Self-life Testing Services & Product Development
Food producers are responsible for determining the shelf-life of a product and its best-before or use-by date. This determines the time a product remains safe, stable, and acceptable for consumption under typical usage conditions. It involves measuring microbiological and chemical changes at regular time intervals, until product spoilage or deterioration occurs.
We provide customised shelf-life testing programs for chilled, frozen, ambient and ready-to-eat foods. Our shelf-life testing services include validation studies, challenge testing, temperature abuse testing, shelf-life verification, product stability, packaging performance and storage trials.
Why shelf-life matters
Shelf-life validation is critical to ensure:
- Food safety compliance (pathogen control and regulatory alignment)
- Product quality retention (taste, texture, appearance)
- Label accuracy (use-by / best-before claims)
- Brand protection (minimising recalls and complaints)
Factors that can influence shelf-life include:
- Ingredients: High sugar/salt levels affect water activity, while pH levels dictate susceptibility to bacteria.
- Storage Conditions: Light, oxygen levels and temperature can speed up rancidity or colour fading.
- Packaging Type: Plastic bottles (PET), glass, and aluminium cans all have different barrier properties (oxygen/light), which affects the speed of degradation.
The following table summarises the relative organism risks associated with different food categories:
| 🦠 Organism | 🥗 RTE chilled | 🥛 Dairy | 🥩 Raw meat | 🍗 Raw poultry | 🌭 Small-goods | 🐟 Seafood | 🥬 Fresh Produce | 🥫 Shelf-stable | ❄️ Frozen foods | 🍞 Bakery | 🥜 Dried foods | 🍺 Alcoholic beverages | 🥤 Beverages (non-alc) | 🍋 High-acid foods | 🐾 Pet food |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salmonella | H | H | M | H | H | M | H | H | H | M | H | L | L | L | H |
| Listeria monocytogenes | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | M | H | M | M | L | L | M | H |
| Staphylococcus aureus | H | H | M | M | H | M | M | M | M | M | M | L | L | L | M |
| Enterobacteriaceae | L | L | M | M | M | L | L | H | M | M | H | L | L | L | M |
| E. coli / STEC | M | L | H | M | M | L | H | L | H | L | L | L | L | L | L |
| Campylobacter | M | H | M | H | M | M | L | L | M | L | L | L | L | L | L |
| Bacillus cereus | M | M | M | M | M | L | M | H | H | H | H | M | M | M | M |
| Clostridium perfringens | M | M | M | M | M | L | L | M | M | M | M | L | L | L | M |
| Clostridium botulinum | M | M | M | M | M | H | L | H | M | M | M | L | L | M | M |
| Pseudomonas | M | H | M | M | M | H | H | L | M | M | M | M | M | L | M |
| Moulds / yeasts | M | M | M | M | M | M | H | M | M | H | H | H | H | H | M |
We also assist food manufacturers with product development support, including
- Label compliance
- Nutritional claims
- Shelf-life programs
- Product benchmarking
- Retail and export requirements
NEED TESTING? LET’S TALK
Contact our team to discuss your testing needs. We provide laboratory testing services across Australia from our metro Adelaide laboratory, with interstate sample submissions welcome.
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