Accredited Food Shelf-Life Testing Services | Mérieux NutriSciences AQ

Precise Storage Trials & Shelf-Life Validation for Australian Food Manufacturers

Validate product stability, determine accurate Use-By or Best-Before dates, and comply with FSANZ standards. Mérieux NutriSciences AQ delivers accredited shelf-life testing and storage trials to ensure your food products maintain quality, safety, and regulatory compliance throughout their intended shelf life.

Trusted FOOD Safety Partner

Comprehensive Real-Time Storage Trials & Shelf-Life Validation

Establishing an accurate shelf life is an essential component of every Food Safety Plan and a key requirement under FSANZ Standard 1.2.5. Storage trial testing measures the natural quality decay, and native microbial proliferation of your finished product under defined environmental conditions over time.

Mérieux NutriSciences AQ provides comprehensive shelf-life testing using controlled laboratory storage chambers across multiple temperature parameters. Whether evaluating fresh produce, ready-to-eat meals, dairy, or ambient shelf-stable goods, our structured protocols ensure your determined shelf life is backed by reliable, repeatable scientific data.

Capabilities for Dependable Shelf-Life Validation

Laboratory-Controlled Storage Solutions for Food Manufacturers

Our accredited testing facilities provide controlled temperature storage, structured time-point testing, and progressive interim reporting to ensure your food products achieve accurate Use-By and Best Before dates and FSANZ regulatory compliance.

Custom Trial Plan Definition

Collaborate with our technical team to establish tailored storage schedules, testing parameters, and sampling time points aligned with your specific product matrix and target shelf life.

Comprehensive Testing & Analysis

Access routine microbiological testing and chemical analysis across every designated milestone to track overall product stability and quality degradation.

Temperature & Matrix Risk Assessments

Evaluate product integrity under standard storage conditions, including -18 ± 1°C, 4 ± 1°C, 7 ± 1°C, and Ambient environments, ensuring compliance across real-world supply chain scenarios.

Progressive Data Reporting & LIMS Tracking

Track your trial progress seamlessly with progressive interim summary reports issued at each completed time point, offering clear visibility into sample performance before final trial completion.

Real-Time Storage Verification

Conduct rigorous real-time storage trials over single or multi-batch runs to deliver high-confidence data for product safety plans and commercial distribution.

Flexible On-Site or Lab Storage Options

Choose between utilising Mérieux NutriSciences AQ temperature-controlled chambers or storing samples at your own site and submitting them for routine testing at designated time points.

Your Trusted Partner in Food Safety

Local Support

Work with an Australian-based team that understands local food businesses, regulatory requirements and regional supply chains.

Global Expertise

Access local laboratory support together with the scientific knowledge, technologies and specialist capabilities of the wider Mérieux NutriSciences network.

Accredited Lab

Our laboratories are NATA-accredited to ISO/IEC 17025

Single-Source Laboratory

Streamline your quality assurance with Mérieux NutriSciences AQ – your single-source laboratory for all food safety, allergen, and compliance testing.

Real-Time Stability Insights

Real-Time Stability Insights
Receive consolidated, tabular summary reports as each time-point analysis completes, providing real-time visibility into your product’s stability throughout the study.

Specialised Consultation via Our Food Science Centre

Collaborate with our Food Science Centre experts for tailored technical support, custom study design, and challenge studies. Our specialists organise bespoke protocols to validate product safety and resolve complex formulation challenges.

Frequently Asked Questions

Storage Trial: Measures the natural shelf life and native background flora of an uninoculated product over time to establish standard baseline safety and quality.

Challenge Study A specialised study designed in consultation with our Food Science Centre at Mérieux NutriSciences AQ. We intentionally inoculate your product with targeted microorganisms (like Listeria) to validate whether the formulation actively prevents or supports microbial growth.

Our standard laboratory storage facilities include -18 ± 1°C, 4 ± 1°C (standard refrigeration), 7 ± 1°C (mild abuse/retail display), and Ambient storage. Custom temperatures outside these parameters can be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

We require at least one week of written notice prior to sending samples. This ensures adequate chamber space, laboratory capacity, LIMS registration, and pre-approval of the trial protocol and quote.

You must provide one sealed finished product sample for each designated testing time point, plus additional separate samples if chemical or allergen analyses are required. We also request at least 3 extra spare samples to accommodate potential trial extensions or re-testing.

No. Mérieux NutriSciences AQ performs real-time storage trials to ensure scientifically sound data and complete regulatory compliance. Accelerated shelf-life testing is not conducted.

The customer maintains ultimate responsibility for interpreting the analytical results and assigning the final shelf life, as they hold complete operational knowledge of their product formulation, processing conditions, and distribution channels.

If you are looking for a scientific partner to assist you with routine food safety testing or more complex analyses, we are your food testing laboratory of choice. Contact us to discuss your needs.

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