Food testing Analysis May 2000 issue

The Search for Shelf Life

An update on continued efforts in understanding practical strategies for
determining and testing the shelf life of food products.
By Theodore P. Labuza, Ph.D.
Introduction
The drive by the food and beverage industry to achieve higher quality and
extended shelf life food products accelerated in the 1990s. Some of the contributing
factors in the search for improved shelf life include increased consumer demand for
fresh, convenient, safe and superior quality foods available year-round, and the
continued globalization of food distribution systems, which has placed pressure on the
food industry to ensure shelf stability and storage times as products travel further and
further from their place of origin.
But even as innovative packaging, new technologies and testing method
developments have spurred achievements for some food manufacturers in successfully
extending the shelf life of some products, most notably, fresh-cut salads, other
emerging pressures indicate that the need for improved shelf life testing and
assessment procedures is significant. One such trend is worth noting: the continued
introduction of legal drivers for shelf life testing. Although there is no federally
mandated, uniform open dating system, many U.S. government organizations have
ruled that certain foods must have some type of open date.[1,2] The European Union
also has such legislation in place for all food products.
For the food industry, meeting these ostensibly contrary objectives of consumer
demand for longer shelf life but minimally processed foods requires the implementation
of enhanced preservation parameters, improvement in testing and analytical
procedures, a better understanding of food quality factors as related to their
organoleptic characteristics, and continued education of scientists in food quality
modeling and accelerated shelf life testing (ASLT) procedures. This article will briefly
review the current state of shelf life determination testing methods, tools and
technologies employed to ensure that consumers receive high quality food products
with the added convenience of extended shelf life.
Essential Factors of Shelf Life
The study of food preservation is not likely to produce clear-cut results for
across-the-board application, primarily because foods are very complex, active
systems. To attain knowledge of a foods expected shelf life, one must understand the
microbiological, enzymatic and physicochemical reactions that simultaneously take
place in any given food, identify the mechanisms responsible for spoilage or loss of
desirable characteristics such as flavor, odor or nutrients, and implement scientific
models for estimating the period it will retain an acceptable level of eating quality from a
safety and organoleptic perspective.
The four critical factors in this endeavor are formulation, processing, packaging
and storage conditions, and their relative impact depends on the perishability of the
food. In general, most perishable foods that are properly stored have under 14 days of
shelf life, which is limited in most cases by biochemical (enzymatic/senescence) or
microbial decay. With new aseptic technology, irradiation or high pressure processing,
as well as controlled atmosphere/modified atmosphere packaging (CAP/MAP), such
foods may last up to 90 days. Properly stored semi-perishable foods, such as some
cheeses and frozen desserts, have a shelf life of up to 6 months, while shelf-stable
foods, such as most canned goods, last more than six months and as long as three
years under proper storage conditions.
An understanding of the interplay between these factors is key to shelf life
estimation and testing. For example, a change in a single processing parameter may
lead to undesirable chemical or physical changes in a product, or it may require
reformulation or a change in packaging in order to attain the required shelf life. Similarly,
the very act of processing may subject the formulated materials and ingredients to
conditions that are unfavorable or inhibitory to undesirable deteriorative reactions and
promotive to desirable physical and chemical changes thus giving the food product its
final form and characteristics. And, once the food leaves the processing stage, its
keeping properties and the extent to which it will retain its intended attributes is a
function of its microenvironment. The important parameters are gas composition
(oxygen, carbon dioxide, inert gases, ethylene, and so on), the relative humidity (RH),
pressure or mechanical stresses, light and temperature. These parameters are
dependent on two of the other critical factors: packaging and storage conditions.
Appropriate shelf life testing is normally required to take into account the different
scenarios brought about by this interplay.
Of course, the real-world pressure on the product development scientist is to
provide a good guesstimate on product shelf life in the face of very real time
constraints placed on him by marketing and research and development (R&D)
managers. These food scientists gather information on the specific processing method
to be employed, the types of raw materials and functional ingredients used, prior
experience with similar formulations, packaging, and so on, and perform confined
experiments under abuse conditions to extrapolate limited data to the projected shelf life
in order to answer the basic questions, "What is the shelf life of the food?" and "Will it
reach the consumer in acceptable quality?"
