รายละเอียดเอกสาร

Shelf-life testing is typically thought of as a process used to determine a code date value that will go into a specification. Although this is a key outcome, study data can also be useful in addressing end-user quality questions and in proactively communicating expected quality changes as a function of age and storage environment. The practices outlined in this document are intended to provide a starting place toward building a common basis for the generation of shelf-life data. To clarify what a specific shelf-life claim implies, storage test designing and reporting needs to include the following:

1. Testing at a range of pertinent “real-world” conditions.

2. The assumed key attributes that influence quality over time.

3. The critical levels of the attributes associated with the end of shelf life.

4. The levels, averages, and variability in the rate of change associated with production variability.

The scope of this discussion is low-water-activity (<0.65) grain-based foods and their key ingredients. Quality attributes representing health, regulatory, or food safety concerns are outside the scope of this guideline. Many excellent texts have been written reviewing shelf-life testing procedures and statistical tools for data analysis (1–4). The challenges with applying these methods involve the complexity, time, and resources required to execute and complete the suggested protocols. The data will only pertain to a limited amount of actual product production. An additional goal of the suggested testing format is to create a cost-effective testing program that can be reduced to practice and sustained by the manufacturer, allowing for the development of a significant data set for a product over its life cycle.