What is Accelerated Shelf Life Testing and Why is it Important?
Accelerated Shelf Life Testing (ASLT) is like a fast-forward button on your remote while watching a movie. It accelerates the shelf life testing procedure by speeding up a product's aging process through exposure to controlled, harsher conditions such as higher temperatures and increased humidity.
For food industry professionals, mastering ASLT goes beyond foundational knowledge—it's a vital competitive edge. The nuanced techniques and strategic implementation of ASLT set the top players apart in the market. In fact, the true power lies in combining this accelerated approach with traditional shelf-life testing to gain fast yet accurate insights.
In this blog, we will delve into the intricacies of ASLT, explaining its methods, how it works, and what distinguishes it from traditional testing. We will also explore how you can leverage this process to gain significant benefits, from improving product formulation to ensuring regulatory compliance and enhancing market competitiveness. Join us on this journey to unlock the full potential of ASLT and stay ahead in the ever-evolving food industry.
What is Accelerated Shelf Life Testing (ASLT)?
Accelerated shelf life testing is a scientific technique that accelerates product deterioration under controlled conditions. It condenses months and sometimes years of product degradation to occur faster. There are primarily three methods:
- High-temperature Vetting: Products are exposed to comparatively hot climate conditions to speed chemical and physical degradation reactions.
- Humidity Examination: Increased liquidity levels examine moisture-related deterioration to assess a product’s resistance to reshaping and degrading.
- Photosensitivity Examination: This examination determines the impact of light sensitivity on products.
These conditions mimic real-life storage but expedite the degradation process to help derive the product shelf life faster.
While this might seem like a generic approach, accelerated shelf time testing is not a one-size-fits-all solution. We understand that every company’s products are different, and so are their testing requirements. As a result, we control and customize these conditions based on the product you are dealing with to provide more meaningful results.
Remember that it is very important to use the final packaging for the ASLT procedure. This is because it greatly affects the product's shelf life and its deterioration during testing. The product packaging must be identical to the final packaging for the best results.
How Does Shelf Life Testing Work?
There are three primary dates important in shelf life testing. These include:
- Manufacturing Date: The manufacturing date marks the beginning of the product's shelf life. It is the date on which the product was either produced or packaged.
- Best Before Date: The best before date is when the product starts to lose its quality but does not expose consumers to the risk of poisoning or sickness. This process is carried out to determine any changes in taste, texture, or aroma for non-perishable goods.
- Expiration Date: The expiry date determines when a product becomes unsafe for consumption due to microbial growth or chemical changes. Companies undertake safety testing to determine the expiry date.
Shelf life testing is a mandatory process defined by government authorities to ensure products meet safety and quality standards. Compliance with these standards and mentioning use-before and expiration dates prevent health risks, support accurate labeling, and protect consumers and manufacturers from legal issues. This rigorous testing process is essential for meeting national and international safety standards.
At Medallion Labs, although we cannot offer insights on the compliance requirements mandated by different governments or companies, we are fully committed to following any testing procedure you provide. We ensure maximum assistance by meticulously handling all the intricate details necessary for your product and company.
Traditional Shelf Life Testing vs Accelerated Shelf Life Testing
Traditional or real-time shelf life testing involves storing a product under normal conditions for its expected shelf life to determine when the product quality is optimal. This period can be anywhere from months to years.
You must have guessed the biggest limitation of this methodology by now—the time requirement.
This process can delay the product launch for a long time. Real-time shelf-life testing is also done only at one temperature or storage condition. As a result, it does not provide insights into the product conditions under different storage scenarios or climates the consumer might face.
To counter these limitations, we have accelerated shelf life testing, which speeds up decomposition in harsher environments. Additionally, it studies product deterioration at different temperatures and conditions.
However, despite these limitations, the role of real-life shelf testing cannot be forgotten. It validates and backs up the accelerated testing data, ensuring comprehensive and reliable results. In fact, it provides confirmation that the results generated through accelerated shelf life testing hold true under normal storage conditions.
Here’s an overview of the two testing techniques:
| Feature | Traditional Shelf Life Testing | Accelerated Shelf Life Testing |
| Time Required | Long (actual product shelf life duration, which can be years) | Short (weeks or months) |
| Storage Conditions | Normal storage conditions | Harsher storage conditions (higher temperature, higher humidity, etc.) |
| Cost | High costs due to long testing and storage periods | Lower due to shorter duration |
| Accuracy | Highly accurate because of real conditions | Estimated based on accelerated conditions |
| Data Collection | Periodic testing over the entire testing period | Frequent testing during the accelerated testing period |
Benefits of Accelerated Shelf Life Testing
Brands can benefit immensely from shelf life testing during their production cycle. Some common benefits include:
Early identification of potential quality issues
Accelerated shelf life testing exposes products to harsh conditions. This helps companies identify any potential quality issues faster and address them promptly. As a result, they can change formulations, packaging, and storage to ensure product safety and longevity before it reaches the end customers. If it weren't for accelerated testing, this process would take months or even years, causing a delay in the product launch.
Improved product formulation and packaging
Accelerated shelf life testing provides insight into how the products and their packaging hold against aging, high temperatures, and humidity. It also gives data on how different formulations withstand a variety of storage conditions to provide the brand with insights into improving durability and quality. The process tests not only the product but also its packaging to understand if it's the right fit or if any adjustments are needed.
Increased confidence in product quality and safety
The ASLT gives manufacturers a glimpse into how their products perform under high stress. This ensures that the final product they provide the consumers is fit for consumption or utilization. The testing procedure provides data that the products meet safety standards and maintain high quality, building trust in customers and also complying with the government authorities. Every product that goes through this testing is made to be reliable for consumers.
Shortened time to market for new products
Accelerated testing creates conditions that speed up product degradation. By creating an environment similar to real-time shelf life monitoring but in less time, it becomes possible to process the testing stage quickly and launch new products to the market faster.
With quicker approvals and regulatory compliance processes, the time to market is shortened.
Reduced development costs through faster testing cycles
A traditional shelf life process takes not only more time but also costs more. With ASLT, fewer storage facilities, personnel, and laboratory resources are needed since the process is faster. As a result, late-stage changes are reduced significantly, and there is increased revenue potential through accelerated market entry.
Once we have completed a study for your product, we can use that data to model similar products for you in the future, thus avoiding the time and cost of another extensive shelf life study.
Conclusion
ASLT is not only a compliance mandate but also a prudent approach to launching products on the market. It ensures product quality by simulating long-term storage conditions with elevated stress factors.
The benefits of ASLT for businesses are significant. It accelerates the testing procedure, saving time and resources. It also rectifies errors faster, enabling the launch of competitive products.
For consumers, ASLT plays a central role in protecting their health and maintaining trust by ensuring the products remain safe throughout their shelf life.
Reach out to the team at Medallion Labs to make accelerated shelf-life testing seamless and quick. We conduct testing with customized protocols to suit your specific product, distribution area, and desired outcomes. The ISO-accredited lab with validated AOAC methods ensures you get accurate results as we grade your products on packaging degradation, post-manufacturing degradation, consumer experience, and product failure modes.
Our tried and tested 6-step product testing process will take your products up a notch with valuable insights and make your launch foolproof.