There are several established approaches to gathering this information, including
estimating shelf life based on published data, utilizing known distribution times for
similar products on the market, or using consumer complaints as the basis for
determining if a problem is occurring. These methods have their downsides, however,
including the fact that most shelf life data on specific engineered foods is proprietary,
similar products to benchmark against do not exist, or there is no information on actual
consumer home storage times. If one is confident in a product's shelf life or it is already
in the marketplace, one can use a distribution test method. Product is collected at
supermarket sites and stored in the lab under home-use conditions. Only one such
study has been reported in the literature, although this method has been used by
others, especially in cases when states or countries instituted new open dating
legislation.[3,4] This method results in the product shelf life based on both distribution
and home storage conditions. The most frequently used methodology is accelerated
shelf life testing (ASLT), where the objective is to store the finished product/package
combination under some abuse condition, examine the product periodically until end of
shelf life occurs, and then use this data to project shelf life under true distribution
conditions.[5] Of course, ASLT has garnered much attention in the last 20 years or
more, since it offers a way to estimate shelf life without having to wait from one to two
years for the answer.
Modeling for Shelf-Life Estimation and ASLT
Selecting an appropriate, reliable approach to modeling quality loss of a food
product is an important first step in estimating shelf life, and allows for the efficient
design of appropriate shelf life tests. Shelf life predictions are based on fundamental
principles of food quality loss modeling, primarily kinetic modeling of different
deterioration mechanisms that occur in food systems, which have been detailed
extensively in the literature.[6-19] A general equation describing quality loss in a food
system may be expressed as: rQ = [phi](Ci, Ej), which states that the rate of quality
degradation (rQ) is a function of a number of composition factors (Ci), such as
concentration of reactive species, microorganism levels, catalysts, reaction inhibitors,
pH and water activity, as well as environmental factors (Ej) such as temperature,
relative humidity, light, mechanical stress and total pressure. Following modeling,
desirable and undesirable quality factors then can be measured using chemical,
physical, microbiological or sensory parameters.
Environmental factors can significantly affect the rates of the reactions and need
to be defined and closely monitored during kinetic experiments. A kinetic model for
quality loss is not only particular to the studied food system, but also to the set of
environmental conditions of the experiment, including the permeability of the packaging
material. It would be desirable to generalize the models so that they include, as
parameters, the environmental factors that more strongly affect the quality loss rates
and which are susceptible to variation during the life of the food. Some of these
important factors in food preservation and quality are detailed.
Temperature. The important effect of temperature on reaction rates has long
been recognized. Generally, reaction rates increase with increasing temperatures. The
most prevalent and widely used model is the Arrhenius relation, derived from
thermodynamic laws as well as statistical mechanics principles. The Arrhenius relation,
developed theoretically for reversible molecular chemical reactions, has been
experimentally shown to hold empirically for a number of more complex chemical and
physical phenomena (e.g., viscosity, diffusion, sorption). Food quality loss reactions
described by the kinetic models have also been shown to follow an Arrhenius behaviour
with temperature.
An alternative way of expressing temperature dependence which has been
extensively used by the food industry is the Q
10
approach. Q
10
is defined as the ratio of
the reaction rate constants at temperatures differing by 10C. This model can be used
to describe how much faster a reaction will go if the product is held at some other
temperature, including high abuse temperatures. If the temperature-accelerating factor
is given, then extrapolation to lower temperatures, such as those found during
distribution, may be used to predicted expected product shelf life. This is the principle
behind accelerated shelf life testing.
ASLT, as described previously, involves the use of higher testing temperatures in
food quality loss and shelf life experiments and extrapolation of the results to regular
storage conditions through the use of the Arrhenius equation, which cuts downtesting
time substantially. A reaction of an average E[[A]] of 20 kcal/mol may be accelerated by
nine to 13 times with a 20C increase in the testing temperature, depending on the
temperature zone.[15] This principle and the methodology in conducting effective
ASLTs are described in the literature.[6,20]. However, caution should be exercised
when interpreting results and extrapolating data to other conditions. For example, when
the product/package system is tested, the package also controls shelf life so that the
true shelf life of the food itself is unknown; thus, if a new package with different
permeabilities to oxygen, water, or carbon dioxide is chosen, the prior results may not
be applicable. If the ASLT conditions are chosen properly, however, and the appropriate
algorithms for extrapolation are used, then shelf life under any "known" distribution
should be predictable.
A few other practical problems that may arise in the use of ASLT conditions
include, but are not limited to:
Error may occur in analytical or sensory evaluation. Generally, any analytical
measurement should have a variability of less than 10% to minimize prediction errors.
Generally, as temperature rises, phase changes may occur which can
accelerate certain reactions, such as fat changing from a solid to liquid. Thus, the actual
shelf life at the lower temperature may be shorter than predicted. However, it has been
known since 1990 that for dry foods with a given moisture content put at a higher
temperature (above the glass transition temperature), the projection of shelf life using a
shelf life plot to room temperature storage could be wrong, resulting in either a
prediction of greater or shorter time than actual shelf life. This has opened the door for a
whole set of new laboratory testing procedures such as measuring the glass transition
using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), or by some thermal rheological method
like dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) or dynamic mechanical thermal analysis
(DMTA). Some instrument companies have developed measurement technologies in
these areas, notably in DSC (Perkin-Elmer, TA Instruments), DMTA (Rheometrix) , and
DMA (Perkin-Elmer).
