Packaged product shelf-life studies

Food and cosmetics deteriorate over time due to the action of physical, chemical and biological agents. The presence of oxygen and humidity, the action of micro-organisms or insects on food, or even biological activity itself determine their degradation.

To optimise product preservation and quality, packaging materials and packaging technologies must be carefully selected, and shelf-life studies are a key tool in this regard. At ITENE we are experts in these studies thanks to over 25 years of experience in the field.

At ITENE we undertake studies into the shelf-life of various types of products such as food and cosmetics to validate materials developed as part of innovation or R&D projects and also compare different types of materials during the selection or modification stages of packaging conditions or materials.

Work approach

Our customised work approach includes:

• Studying the product’s performance and degradation mechanisms.
• Ensuring the product is packaged using the specified packaging and packing conditions.
• Monitoring critical shelf-life parameters based on the main physicochemical, microbiological and organoleptic product degradation mechanisms.
  • Physical-chemical: determination of moisture content, water activity, pH, fat oxidation, determination of the content of certain compounds (vitamins, active ingredients and aromatic profile), weight loss, and texture and colour analysis.
  • Microbiological: growth of spoilage micro-organisms and pathogens.
  • Organoleptic

Why analyse your product’s shelf-life?

Analysing a product’s shelf-life offers multiple advantages in scenarios where consumers demand high standards of quality and safety. These include:

• Detecting possible product alterations or degradations during shelf-life, which could indicate that the packaging materials or the packaging system are not the best suited to achieve the product’s desired shelf-life.
• Comparing different packaging technologies, materials and/or types of packaging, to assess the appropriateness of making changes in product processing to respond to social, economic, legislative and other changes.
• Choosing the best packaging materials and packaging technologies for each product, optimising their design based on environmental, economic and brand image criteria.
• Establish the shelf-life of the packaged product under specific conditions.
• Protect consumer health by anticipating product quality losses that pose risks (e.g. growth of certain micro-organisms).