Overview
A study built around your product
Shelf life is the period over which the food meets the agreed safety and quality criteria under defined conditions. Formulation, processing, packaging and the storage environment all affect the study design.
Chem-Tech discusses the product and intended declaration before agreeing the measurements and study schedule. A single finished-product test is a snapshot; it cannot establish a storage period on its own.
Study context
Products, packaging and storage conditions
Packaged and prepared food products
Agreed storage conditions and study intervals
Quality and microbiological review across the study
Programme guidance
Agree the study design
Describe the formulation, process, pack material, fill conditions and intended storage or distribution conditions.
Select relevant microbiological, chemical, physical or sensory endpoints and agree their acceptance criteria.
Set time points, replicate or unopened-pack requirements and any comparison batches before the first measurement.
Record whether the question concerns unopened packs, opened packs or preparation after opening.
Programme guidance
Interpret change over time
Use the trend and the agreed endpoints together. Microbial growth, oxidation, moisture change, separation or loss of a declared attribute may affect different foods at different rates.
Accelerated conditions require a justified relationship with normal storage. They do not automatically establish microbial safety or replace a real-time study. Challenge studies, if required and available, need a separately agreed specialist scope.
Programme guidance
What to provide for quotation
Product description, formulation context and current shelf-life or storage instructions.
Packaging details, intended conditions and the proposed study objective.
Any customer or regulatory specification and the decision the final report needs to support.
Programme guidance
Reference documents
FSSAI regulations, amendments and product standards
FSSAI manuals of methods of analysis
Before dispatch
Sample-submission guidance
- Use a clean, secure and appropriately labelled container; agree sterile portions for microbiology.
- Provide the product name, ingredients, batch or lot, processing state, packaging and storage requirements.
- Share the target market, applicable product specification and testing objective. Confirm quantity, sample units and transport conditions before dispatch.
Technical output
Reporting and interpretation
Review results against the agreed product specification, sampling plan, batch identity and method. A report applies to the submitted sample and agreed scope; it does not certify every batch or guarantee complete food safety.
Explore the evidence
Related testing and practical guidance
Relevant analytical services
Technical reading
Product-specific pathways
Discuss your requirement
Plan your food-testing requirement
Share the product or facility, intended market and the decision you need to make. Our team will review the requirement and confirm the scope.