Upon freezing, such as used for storage of control samples, reactants are
concentrated in the unfrozen liquid, creating a higher rate of quality loss at certain
temperatures, which is unaccounted for by the Q[[10]] value, and will cause prediction
errors.
If high enough temperatures are used, proteins may become denatured. This
can result in both increases and decreases in the reaction rate of certain amino acid
side-chains and thus cause either under- or overprediction of true shelf life.
The solubility of gases, expecially oxygen, in fat or water decreases by almost
25% for each 10C rise in temperature. An oxidative reaction (loss of Vitamin E, A, C or
linoleic acid) can increase in rate if oxygen availability is the limiting factor. Thus, at the
higher temperature, the rate will be lower than the theoretical rate, resulting in
underprediction of true shelf life at normal storage temperature.
Other Environmental Factors. The relative humidity of the immediate
environment which directly affects the moisture content and water activity (a[[w]]) of a
food is the second most important environmental factor that affects the rate of food
deterioration reactions.[21] Water activity describes a thermodynamic energy property
of water in the food, and in part, acts as a solvent and participates in chemical
reactions.[22] Although a higher a[[w]] does not necessarily mean a faster reaction rate,
critical levels of a[[w]] can be established above which undesirable factors that lead to
the deterioration of food occurs, such as microbial growth or textural changes.
Controlling the a[[w]] is the basis for preservation of dry and intermediate moisture
foods.[23] Besides the specific critical a[[w]] limits, water activity has a pronounced
effect on chemical reactions in these foods. Generally, the ability of water to act as a
solvent, reaction medium and as a reactant itself increases with increasing a[[w]] up to a
point, and then other factors decrease reaction rates. As a result, many deteriorative
reactions increase exponentially in rate with increasing a[[w]] above the value
corresponding to the monolayer moisture, the value at which most reactions have a
minimum rate. For example, if one has a wet food and tries to dehydrate it to different
water activities, from the wet state, in fact, the reaction rate will increase, reach a
maxima, and then decrease. Thus, as you remove water and lower the water activity,
the rates do not decrease, they can actually increase first. This is a key concept from
the standpoint of intermediate moisture foods, for example, especially with regard to
many food products in the nutraceutical field like semi-soft food bars, which are
generally in a water activity range where rates of deterioration are very high. For lipid
oxidation, the rate increases again as the a[[w]] decreases below the monolayer, and for
most aqueous phase reactions, one rate decreases again above a certain a[[w]] in the
0.6 to 0.8 range.
Mathematical models that incorporate the effect of a[[w]] as an additional
parameter can be used for shelf life predictions of moisture-sensitive foods. Also, ASLT
methods have been used to predict shelf life at normal conditions based on data
collected at high temperature and high humidity conditions.[24]
Understanding gas composition, which is also a factor that may play a significant
role in some quality loss reactions, is important but not clearly understood or
researched. Oxygen availability is very important for oxidative reactions and can affect
both the rate and reaction apparent order, depending upon whether it is limiting or in
excess.[13] It also affects the respiration rates and senescence of plant materials and
microbial growth depending on the redox potential. Vacuum packaging and nitrogen
flushing is based on slowing down undesirable reactions by limiting the availability of
O
2
. Further, the presence and relative amount of other gases, especially carbon dioxide,
strongly affects biological and microbial reactions in fresh meat and fruit and
vegetables. The mode of action of CO
2
has not been completely elucidated, but is partly
connected to surface acidification.[25] Different commodities have different optimum O
2
-
CO
2
-N
2
gas composition requirements for maximum shelf life. Excess CO
2
in many
cases is detrimental. Other important gases are ethylene and CO. Controlled and
modified atmosphere packaging are based on these principles. Ideally by selecting a
packaging material with the desirable permeance properties, the concentration of gases
and the RH inside the package can be kept within predictable limits determined by the
conditions set at processing. Gas transport models that incorporate the oxygen uptake
and CO
2
generation by the food allow the calculation of packaging requirements.
Unfortunately, very few, if any, polymer films satisfy the requirements for both O
2
and
CO
2
control.
One key problem in gas composition analysis is that analysts will flush with a
certain gas, but because films are permeable to gases and some gases may react with
a food (i.e., CO[[2]] may dissolve in the food or oxygen may be used up in oxidation
reactions), it is very possible for the gas composition to change over time. Therefore, it
is important to know what those changes are. What one would like to know is the steady
state composition, because eventually there is a balance between what is ingressing or
egressing out of the package and what is reacting with the package. Many scientists,
including the author, are currently working to develop a scientific method for this.
