The shelf-life of packaged products is a critical factor in ensuring product quality, safety, and consumer satisfaction. Determining the optimal shelf life requires careful consideration of various elements, including packaging materials, storage conditions, and product ingredients.
Through advanced cold chain logistics, temperature monitoring, and accelerated shelf-life testing, here’s how you can optimize your product storage, distribution, and quality control processes, ensuring your products remain fresh, safe, and effective.
Packaging Materials
One of the key considerations in determining shelf-life of packaged products is the type of packaging used. Different packaging materials have varying levels of barrier properties that can affect the product’s shelf-life.
For example, products with high water content may require packaging with high barrier properties to prevent moisture from seeping in and causing spoilage. We must also consider the impact of light, oxygen, and temperature on their packaged products, as these factors can accelerate the degradation of the product. For example, if your packaged product has a high fat content, it is more prone to oxidation.
Materials testing will help you identify which materials help prolong the shelf-life of your packaged product. In this testing, everything from adhesives to corrugated to cushioning materials are evaluated to see how they impact your product.
Storage Conditions
From the floor of a warehouse to the back of a delivery truck or cargo plane, your packaged product is subjected to several different environments.
Where your packaged product is stored can also play a significant role in its shelf-life. Certain storage conditions may accelerate the breakdown of biodegradable packaging materials and microbial growth on your products.
Temperature is one of the most critical factors influencing shelf-life of packaged products. Low temperatures can slow down chemical reactions, while high temperatures accelerate them. But if these temperatures fluctuate, your packaged product may be subjected to condensation.
Meanwhile, high humidity can absorb moisture and lead to microbial growth, while low humidity could cause your product to dry out. Fluctuations in humidity can also impact the strength of your seals and adhesives, compromising the integrity of your packaged product.
Finally, light exposure in storage areas can degrade both product quality and packaging, causing oxidation of products and the fading of packaging.
There are storage and environmental testing solutions available to help you evaluate the impact all of these storage use cases may have on your product and packaging. These tests will look for physical changes in your product or packaging, any chemical reactions, or changes in functionality.
Ingredients
Finally, companies must also consider the ingredients used in their products. Some ingredients may be more prone to oxidation or microbial growth, leading to a shorter shelf-life.
Vegetable oils, foods with high fat content (beef jerky, nuts), or dairy products containing lipids are more prone to oxidation. Meanwhile, packaged products containing fresh produce, meat products, and seafood are more likely to experience microbial growth, especially with temperature or moisture fluctuations.
Stability storage testing can also help evaluate determine how a packaged product’s ingredients will react over time and under different storage conditions. Understanding the interactions between ingredients and packaging materials is essential in determining the optimal shelf-life for the product.
Prolong the Shelf-Life of Your Packaged Product
Determining the shelf-life of packaged products is a complex process that involves considering various factors such as packaging materials, storage conditions, and product ingredients. However, you don’t have to navigate shelf-life and stability testing alone. To help companies determine their packaged products’ shelf-life, our team at Purple Diamond conducts a variety of testing, including storage stability testing and materials testing, to monitor a product’s quality attributes and determine how long the product will remain safe under normal storage conditions.
Reach out to Purple Diamond today to leverage our expertise and state-of-the-art testing facilities. Our team of specialists is ready to help you enhance your product’s longevity, maintain quality, and ultimately improve customer satisfaction. Contact Purple Diamond now to start optimizing your product’s shelf life and stay ahead in the competitive market.
