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Shelf life and the ice ratio in fish
19 November 2024
Shelf life and the ice ratio in fish

In fresh fish, life is set by temperature: salmon that lasts about 12 days at 0 °C lasts 3 days at 10 °C. The amount of ice, the insulation of the box and the drainage of meltwater are parts of one calculation.

Food quality and shelf life
Quality and safety boundaries for frozen food
18 November 2024
Quality and safety boundaries for frozen food

Separate quality observations from safety decisions for frozen food; follow labels, records and authorized procedures.

Food quality and shelf life
Does changing the packaging change the shelf life
17 November 2024
Does changing the packaging change the shelf life

Even with the same recipe, a change in film permeability, sealing or headspace moves the protection period. Here is how an accelerated test is calculated and what the label date depends on.

Food quality and shelf life
A product-specific shelf-life validation study
16 November 2024
A product-specific shelf-life validation study

Plan the study for the product, packaging and storage conditions; assign acceptance decisions to an authorized owner.

Food quality and shelf life
Use-by or best-before on a label?
15 November 2024
Use-by or best-before on a label?

Which products get a use-by date and which a best-before date, how the date is written on the label, and what to do once it passes, set out with the guide's own clauses.

Food quality and shelf life
How can a sensory panel contribute to shelf-life studies?
14 November 2024
How can a sensory panel contribute to shelf-life studies?

Sensory results assess product attributes, not microbiological safety. Use the panel within the appropriate part of the product study.

Food quality and shelf life
How to set a safety margin in shelf-life studies
13 November 2024
How to set a safety margin in shelf-life studies

Justify the margin from product-study variability, chain data and approved acceptance criteria, not a generic percentage.

Food quality and shelf life
How water activity sets shelf life
12 November 2024
How water activity sets shelf life

Why two products at the same moisture percentage last different lengths of time, the aw thresholds for micro-organisms, and how a 1 °C error can cross a limit.

Food quality and shelf life
The microbial growth curve and the lag phase
11 November 2024
The microbial growth curve and the lag phase

The growth curve shows the count of living cells changing through four phases. Temperature raises the growth rate and shortens the lag time, and lag is not the same in every product.

Food quality and shelf life
How to plan samples for a shelf-life study
10 November 2024
How to plan samples for a shelf-life study

Plan lots, packaging, time points and analysis methods with the laboratory in advance.

Food quality and shelf life
Define remaining-life percentage clearly in the contract
9 November 2024
Define remaining-life percentage clearly in the contract

A delivery remaining-life percentage is a commercial term. Define its value, measurement point and evidence in the contract.

Retail operations
Review remaining shelf life at delivery using records and label
8 November 2024
Review remaining shelf life at delivery using records and label

Label date and transport history are different evidence. Match delivery records to the batch and product procedure; do not treat estimates as actual life.

Food quality and shelf life
Shelf life with the Arrhenius equation
7 November 2024
Shelf life with the Arrhenius equation

The Arrhenius equation gives the rise of spoilage rate with temperature through one parameter (Ea), so shelf life measured at two temperatures predicts a third. Its valid range matters as much as the formula.

Food quality and shelf life
How shelf life is calculated
6 November 2024
How shelf life is calculated

Shelf life does not come from a ready-made formula, but when temperature changes the new period can be estimated. With the Q10 method, a product lasting 10 days at 4 °C lasts about 7.6 days at 8 °C.

Food quality and shelf life
How to measure the workload of temperature records
5 November 2024
How to measure the workload of temperature records

Measure logging time, missing fields and retrieval effort in a sample route to simplify the form.

Measurement and traceability
Who records field temperature measurements?
4 November 2024
Who records field temperature measurements?

Assign measurement time, method, record location and backup owner in the route procedure.

Measurement and traceability