Currently, a major study is being conducted at the University of Minnesota (UM) on
carbon dioxide degassing from fresh roasted ground coffee. Many coffee manufacturers
are changing to incorporate flexible packages, and if one does not control the package
permeability, the amount of coffee, and so on, there is bursting of the package. What
the UM researchers are trying to do is determine the equlilibrium compoisiton of gas, so
that if one flushes it, there will be equilibrium with the dissolved gas and there would be
no emission from the food. This is unique to coffee, but provides a good example of why
the knowledge of the film permeability is key. Certainly, instrumentation that can
measure gas composition by probing into the package is an important tool in these
efforts (Mocon Instruments, Cole-Parmer).
Quality Indices Used in Shelf Life Testing
Obtaining a reliable approach to modeling quality loss of a food product is based
on defining an appropriate index that measures, or directly corresponds to, food quality.
Again, shelf life can be defined as the time until a product becomes unacceptable to
consumers under a given storage condition. These indices include sensory evaluation,
as well as chemical, microbiological and physical testing through instrumental or
classical methods. The quality indices used most commonly today in shelf life and
storage studies are detailed below.
Sensory Evaluation. Sensory evaluation by a trained panel usually gives a good
estimate of the overall quality state of a food. One approach in sensory testing is to try
to determine, at a certain level of probability, whether a product has changed (difference
tests). Hence, this approach gives "endpoint" information and does not allow for
modeling quality loss with time. Hedonic testing is a somewhat different approach that
to attempts to model the progressive loss of overall quality characteristics, using a
graded hedonic scale. If hedonic testing is properly conducted, the value of the
perception (y) can be used as a quality index and plotted against time (t). However, for
hedonic testing, the requirements on the sensory panel for uniformity, experience and
size are stricter than the difference tests and often these requirements are not met,
resulting in unreliable data. Another problem with this approach is the considerable
difficulty in establishing a meaningful scale for each food productan expert panel is
not necessarily representative of consumers, let alone different consumer
segments.[26] Even if that assumption can be made, a cut-off level of acceptability has
to be decided upon.
A usual approach to sensory testing is to assign the zero time value as 100%
and the end of shelf life value as 0% quality, and thus the times in between correspond
proportionally to different levels of quality. This is based on the assumption that the
sensory response is linear with time, which is often not true. Typically, however, industry
does not test to determine end of shelf life. Hedonic or difference sensory testing, for
example, are too variable, which makes getting a good endpoint difficult. To illustrate
this, one might place a box of cereal in the freezer and another on the counter a room
temperature. In the morning, the person takes the cereal out of the freezer, pours some
flakes into a bowl and tastes them. Next the person takes the cereal from the counter,
pours the flakes into a different bowl, and tastes them. Now, the person tries to
determine whether there is any flavor difference between them, and if there is a
detectable difference, then he knows that the room temperature cereal has reached the
end of its shelf life. But the consumer does not do this in the real world. With the
exception of rapid decay foodsrefrigerated products like milkthe consumer is not
going to be able to detect a sensory difference from day-to-day in shelf-stable items
such as cereal or canned soup. Hence, typical sensory testing using hedonics or
difference testing is not going to give you a consistently accurate view of shelf life for a
given product.
Weibull Hazard Method. While there are different statistical and graphical
approaches for using sensory data in shelf life testing, this maximum likelihood
graphical procedure has been increasingly used with good results in the food
industry.[3-4, 27] In fact, it was not that long ago that the Weibull Hazard Method was
almost exclusively used in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries as a good
systematic approach to sensory testing.[19] The Weibull method is simple in that it asks
only, "Is the product acceptable?" The intensity of testing is increased near the end of
shelf life, so that a true shelf life is determined. Data analysis involves plotting hazard
values versus time and using the Weibull distribution to determine shelf life equal to the
time at which 50% of consumers find product unacceptable. Essentially, then, if all of
the food product from a given days production was magically distributed, ended up on
the table in the home at the same time, and everyone in the home tasted the product,
the Weibull concept states that, at that time, 50% of the tasters would say that the
product is not of good quality. The value of the Weibull plot as a tool is that one can see
a truer picture of the logistics in distribution. [If one wants to get the product in the
home and consumed at only 1%, which is a shorter time, but at 1% I am not going
to displease many people and if I get 95% of my product through in that time Ive
got a pretty good deal, so now the rest of that product is going to be consumed
later and later so theres a logrithmic probability of failure as I go out for a longer
and longer time.]
