Shelf-Life Stability Testing

Shelf-life stability testing (analysis), along with environmental testing and microbiology testing, is part of recommended food and supplement safety testing.

Shelf-life testing is a critical process in the food & beverage, supplement, and pharmaceutical industry that is aimed at ensuring the safety, quality, and longevity of products throughout their storage and distribution. This testing involves subjecting food samples to various environmental conditions, including temperature, humidity, and light exposure, to simulate real-world storage conditions. 

By monitoring factors such as microbial growth, chemical degradation, texture changes, and sensory attributes (appearance, smell, taste) over time, you can determine the product’s shelf life and establish appropriate storage recommendations for consumers.

Shelf-life stability testing is vitally important for every food and supplement creator/manufacturer as it determines the expiration or best-by date of the product.  With accurate dates for your food products, you can ensure quality and safety for your customers and ensure that your products stay stable and in the best conditions when consumed.

Additionally, shelf-life testing helps identify potential issues such as spoilage and rancidity, allowing manufacturers to optimize formulations, packaging materials, and storage practices to extend the product’s lifespan while maintaining quality and safety. 

Regulatory agencies also often require food manufacturers to conduct shelf-life testing to ensure compliance with safety standards and labeling regulations. Ultimately, shelf-life testing plays a crucial role in ensuring that consumers receive safe, high-quality food products that meet their expectations for freshness and taste.

At Integrated Labs, we utilize “Organoleptic Testing” to assess the qualities of a product based on human perception, particularly the senses of sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing. This testing technique is widely employed in industries such as food and beverages, supplements, pharmaceuticals, and consumer goods to ensure product quality, consistency, and consumer satisfaction.

In organoleptic testing, trained panelists evaluate products using their senses to detect attributes such as appearance, color, texture, and aroma.  These sensory attributes play a crucial role in shaping consumers’ perceptions of products and can influence their purchasing decisions.

The life plan you decide to go with will be dependent on the shelf-life the manufacturer anticipates.  We offer plans as low as 3 months, and up to 3 years and beyond.  Dependent upon how long you decide to test for, will determine how often we test.  Typically, we will test 4-6 times throughout the time frame you chose, providing you the results of each test.  

We also offer accelerated stability testing in addition to the real-time stability testing. In accelerated study, we store the products at elevated temperatures and humidity levels and simulate conditions such that 1 week in accelerated stability is approximately equal to 1 month in real time stability. 

Manufacturers who do not want to wait too long for their product to hit market shelves will usually opt for both the accelerated option in addition to the real-time stability. Real-time study will give you the most accurate results for your product, while accelerated helps you determine the temporary shelf-life of your product in a shorter time while real-time study finishes.  Accelerated Stability Testing does have additional fees, so please be sure to mention if you are interested in this testing method.