Finding out the shelf life of your food product is an important part of getting it ready for market. We provide testing that determines expiration dates, best-by dates, and sell-by dates for a variety of food products. If you are unfamiliar with these terms and have questions on what exactly shelf-life studies measure then review this information.
Food samples are conditioned and stored in specific temperatures and humidity conditions, then quality changes are analyzed and evaluated through quality and microbial safety analyses. Expiration dates are determined by food safety and quality criteria. We have the capabilities to do shelf-life studies at ambient, freezer, and refrigerator temperatures as well various accelerated temperatures.
Sample Conditioning and Storage
We offer both Standard and Accelerated Shelf Life studies. We provide temperature and humidity chambers for sample conditioning and storage. We work closely with clients to design a personalized study and then carry out sampling, quality and microbial analyses. The conditioning chambers are also available for use outside of full Shelf Life Studies. This includes but is not limited to conditioning products according to temperature fluctuations in your shipping stream, aging products for your internal quality analysis, or aging products to use with other departments at the FIC (Sensory, Food Safety, and Product Development)
Standard Shelf Life Study
In a Standard Shelf Life Study the product is conditioned and stored at a similar storage temperature and humidity as the distribution environment. Changes in the product are evaluated at a specific sampling duration.
Accelerated Shelf Life Study
In an Accelerated Shelf Life Study the food product is conditioned and stored at elevated temperature and/or humidity. Quality changes in the product are evaluated at a specific sampling rate. The accelerated shelf life study can be two to four times faster than the standard shelf life study. We currently have three accelerated shelf life conditioning chambers of varying sizes and temperature ranges to suit our client’s needs.
We're able to carry out full or partial shelf life studies, including experimental design, sampling, quality analysis, microbial analysis, sensory evaluation, and study reports.
Costs
Project costs vary, depending on scope of work.
On average, most of our accelerated shelf-life studies range from $2000 - $5000 for a shelf-life between 6 to 12 months and when there aren't many quality tests and number of testing days. When there are multiple quality metrics being evaluated at many time intervals then the cost can be in the $8000 - $12000 range.
Submit this contact form and select "Shelf Life" to talk to one of our food scientists to discuss your needs and get a quote for a study.
In the case this exceeds your budget, we also provide consultation services at $140 per hour to guide you in determining your product's shelf-life.
