How can you design a shelf-life study for a new food product?

1 Define your objectives

The first step is to define your objectives for the shelf-life study. What are the quality attributes that you want to measure and monitor? How do they relate to the sensory, nutritional, functional, and safety aspects of your product? How do you define the end of shelf life for your product? Is it when it becomes unacceptable, unsafe, or unmarketable? You should also consider your target market, customer expectations, and legal standards when setting your objectives.

2 Select your storage conditions

The next step is to select the storage conditions that you want to test your product under. These include the temperature, humidity, light, and oxygen levels that your product will encounter during storage and distribution. You should choose the conditions that are relevant, realistic, and representative of your product's intended use and shelf life. You may also want to include some accelerated or abusive conditions to simulate the worst-case scenarios or to shorten the duration of the study.

3 Choose your sampling plan

The third step is to choose your sampling plan, which determines how many samples you will need, how often you will test them, and how you will handle and analyze them. You should select a sample size that is large enough to capture the variability and trends of your product quality over time, but not too large to be impractical or costly. You should also decide on the sampling frequency that is appropriate for your product's shelf life and quality changes. You should follow good sampling practices to ensure the representativeness and integrity of your samples.

5 Analyze your data

The fifth step is to analyze your data and interpret the findings of your shelf-life study. You should use appropriate statistical tools and techniques to summarize, compare, and model your data. You should also consider the sources of variation and uncertainty in your data, such as measurement errors, sampling errors, and environmental fluctuations. You should look for patterns, trends, and relationships among your quality attributes and storage conditions. You should also evaluate the significance and relevance of your results for your objectives and standards.

6 Report your results

The final step is to report your results and communicate the outcomes of your shelf-life study. You should prepare a clear, concise, and comprehensive report that summarizes the objectives, methods, data, analysis, and conclusions of your study. You should also include the recommendations and implications of your study for your product development, improvement, and management. You should present your report in a format and language that are suitable for your intended audience and purpose.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?