Prior to launching any food product, shelf-life testing and food quality testing are critical to ensure suitable safe food products and happy consumers. The food technologist’s job is to plan and supervise these very vulnerable and crucial lab tests. A seasoned food consultant can assist start-up companies in creating a comprehensive food lab testing checklist that ensures compliance and good consumer acceptance.
Introduction
Bringing a new food product to the market entails more than taste and packaging. You will need to conduct important lab tests on your product about food quality, safety, and compliance. Shelf life testing and true shelf-life ranges are a single part of this process, and it’s wise to engage a food consultant and food technologist irrespective of whether you are a start-up, or someone who has already begun a food brand. You need to understand the style of testing you will need to have done to make sure you are compliant with today’s health and regulatory standards prior to bringing your product to market.
1. Shelf Life Testing: Predicting Product Durability
When evaluating any product prior to market, shelf life testing will determine how long the product retains its intended safety, flavor, texture and nutrient content, under variable storage conditions. Indeed, shelf-life testing can be one of the most critical evaluations for any food product. Without careful evaluation, businesses are at risk of selling, spoiled or degraded food and by extension, damaged reputation and health risks to consumers!
Important shelf life tests include:
- Microbiological stability (growth of bacteria, yeast and mould)
- Chemical Stability (oxidation, rancidity and nutrient loss)
- Physical changes (texture, colour and moisture loss through time)
A food technologist will evaluate all these parameters, and ensure the results are assessed in information that can be used to develop and improve the product formulation and packaging for better shelf-life.
2. Quality Testing: Meeting industry and consumer expectations
Food quality testing includes more than just taste. It also takes into consideration the physical, chemical and sensory characteristics that determine acceptance of the product. Food quality testing assures consistency from batch to batch and validates your brand promise.
Types of testing performed:
- Sensory evaluation for taste, aroma and appearance.
- Nutritional testing to validate product label, for example calories, protein, fat, vitamins etc.
- Texture testing for appearance, crispness, firmness, chewiness etc.
- Colorimetry to measure visual appeal for consistency.
When engaging a food consultant, the consultant will coordinate with a food technologist for food quality testing with accredited labs and will ensure the testing meets your brand goals and market expectations.
3. Role of a Food Technologist in Lab Testing
A food technologist contributes the scientific imprecision necessary to formalize every aspect of food development and testing. They are responsible for working with labs and the data, ranging from setting up and developing tests, to troubleshooting a failed experiment.
The following are the duties of a food technologist:
- Get samples ready and send them to be accredited labs for analysis.
- Confirming that tests follow national and international food safety laws.
- Interpret laboratory reports and recommend a product reformulation, or process change.
- Provide support to packaging for consistency with expected shelf-life impacts from testing.
By working with a food consultant and coordinating the assessment together, you receive a “full circle” perspective of the whole process from test planning to compliance documentation led by a food technologist who knows the chemistry behind your product.
4. Why is a Food Consultant Your Greatest Resource
An experienced food consultant will not only advise you on what to test, but they can also explain the reasons and process behind it.
The food consultant usually has expertise in:
- Choosing accredited labs with the required capabilities
- Developing a testing plan that matches your product launch timeline.
- Developing a budget for essential tests and optional tests
- Deflecting unnecessary test costs
- Providing strategic decisions based on your business model.
The advantage of being a food consultant and a food technologist is that your food product will be tested in a rigorous manner while also complying with compliance, and building relationship equity with consumers to encourage long term trust.
Conclusion
By not completing food lab tests, or by underestimating their importance, you could be risking a launch delay, or your brand could be incurring additional costs related to recalls of your food product. While shelf life testing, food quality testing, and consultation with a food technologist will give you confidence, when you test the food product with little time to spare looking over your shoulder, you realize that the test reported have now become your roadmap to getting your food product to market in a safe, delicious and successful way.
FAQ
1. Why should you consider shelf life testing, before you launch your food product?
Shelf life testing will verify that your product can remain safe, stable and high in quality during its intended shelf life.
2. What are some things involved with food quality testing?
Food quality testing could involve tasting, textural comparison, color assessment, nutritional testing, etc., to guarantee the food product is consistent and as the consumer expects in quality.
3. How does a food technologist help with lab testing?
A food technologist would design, run and interpret lab tests to assure a food product is safe, stable and provides information to comply with government regulations.
4. Will shelf life testing demonstrate when a product may spoil?
Yes, it demonstrates when your food product is at risk of becoming unsafe to eat by consumers or food may no longer be acceptable to potential consumers.
5. What will a food consultant do to carry out shelf life testing?
A food consultant will choose appropriate laboratories, will prepare a testing protocol to follow but will also have the information for the market is requiring and the government wants to know to be compliant.
