Manufacturers are responsible for determining the shelf-life of foods they produce according to national and international food safety and hygiene regulations.

Food products change over time. Microbiological growth, oxidation, moisture changes, texture, colour, flavour and packaging interactions can all influence how long a product remains safe and acceptable.

Mérieux NutriSciences AQ develops customised shelf-life studies based on your product, formulation, packaging and intended storage conditions—helping you understand how your product performs throughout its commercial life.

WHEN IS A SHELF-LIFE STUDY NEEDED?

When Your Product Changes, Your Shelf Life May Change Too

Shelf-life testing is valuable not only for a new product launch. Changes to ingredients, manufacturing, packaging or distribution can affect product performance over time.

New Product Launch

Product Reformulation

Packaging Change

Process Change

Storage or Distribution Change

Ongoing Quality Verification

Shelf Life Is More Than an Expiry Date

A shelf-life study should consider how and why a product may eventually become unacceptable, rather than simply waiting for time to pass.

Depending on the product, shelf life can be limited by microbiological growth, oxidation, loss of nutrients, moisture migration, changes in texture or appearance, sensory deterioration or packaging performance.

Our studies can evaluate five critical dimensions of product stability:

Microbiological Safety

Monitor pathogens, spoilage and indicator organisms

Chemical Stability

Assess oxidation, rancidity and chemical changes

Physical Stability

Monitor texture, moisture, pH, colour and appearance

Sensory Quality

Understand changes in taste, aroma, texture and acceptability

Packaging Performance

Assess how packaging supports product protection

Our Shelf-Life Testing Solutions

Customised study designs based on your product, packaging, storage conditions and business objectives.

Observe how your product performs under its intended storage conditions.

Real-time studies evaluate products at predefined intervals throughout the intended shelf life.

Depending on the product, testing can include:

Microbiological quality
Spoilage organisms
pH and acidity
Water activity
Moisture
Oxidation or rancidity indicators
Colour and appearance
Texture
Nutritional parameters
Sensory characteristics

Gain earlier insight into product stability.

Where scientifically appropriate, products can be exposed to controlled conditions designed to accelerate relevant degradation processes.

These studies can help:

Compare formulations
Evaluate packaging alternatives
Identify potential stability weaknesses
Support product-development decisions
Generate earlier indications of product behaviour

Mérieux NutriSciences’ broader shelf-life portfolio includes accelerated and temperature-abuse studies alongside real-time testin

Understand how microorganisms behave throughout storage.

Microbiological testing can monitor organisms relevant to product safety and spoilage throughout a study.

Depending on the product, analysis can include:

Total viable counts
Yeasts and moulds
Lactic acid bacteria
Indicator organisms
Product-specific spoilage microorganisms
Relevant pathogens
Microbial identification

Monitor the changes consumers may see—or that laboratory analysis can detect.

Testing may include:

pH
Water activity
Moisture
Acidity
Oxidation
Peroxide value
Rancidity indicators
Colour
Texture
Viscosity
Separation or sedimentation
Product-specific quality parameters

Understand when product quality becomes unacceptable to consumers.

Not every shelf-life failure is microbiological. Changes in flavour, odour, appearance and texture may define the practical commercial life of a product.

Sensory evaluation can help assess:

Appearance
Aroma
Taste
Texture
Overall acceptability
Changes during storage

Mérieux NutriSciences’ specialised shelf-life offering includes both expert sensory panels and consumer-based evaluations where appropriate.

Shelf life depends on more than the food itself.

Packaging can influence exposure to oxygen, moisture, light and other environmental factors.

Shelf-life studies can help assess:

Packaging effectiveness
Product–packaging interaction
Moisture protection
Oxidation risk
Storage temperature
Storage humidity
Packaging changes

The Mérieux NutriSciences stability programme specifically considers packaging validation and product–packaging interactions as part of shelf-life optimisation.

Understand How Your Product Performs Over Time

From new product development to formulation or packaging changes, our Singapore team can help design a shelf-life study that generates meaningful data about your product's safety, quality and stability.Mérieux NutriSciences AQ offers a complete shelf life testing portfolio that helps manufacturers validate and correctly display best before and use by date. Our procedures include microbiological testing of food and packaging materials.

Find a laboratory

Do you want to know how Mérieux NutriSciences AQ can support you locally?

View Our Locations in Southeast Asia

Food Shelf Life Testing