No one yet in the food industry is combining this method with their logistics
management activities, however. Although the Weibull method is based on sound
statistical approaches and several groups have used the method with great
successnotably, luncheon meats,[3] cassava flour,[28] breakfast cereal,[29], ice
cream,[30] refrigerated meats,[31] frozen foods,[32] cottage cheese,[33] pasteurized
milk,[34] and sausages,[35] sensory scientists have not embraced it, nor is it taught
regularly as part of food science sensory curricula. However, with modifications to
Gaculas original method, the method does offer a good alternative that smaller food
companies can use very easily without maintaining a sophisticated sensory panel.
In two papers currently under review, the application of Weibull Hazard Analysis
to milk and coffee illustrates this procedures usefulness.[36,37] In the case of milk, a
study was conducted to determine whether or not a consumer determined end of
sensory shelf life could be described by some microbial index, regardless of the
temperature conditions at which the milk is stored. While the shelf life of pasteurized
milk is traditionally estimated by the counts of both total and psychrotrophic microbial
load, the values reported to date for both microbial populations at the end of the sensory
shelf life of milk are not consistent. Using the Weibull Hazard Method, the study
examined the relation between the total and psychrotophic microbial growth in milk and
its sensory shelf life. Milk was stored at five constant temperatures (2, 5, 7, 12, and
15C) and both total and psychrotrophic microbial counts were enumerated using 3M
Petrifilm (3M Co., St. Paul, MN) to obtain the lag time and the growth rate values. A
TempTale (Sensitech, Beverly, MA) temperature recorder, placed in the coolers along
with the milk verified the temperature history. The lag time of the total and
psychrotrophic growth responded to temperature following the Arrhenius equation. The
loss of sensory quality of the milk followed a log shelf life versus temperature
dependency. It was shown that the sensory quality of milk is more sensitive to
temperature than the lag time of the microbial populations, and that the microbial count
at the sensory end of shelf life is poorly correlated with the sensory shelf life. It is
therefore suggested that sensory testing, not microbial plate counts, be used to
determine the sensory shelf life of milk. The Weibull method gave end of shelf life
values fairly similar to that of prior work using the ADSA sensory scoring method using
two to three expert panelists.
In the second study, shelf life results for roasted and ground coffee were
obtained with the Weibull Hazard method. In this case, the focus was to determine the
effect of oxygen, a[[w]] and temperature on shelf life. Roasted and ground coffee was
stored at constant O[[2]] (0.5-21%), a[[w]] (0.106-0.408) and temperature (4-35
o
C).
Samples of roasted ground coffee were removed at each sampling time, weighed on a
balance (Mettler-Toledo, Hightstown, NJ) and brewed with 1L of bottled drinking water
using standard coffee filter paper in a table top coffee maker. The brewed coffee was
kept in thermos jars, poured into pre-warmed ceramic cups and covered with aluminum
foil. Samples were then identified with random numbers and served to untrained tasters.
The results were transferred to a master spreadsheet for hazard calculation and then to
a Weibull Hazard plot. Product acceptability was monitored by use of a modified Weibull
Hazard sensory method in which end of shelf life was the time at which 50% of the
untrained tasters found the product unacceptable. The effect of O[[2]], a[[w]] and
temperature was studied from a kinetics standpoint. The shelf life was studied at
different oxygen levels between 0.5 to 21%, and it was found that the higher the oxygen
level, the faster the loss of shelf life, and therefore, the difference between the low
oxygen versus air was 20-fold shelf life. A water activity increase of 0.1 led to a 60%
increase in the rate of deterioration, suggesting that non-enzymatic browning activity is
also occurring, while a temperature increase of 10
o
C raised the rate of deterioration
about 15-23%. The activation energy for shelf life was 3 kcal/mole, indicating diffusion
within the glassy matrix is controlling deterioration.
These two studies, one on microbial/enzymatic decay and the other on
oxidation/Maillard browning, indicate that the Weibull method for sensory end of shelf
life can be applied to simplify shelf life determination of a complex food system.
While typical sensory evaluation data is widely used and accepted in shelf life
determination, some of the inherent problems belie total reliance for accurate
assessments. Some of the more apparent problems include the high cost of using large
testing panels, issues surrounding panelists tasting spoiled or potentially hazardous
samples, and the fact that sensory data are not "objective" enough for regulatory
compliance or legal actions. These are some of the reasons that make evident the need
for alternative techniques using chemical and other indices for evaluating quality.[38]
Instrumental Measurements. Chemical, microbiological and physical tests are
widely used in the study of food quality. Characteristics used by the consumer for
evaluation of a product, such as flavor, color and textural properties can be measured
instrumentally or chemically. Careful evaluation of the chemical and biological reactions
and physical changes that occur in the food during and after processing, based on the
accumulated knowledge in food science, allows the recognition of the ones that are
most important to its safety, integrity and overall quality.[6] Physicochemical or
microbiological parameters can be used to evaluate quality. The values of these
parameters can be correlated to sensory results for the same food and a limit that
corresponds to the lowest acceptable organoleptic quality can be set.
