Shelf-life is the time, under specified storage conditions, that a food will tolerate without producing unacceptable microbiological, chemical and/or physical changes.

A challenge study is performed by inoculating selected microorganisms into a food to determine if the microorganisms are a potential health risk or spoilage risk.

When do you need shelf-life and challenge studies?

• New product formulations
• To verify a new product or storage condition
• New transportation and distribution condition
• New Treatments- irradiation, high pressure

Our Services

Mérieux NutriSciences China Food Science Center’s custom-designed shelf-life or stability studies help determine potential for growth of microorganisms in your products, and help you understand changes that may occur in product quality over time. We provide critical data to help assure quality throughout the life of your product.During the study design phase, our team will assist in evaluating which component of the food product is most likely to fail during storage.
In specific cases, accelerated protocols can be proposed to conduct at one or more abuse conditions for the purpose of predicting best-before date determination.

Our services present the following benefits

Designed to replicate real world conditions, our shelf-life studies provide you with critical data regarding your product’s spoilage risk. We will consider your critical factors and design a shelf-life study uniquely specific to your product.
Conducted under National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) guidelines, our challenge / inoculated pack studies can help you:

• Determine time / temperature control safety (TSC) for potentially hazardous food (PHF)
• Identify organisms that pose a risk to your product
• Validate the efficacy of a formulation or process for inhibition or inactivation of microorganisms.