raw ingredients;
- Using processed ingredients to ensure the product is safe (e.g., pasteurized eggs instead of raw eggs);
- Acidifying the product to below 4.6 (e.g.，加醋);
- Reducing the amount of available water for microbial growth, as measured by water activity (aw), 到0以下.85. This can be done through adding salt, sugar or 干燥 (e.g.牛肉干);
- Adding preservatives such a potassium benzoate to control molds;
- Refrigerating perishable products, and/or
- Carrying out pasteurization, 烹饪, 干燥, high pressure pasteurization (HPP), and/or thermal processing in hermetically sealed containers (e.g.., cans, bottles and pouches).
What is the difference between “sell by” and “best by” 状态ments?
“卖了” is generally used when the product is "microbiologically sensitive.“这些产品在配方中不含防腐剂，pH值更中性，水活性更高, allowing the growth of potential pathogens and spoilage bacteria. 例如乳制品、即食熟食沙拉、三明治等.
“最佳的” labels are found on products formulated for safety. These foods are not considered as “microbiologically sensitive”, where if the consumer were to use the product past that date, a loss of 质量 maybe noticed. Examples are spices, breads, hard cheeses, etc.
When determining labeling requirements, 检查当地和州法规以确保合规性是很重要的.
Where should I have my food shelf-life study conducted?
化学和微生物学研究应由训练有素的人员进行, ISO 17025 certified laboratory. 保持联系 with im体育APP’s food experts 今天.