Chemical and Physical Property Tests. There are a variety of chemical and
physical property test methods and instrumentation that can provide shelf life scientists
with usable sensory data. In Europe, scientists commonly use pentane in headspace for
cereal products; in the U.S. hexanal is used. General Mills was a leader in developing
standards for both pentane and hexanal use as a shelf life determination method for
cereals. Another good chemical method, although not used to a great extent today, is
the determination of peroxide value. However, the key to this approach is to check
product often, because peroxides follow a lag phase with a rapid increase where they
reach a peak and then descend to zero. Thus, if the researcher checks peroxides at
zero time at three months and six months, she may not be able to measure any
discernable differences and conclude that it isnt oxidizing, when in fact, between three
and six months, the value rose to its peak and descended again. Peroxide value
requires more analysis, then, but its usefulness lies in the fact that end of shelf life
typically occurs somewhere around 25-50% of the peak.
Oxygen uptake is another method used in shelf life determination, although the
problem with its use is that the industry doesnt have a specified number stating that at
so many ccs of oxygen per gram of food is the point at which end of shelf life occurs for
different foods. This method has only been used for three foodspotato chips, freeze-
dried shrimp and coffee.
In terms of determining shelf life for legal/regulatory compliance, the analysis of
Vitamin C and Vitamin A for the nutritional label is another important area. Essentially,
there are two standards of analysis: one for natural foods (i.e., peas), where 80 % of the
samples you take must meet 80% or more of the label value; and one for products that
have been fortified with vitamins and minerals, which must meet the label value in 100%
of the samples. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is very useful in
determining Vitamins A and C. Also, in specific products, the loss of even one
compound can impact sensory characterisicsthe best example of this is
aspertameand again, HPLC has proved to be a good tool in these cases, as well.
In addition, some new or improved instrumental techniques have emerged that
also assist in the determination of organoleptic characteristic determination to aid in the
prediction of shelf life in foods. These include:
Electronic nose. Although it has yet to be clearly established as a viable
instrument, the electronic nose employs an interesting paradigm of sensors that
respond to compounds in the headspace while utilizing a neural network learning
process. This can be very useful in cases in which the a[[w]] in a food product is low, but
it should be noted that the a[[w]] can affect response significantly.
Texture analyzers. One of the valuable instruments that has come to the fore in
this area in the last five years is the availability of miniaturized texture analyzers (TA
Instruments, Instron Corp.).
Colorimeters. These instruments are useful because they operate on the LAB
scale, which measures three-dimensional space. There are two types available: those
that measure large samples (HunterLab, Brinkmann), and portable colorimeters that
enable measurements in a very small range (Minolta).
Rheology instruments. As noted earlier, rheometry is a useful technique for
accelerated shelf life testing. These can be used for characterizing foods, food
additives, ingredients and packaging materials. Many are of these are controlled stress
rheometers, which enables measurement of important viscoelastic characteristics and
provides data on texture perception, thermal processing effects and storage stability
(ATS Rheosystems, TA Instruments, Haake, Bohlin, Rheometrix).
Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). Although this has not been applied to a great
extent in the food industry, powder XRD is very useful for determining the level of
caking in powders by measuring the degree of crystallinity.
Microbiological Tests. With regard to microbiological shelf life testing,
investigators are primarily interested in pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms and
toxins. As discussed, the consumer push for more minimally processed fresh and
refrigerated foods and convenient ready-to-eat meals, coupled with food scientists
better understanding in recent years that pathogenic bacteria can grow in refrigerated
temperatures, has resulted in an increase of concern in this area. According to a recent
Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Status Summary on the microbiological concerns
of extended shelf life refrigerated foods such as ready-to-eat luncheon meats and
complete heat-and-eat meals, psychrotrophic and mesophilic pathogens are of primary
concern, since they are able to grow during temperature abuse or extended storage.[39]
In these cases, determining what the potential for psychrotropic microorganism growth
in a refrigerated storage peiod, as well as its impact on organoleptic quality or spoilage
in a food, for example, is important in estimating microbial shelf life of a food product.
Some of the microorganisms of current interest include Listeria spp., enteropathogenic
Escherichia coli, Yersinia enterocolitica, and some strains of Clostridium botulinium and
Bacillus cereus. In addition, some types of yeasts, molds and psychrotrophic
bacterialactic acid bacteria (LAB), Pseudomonas spp., and Microbacterium
spp.may grow to high enough levels to cause spoilage even in sufficiently refrigerated
temperatures for the proper amount of time.
