Establishing the shelf-life of food is an integral part of food safety

Our food microbiology testing laboratory assists with establishing the shelf-life of your food products through microbiological evaluation. Conducting food product shelf-life trials helps to identify the causes of reduced shelf life to improve your products, processes and ultimately profitability. With accurate dates for your food products, you ensure quality and safety for consumers. This reduces the risk of customer complaints or product recalls, while contributing to maintaining your brand integrity and meeting due diligence requirements; all important aspects involved in product production.

At Microchem we are able to store samples at a range of temperatures and in different conditions to facilitate customer requirements, enabling you to develop and determine the shelf-life of your product.

Shelf-life determination allows you to confidently set sell-by, use-by and best-before dates. The microbiological safety and stability of a food product is measured by its shelf-life, these important factors are influenced by storage conditions, time, and temperature. Our state-of-the-art food microbiological laboratory facilities also offer temperature abuse for a shelf- life trial if requested.

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Our shelf-life testing includes a detailed assessment of the following
  • Monitoring of indicator and spoilage organisms such as Total Plate Counts,
  • E. coli, Yeast and Mould, Lactic acid Bacteria etc.
  • Testing for the presence of spore-formers
  • Confirming the absence of Food-borne Pathogens e.g. Listeria, Salmonella,
  • Shiga toxin-producing E. coli and more.
  • Challenge testing
  • Water activity testing
  • Food pH
  • Microbial spoilage
Microchem Shelf-life Submission Guideline

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We pride ourselves on customer service and value all of our customers. Please contact us for a free consultation.

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