What makes the shelf life of food vary?

Shelf life after chill storage of perishable produce is often variable as it depends as much on the state of the product at harvest, the storage conditions utilized (e.g., air or controlled atmosphere), packaging, length of storage, and the environmental conditions during the shelf-life period ( IIR, 2000 ).

What do you mean by secondary shelf life?

Secondary shelf life: The period of time after package opening during which a food product maintains an acceptable quality level: Required shelf life: The minimum period of storage time that a food product must guarantee to become profitable in the market: Maximum shelf life

Why are microbiological changes important for short-life products?

In general, microbiological changes are of primary importance for short-life products, and chemical and sensory changes for medium- to long- life products; all three types of change can be important for short- to medium- life products (McGinn, 1982).

Is it dangerous to eat foods that have exceeded their shelf life?

Freezing foods prevents spoilage and preserves taste, but some frozen foods have a specific and defined shelf life. Foods that have exceeded their freezer shelf life are usually not dangerous, but they lack taste, nutrients, or both, or exhibit an unnatural texture when defrosted.

Why do some foods have the shortest shelf life?

The shelf life of these types of products is affected, for the most part, by their microbiological status. These products pose the highest food safety risk and have the shortest shelf life because they are the most susceptible to microbiological deterioration and the possibility of the growth of pathogenic organisms.

How are shelf stable foods different from perishable foods?

Shelf-stable foods have lower water activity and/or low pH, whereas perishable foods have the opposite intrinsic properties ( McMeekin and Ross, 1996 ). Stale food results in unacceptable flavor, odor, accumulation of gases, release of exudates, physicochemical changes in appearance, consistency, and color.

What causes the deterioration of the shelf life of food?

As the mechanisms of food deterioration became known to food scientists, methods of counteracting these losses in quality have been developed. The rate at which these reactions occur, the effects of temperature, water, and myriad other parameters have become characterized factors contributing to the science of accelerated shelf-life studies.

Why do scientists study the shelf life of food?

Of course, long shelf-life studies do not fit with the speed requirement, and therefore accelerated studies have been developed as part of innovation. As the mechanisms of food deterioration became known to food scientists, methods of counteracting these losses in quality have been developed.