Certainly, from a pathogen standpoint, there are several newer, highly sensitive,
rapid microbiological methods and automated systems available, many of which can be
applied in shelf life determination/prediction applications.[40,41] Impedance and
conductance systems can be used to detect poor quality or substandard samples in less
than eight hours, and are used widely in the food industry, especially in Europe
(BioMerieux Bactometer, Malthus IDG). Biochemical methods based on the presence of
the lipospolysaccaride of gram-negative limulus amoebocyte lysate (LAL), for example,
are rapid tests for screening gram-negative spoilage bacteria in milk, meats, fish and
food ingredients. Even adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-based assay tests can be used
for quick detection of contamination and shelf life prediction (Celsis Pasteurized Milk
Screen). Food microbiologists who want to predict the growth of microorganisms for
food spoilage also use the results of routine standard plate count or rapid automated
plate count methods to measure the state of decomposition or the degree of freshness
of a food.
It should be noted that, technically, if a pathogen is detected in the food, that food
is illegal under the Food Drug & Cosmetic Act (FDCA), which states that a food is
adulterated if it may cause injury to health. The FDCA does not establish numerical
tolerances. In the last few months, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued
Federal Register notices stating that if E. coli O157:H7 or Listeria monocytogenes is
detected, then the food product is illegal. However, with the advent of rapid methods
such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), DNA probes, automated
polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and bacteriophage technologies that allow microbial
detection at lower and lower levels, food regulatory agencies will feel increased
pressure to establish these numbers. In addition, some rapid microbial system
manufacturers now claim that newer methods enable users to detect one pathogen in
350 grams of food. Currently, the standard in the FDA milk compliance policy guide, for
example, is one pathogen in 25 grams. Again, these better analytical capabilities raise a
real question in terms of regulatory control in the future.
Real-World Shelf Life Technologies
The work performed at the food company to determine, test and even extend the shelf life of
consumers must then take proper measures to ensure that the food is handled properly.
Part of a recent survey conducted by researchers under the auspices of The Retail
Food Industry Center at the University of Minnesota suggests that consumer confusion
about the shelf life of perishable foods centers on open dating practices. The two-part
survey, Perishable Refrigerated Products and Home Practices Survey, reported that
while open dating can be used as an indication of freshness on food products and that
many consumers use the dates when making purchasing decisions, many do not
understand their meanings.[42] Notably, although all of the respondents looked at the
open dates to some degree, the misconceptions regarding its meanings continued.
Today, for example, fewer people seem to understand the meaning of the open date on
milk containers than 20 years ago, despite the fact that it is the product which
consumers most often check for a date. Most consumers surveyed believed the date is
somewhat to extremely reliable, and 63% of respondents often or always sort
through open dated products to find foods with the longest number of days left
according to its given date. This is in spite of the fact that 36% of respondents had
purchased one of the listed food products within the past year which had spoiled before
the given date.
In addition to concluding that federally regulated, uniform open dating system is
necessary to make the practice more consistent and consumer-friendly, the survey also
emphasizes that while open dates can not guarantee a products safety, used in
conjunction with time-temperature integrators (TTIs), it can help the food industry
guarantee high quality products once the food leaves the place of manufacture. The
open date gives consumers an idea of the amount of shelf life left in their foods, while
the emerging TTI technology makes distributors, retailers and consumers more
accountable for maintaining proper temperature conditions through out the duration of
the products shelf life. TTIs are a fairly new device on the U.S. marketplace. While
participants in this study were optimistic about the potential benefits of TTIs, 76% were
not familiar with the device at all.[43]
Time-Temperature Integrators. Recently, a congressman in Alabama proposed
that products found beyond their shelf life, based on the package date, would constitute
a $10,000 fine for the supermarket. In this case, a TTI would be a very beneficial tool for
the retailer, since it acts as a tell the truth tag with regard to the temperature exposure
history of the product. A TTI is a simple, inexpensive device that can show an easily
measurable, time-temperature dependent change that reflects the full or partial
temperature history of a food product to which it is attached. TTI operation is based on
mechanical, chemical, enzymatic or microbiological systems that change irreversibly
from the time of their activation. The rate of change is temperature dependent,
increasing at higher temperatures in a manner similar to most physicochemical
reactions. The change is usually expressed as a visible response, in the form of a
mechanical deformation, color development or color movement. The visible reading
gives some information on the storage conditions that have preceded it.
