Page 48 - FoodFocusThailand No.189 December 2021

STRONG QC & QAQA
STRONG QC &

การประเมิินอายุุการเก็บรักษา

ผลิิตภััณฑ์์อาหาร

Shelf Life Evaluation

for Food Products

Currently, food products available in the market require the shelf life indicator supported by academic information.
These credentials ensure the food product remains the good quality throughout its shelf-life according to the
customer acceptability and following the food safety standards.

Nowadays, trade competition is growing; they compete by launching • Chemical composition (Sugar, salt, and acid)
new products to the market. Therefore, the shelf life evaluation is Food containing high sugar, salt, and acid can has longer the shelf
necessary for product quality certification before launching it to the life because of unsuitable conditions for microorganism growth.
market. • Packaging condition and container
Food deterioration is classified into four characteristics: physical Vacuum packing and using the moisture and oxygen-barrier
deterioration, chemical degradation, biological changes, and sensory packaging slow down the microbial growth and chemical reaction
changes. Most types of food spoilage are listed as follow: resulting in prolonged shelf life.
1. Physical deterioration
• Loss of crispness: banana chips, cookies, rice crackers Consideration of shelf life evaluation
• Loss of softness: cakes, bread • Sample preparation
• Separation of oil: salad dressings The product sample used for evaluation must be the same as the
• Separation of water: agar, jelly actual product selling in the market, such as the actual weight or volume
• Liquefaction: palm sugar, sugarcane and container.
• Agglomeration or caking: dried food powder, powdered drink • Product criteria selection
• Precipitation: fruit juice, chicken sauce The quality criteria used for evaluation must be related to the
• Break or fractures: banana chips, cookies, rice crackers deterioration and can measure in numerical.
2. Chemical degradation • Determination of measurements frequency
• The color of fresh-cut fruit and vegetable was changed to yellow- Monitoring must be carried out at regular intervals to see when it
brown or dark color by an enzymatic reaction. begins to spoil, for example, every day, every 3 days, every week, or
• Maillard reaction (sugar and protein interaction) of skim milk every month depending on the type of food.
powder and coconut sugar • Determination of the acceptable level
• Lipid oxidation (fatty acid and oxygen interaction) resulted in Most of the acceptable levels are based on food law or according
off-flavor and rancidity of banana chips and fried food. to manufacturer benchmark.
• Loss of nutrition such as vitamin A and vitamin C • Storage selection
3. Biological changes The storage condition is based on the characteristics of food product
• Food spoilage from the microbial growth (bacteria, yeast, mold) • Low temperature or cold storage conditions are suitable for
• Foodborne pathogen contamination such as Salmonella spp. , product that spoils easily from microorganisms such as milk and juice.
Staphylococcus aureus • Accelerated storage conditions (35, 45, 55 C) can provide
o
4. Sensory changes data that is taken to calculated at the optimum temperature for food
• Changing the texture, taste, and flavor (off-flavor or rancidity) products storage. For example: products in convenience stores at
room temperature.
Factors affecting shelf life of food products • Frozen storage is used for frozen food and frozen fruit product.
• Food processing method and heating condition (Temperature Lack of shelf life evaluation change of food product without shelf
and time) life evaluation may affect the manufacturer in terms of lost revenue
Usually, the thermal treatment of food products leads to extended and negatively on the organization’s reputation. Moreover, it also affects
shelf life, but it was minimally may change in flavor and texture properties. the environment and sustainability of the world. This was because food
• Water activity production applied a combination of several raw materials that has a
Low water activity food can be stored for a long time because cost and greenhouse gas emission, which harmed our planet. For this
insufficient water content affects growth of microbe and reduces the reason, it seriously affects the health of consumers and can be fatal.
occurrence of chemical reactions.

More Information Service Info C008
48 FOOD FOCUS THAILAND DEC 2021

46-48_Strong QC&QA_NFI.indd 48 19/11/2564 BE 16:24
46-48_Strong QC&QA_NFI.indd 48
19/11/2564 BE 16:24