Food Safety & Shelf Life

From food manufacturer, throughout the distribution channel, up to the consumer, the initial properties of the food need to be maintained, to be sure that the food products are safe and as delicious and nutritious as freshly made.

 

Thus protection against oxidation and microbial degradation is required. Food composition drives the choice of ingredients such as preservatives, anti-oxidants and acidulants, and as a result of that the resistance to oxidative and microbial degradation. The right ingredient, in combination with the applied processing, packaging and storage conditions should guarantee product quality.

 

Oxidation can result in rancidity, browning, development of black spots or loss of nutritional value. This is due to the damage done to vitamins or amino acids. An insight in the mechanism of action of the anti-oxidants can be helpful. Anti-oxididant properties can result from chelating functionality, oxygen scavenging or interfering in the oxidation chain reaction. Preservatives prevent or slow down the growth of moulds, yeasts and bacteria that cause food spoilage and food poisoning.

 

For testing the effectiveness of a shelf life solution, accelerated methods, incubation at certain temperatures for microbial analysis and forced oxidation to measure rancidity, can be used. Besides the accelerated methods, close follow up during shelf life is important; this includes sensory analysis of colour and taste. The combination of tests gives the basis to determine achievable shelf life extension.

 

There are both synthetic and natural preservatives and anti-oxidants available. The consumer trend towards natural products may generate improvement projects.

 

To conclude: looking at the composition and storage conditions the sensitivity towards microbial and oxidative degradation should be taken into account. Protection achieved by processing and packaging can be determined. Any gap needs to be filled with the choice of the right ingredient. All options need to be checked with the regulations, maximum dosages and permitted applications.

 

• Acidulants
• Anti-oxidants
• Preservatives

 

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