The ability of TTIs to function as cumulative recorders of temperature history
from their activation time to the time each response measurement is taken makes them
useful for two types of applications. First, TTIs can be used to monitor the temperature
exposure of individual food packages, cartons or pallet loads during distribution up to
the time they are displayed at the supermarket. By being attached to individual cases or
pallets they can give a measure of the preceding temperature conditions at each
receiving point. The information gathered from all stations could be used for overall
monitoring of the distribution system, thus allowing for identification and possible
correction of the more problematic links.[44]
Second, TTIs can be used as quality monitors. Since quality loss is a function of
temperature history and since a TTI provides a measure of that history, the devices
response can presumably be correlated to the quality level of the food. If that can be
achieved, TTIs can be used either as an inventory management and stock rotation tool
at the retail level, or attached on individual packaged products, can serve as dynamic or
active shelf life labeling instead of (or in conjunction with) open date labeling.[45] The
TTI would assure consumers that the products were properly handled and would
indicate remaining shelf life.
A variety of TTIs based on different physicochemical principles have been
described in the literature.[46-52] Three types of TTIs are commercially available: One
based on a time-temperature dependent diffusion of a polymer moving along a matrix
(3M Monitor Mark); the second on a change of color due to a controlled enzymatic
reaction (COX Technologies Vitsab); and the third on development of color based on a
solid state polymerization (Lifelines Freshness Monitor). Time-temperature self-
adhesive labels can also be used to show via color change when a certain temperature
is reached or exceeded (DeltaTrak WarmMark).
Other Temperature Monitoring Technologies. Alternatives to monitoring
temperature during food distribution include the use of flexible, miniaturized electronic
temperature recording devices.[53] These small, battery-powered devices record time-
temperature information that can be displayed and processed at the receiving end by
interfacing with a microcomputer. Examples of such devices are the Temp Mentor and
Data Mentor (Ryan Instruments); the Datatrace Micropack Tracer (Ball); and the
TempTale temperature recorder (Sensitech).
The Search Continues
The approaches, methods and technologies used to determine shelf life are as
varied as the food and beverage products tested. Although the food industry is still in
search of a magic condition in which to place the product and a magic number that
can be multiplied to obtain its true, real-world shelf life, no magical formula exists to
date. But food quality, safety, regulatory and market drivers are coalescing, spurring
continued research, better analytical and testing methodologies, and new technological
innovations that will move the industry closer to realizing its goals of improved shelf life
determinations.
bio--Theodore P. Labuza, Ph.D., is a Morse Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor
of Food Science in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of
Minnesota. He teaches courses in food physical chemistry, reaction kinetics, food safety
and risk assessment, food processing and food law. Labuzas extensive research is
related to the properties of water and influence of temperature on the processing,
packaging and storage stability of foods, drugs and biologics, especially as related to
texture and glass transition phenomena, the physical chemistry and kinetics involved in
processing and shelf life testing, and evaluation of time-temperature integrators. He is
an author of more than 200 scientific refereed research articles, 15 textbooks, 59 book
chapters, seven patents and 98 other semi-technical articles. Labuza is a member of
the American Chemical Society (ACS), Institute of Food Technologists (IFT),
Association of Food & Drug Officials (AFDO), American Institute Chemical Engineers
(AIChE), American Dairy Science Association (ADSA), Society for Food Distribution
Research, American Association of Cereal Chemists (AACC), American Institute of
Nutrition (AIN), U.S. Military R&D Association, and Institute of Packaging Professionals
(IOPP).
Among his many professional activities in IFT, Labuza has participated as an IFT
regional communicator from 1975 to 1981, an IFT Scientific Lecturer, chair of the IFT
Expert Panel on Food Safety and Nutrition (1981 to 1986), on the IFT Finance
Subcommittee (1988-1990), member of the Office of Scientific Public Affairs (OSPA)
Committee (1986-1990), chair of the IFT Foundation (1988-90) and President of IFT
during 1988-89. He was elected a IFT Fellow (1979). Labuza received the IFT Samuel
Cate Prescott Research Award (1972), the Cruess Excellence in Teaching Award
(1979) and the Babcock Hart Nutrition Award (1988) and IFT's highest award, the
Nicholas Appert Award (1998). In 1995, Labuza received the Dairy and Food
Industries/American Association of Agricultural Engineers Food Engineer's Award and
the Gamma Sigma Delta, National Agricultural Honorary Society Award of Merit. In
1998, he received the Marcel Loncin Research Prize ($50,000) from IFT.
Acknowledgments
Sections of this overview have been published as part of the contribution series of the
Minnesota Agricultural Experimental Station, based on research conducted under Project
18-78 and a Project supported by 3M Co. Other research cited in this article was supported,
in part, by the University of Minnesota Retail Food Industry Center (TRFIC), which is funded
by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation; the Brazilian National Council of Research and
Technology (CNPq) and the Graduate School of the University of Minnesota; and the
Minnesota-South Dakota Dairy Foods Research Center.
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