Shelf Life Evaluation
Evaluating the shelf life of a food product is an integral step in getting your product to market. The team at Perennia’s Food and Beverage Innovation Centre have the equipment and expertise to give an accurate estimation of the durable life date or the best before date for your product(s). Results from the study provide data to support evidence that the food will remain of desired quality until the end of the durable life in an unopened package with recommended storage conditions.
Shelf life evaluations at Perennia may include some or all of the following specifically selected for your product:
- Sensory evaluation with in-house panelists
- Laboratory testing for microbiological, physical and/or chemical parameters
- Real-time ambient and/or accelerated conditions, dependant on product
Please note real time ambient evaluations will take the duration of your targeted shelf life and accelerated evaluations are slightly faster approximations. Please allow for 3 to 12 months for shelf life evaluations prior to product launch.
To get in contact with one of our Food Scientists to discuss shelf life studies with Perennia, fill out our need a solution form. Be prepared to provide the following:
- Description of product, storage type and packaging
- Fresh product(s) in final packaging for evaluation
- Ingredient listings with highlighted allergens
- Desired target shelf life
Additional information on conducting shelf-life studies can be found on Perennia’s Video on Shelf Life, Perennia’s Fact Sheet on Shelf Life Studies, Perennia’s Video on Optimizing Shelf Life, CFIA’s Date Labelling website, and CFIA’s shelf life website