Shelf Life Assessment Of Food

Determining accurate shelf life data for foods is essential for assuring food quality and protecting consumers from the effects of degradation. With a proper balance of theory and practical examples, Shelf Life Assessment of Food presents the essential criteria and current methodologies for obtaining accurate and reliable shelf life dating. Definin

The best-selling first edition of this contributed book established itself as a highly practical and authoritative source of information on shelf-life evaluation. Every food manufacturer is concerned about shelf life, as are the major retailers and ingredient suppliers. Increasing consumer interest in food safety, quality and date marking, competitive pressures from retailers and extensive legislative changes have combined to give this subject new significance. A proper evaluation of shelf life must be grounded on sound scientific prinicles, supported by up-to-date techniques. This book begins with six chapters reviewing the principles of shelf-life evaluation, followed by ten chapters on a number of selected food products such as chilled yogurt and other dairy desserts, seafood, and meat. The latest edition has been expanded to include new chapters on HACCP, preservation technology and shelf life, and minimally processed, ready-to-eat ambient-stable meat products. Sufficient information on the principles and practice of shelf life evaluation has been included for the beginner as well as for those who are more experienced in this area.

The subject of shelf life of foods is not a new one. Increasing consumer interest in food safety, quality and date marking, competitjve pressures from retailers and extensive legislative changes, however, have combined to give the subject a new significance. The proper and correct determina tion of shelf life is of course fundamental to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) for the food and drink industry. Manufacturers who aim to produce safe, wholesome and attractive food products 'right the first time' and 'right every time' will already know the importance of proper shelf life evaluation. Incorrect shelf lives can potentially bring about dire legal, safety or financial consequences. This is not to belittle the difficulty of failing to meet consumer expectations consistently as a result of shelf lives that have been arrived at unreliably. A proper evaluation of shelf life must be grounded on sound scientific principles, supported by up-to-date techniques in food science and tech nology. This book, therefore, begins with five chapters reviewing the prin ciples of shelf life evaluation. These are followed by ten chapters on a number of selected food products. All the authors either have first hand experience on the practice of shelf life evaluation or are involved in research of the subject. Because of the diversity and complexity of food products now available, no attempt has been made to cover every product group, let alone every product conceivable.

The quality and safety of the food we eat deserves the utmost attention and is a priority for producers and consumers alike. Shelf life studies provide important information to manufacturers and consumers to ensure a high-quality food product. Various evaluation methods are used for shelf life determination and they are usually performed at the manufacturer level. Moreover, various techniques are utilized throughout the food chain that enhance the shelf life of food products. This sensitive issue is reviewed in Shelf Life and Food Safety, which brings together a group of subject experts to present up-to-date and objective discussions on a broad range of topics including food spoilage and safe preservation, packaging, and sensory aspects. The book presents both traditional and innovative technologies for enhancing food safety and increasing shelf life, along with methods for the assessment and prediction of food safety and shelf life. Key Features Overviews the issues associated with shelf life enhancement and shelf life evaluation of various food products Addresses issues important to maintaining food safety Explains how shelf life depends on factors, including ingredients for formulation, processing techniques, packaging, and storage conditions Covers shelf life evaluation methods, determinants for shelf life, food quality assessment, and basic and innovative technologies that will improve the shelf life of food products This book is the first of its kind focusing on issues related to evaluation techniques for shelf life determinants, and techniques for shelf life enhancement. It is appropriate for students, researchers, scientists, and professionals in food science and technology. It is also a helpful source of information for people involved in the food industry, food processing sector, product development, marketing, and other associated fields.

Ensuring that foods and beverages remain stable during the required shelf life is critical to their success in the market place, yet companies experience difficulties in this area. Food and beverage stability and shelf life provides a comprehensive guide to factors influencing stability, methods of stability and shelf life assessment and the stability and shelf life of major products. Part one describes important food and beverage quality deterioration processes, including microbiological spoilage and physical instability. Chapters in this section also investigate the effects of ingredients, processing and packaging on stability, among other factors. Part two describes methods for stability and shelf life assessment including food storage trials, accelerated testing and shelf life modelling. Part three reviews the stability and shelf life of a wide range of products, including beer, soft drinks, fruit, bread, oils, confectionery products, milk and seafood. With its distinguished editors and international team of expert contributors, Food and beverage stability and shelf life is a valuable reference for professionals involved in quality assurance and product development and researchers focussing on food and beverage stability. A comprehensive guide to factors influencing stability, methods of stability and shelf life assessment and the stability and shelf life of major products Describes important food and beverage quality deterioration processes exploring microbiological spoilage and physical instability Investigate the effects of ingredients, processing and packaging on stability and documents methods for stability and shelf life assessment

Food Quality and Shelf Life covers all aspects and challenges of food preservation, packaging and shelf-life. It provides information on the most important pillars in the field, starting with active and smart packaging materials, novel technologies, and control tools in all stages between production and consumer. The book gives emphasis to methodological approaches for sensory shelf-life estimation and the impact of packaging on sensorial properties. Researchers and professionals alike will find this reference useful, especially those who are interested in the performance evaluation of future packaging for fresh produce in the cold chain and temperature management in the supply chain. Presents insights regarding new trends in emerging technologies in the field Includes hot topics, such as modified atmosphere packaging and active materials to improve shelf-life Provides shelf-life assessment and modeling methodologies and accelerated shelf-life testing

Complying with food regulations and, more importantly, quality standards, requires practical and reliable methods to estimate a product’s shelf life. Emphasizing the importance of the consumer’s perception of when food has reached the end of its shelf life, Sensory Shelf Life Estimation of Food Products provides a tool for adequately predicting sensory shelf life (SSL). The book delineates the basics of sensory analysis and how it applies to shelf-life studies and includes discussions of experimental design aspects, survival analysis methodology, and its extensions. It provides detailed instructions and software functions for performing SSL estimations, accompanied by data sets and the R Statistical Package functions that are available for download. The author presents the cut-off point methodology used to estimate SSL when the survival analysis methods get complicated. He includes a chapter on accelerated storage covering kinetics, calculations of prediction confidence intervals and potential pitfalls. He also examines extensions of survival analysis statistics to other areas of food quality such as optimum concentration of ingredients and optimum cooking temperatures. Microbiologically stable foods, such as biscuits or mayonnaise, will have their shelf-life defined by the changes in their sensory properties. Many fresh foods, such as yogurt or pasta, after relatively prolonged storage may be microbiologically safe to eat but rejected due to changes in their sensory properties. Shelf life in most food products is determined by sensory issues instead of microbiological or chemical concerns. This book offers key techniques for experimental design, storage, consumer testing procedures, and calculations. It includes methods for accelerated storage experiments, thoroughly explains statistical data treatment, and includes practical examples.

The shelf-life of a product is critical in determining both its quality and profitability. This important collection reviews the key factors in determining shelf-life and how it can be measured. Part one examines the factors affecting shelf-life and spoilage, including individual chapters on the major types of food spoilage, the role of moisture and temperature, spoilage yeasts, the Maillard reaction and the factors underlying lipid oxidation. Part two addresses the best ways of measuring the shelf-life of foods, with chapters on modelling food spoilage, measuring and modelling glass transition, detecting spoilage yeasts, measuring lipid oxidation, the design and validation of shelf-life tests and the use of accelerated shelf-life tests. Understanding and measuring the shelf-life of food is an important reference for all those concerned with extending the shelf-life of food. Reviews the key factors in determining shelf-life and how they can be measured Examines the importance of the shelf-life of a product in determining its quality and profitability Brings together the leading international experts in the field