Food and Beverage Stability and Shelf Life provides a comprehensive guide to factors influencing stability, methods of stability and shelf life assessment and the stability and shelf life of major products.

Part One describes important food and beverage quality deterioration processes, including microbiological spoilage and physical instability. Chapters in this section also investigate the effects of ingredients, processing and packaging on stability, among other factors.

Part Two describes methods for stability and shelf life assessment including food storage trials, accelerated testing and shelf life modelling.

Part Three reviews the stability and shelf life of a wide range of products, including beer, soft drinks, fruit, bread, oils, confectionery products, milk and seafood.

Coverage includes:

• a comprehensive guide to factors influencing stability, methods of stability and shelf life assessment and the stability and shelf life of major products
• describes important food and beverage quality deterioration processes exploring microbiological spoilage and physical instability
• investigates the effects of ingredients, processing and packaging on stability and documents methods for stability and shelf life assessment
• reviews the stability and shelf life of a wide range of products, including beer, soft drinks, fruit, bread, oils, confectionery products, milk and seafood

CONTENTS

Part 1: Deteriorative Processes and Factors Influencing Shelf Life

Microbiological spoilage of foods and beverages

• Spoilage of foods and beverages; a microbiological approach: microbes vs indigenous enzymes
• Factors affecting the rate of microbiological spoilage of foods and beverages
• Evaluating, monitoring and measuring microbiological spoilage of foods and beverages
• Predicting microbiological spoilage of foods and beverages
• Preventing microbiological spoilage of foods and beverages

Chemical deterioration and physical instability of foods and beverages

• Chemical deterioration and physical instability of foods and beverages
• Factors affecting the rate of quality loss due to chemical deterioration and physical instability
• Measuring chemical deterioration and physical instability of foods and beverages
• Predicting and monitoring chemical deterioration and physical instability of foods and beverages
• Preventing chemical deterioration and physical instability of foods and beverages

Moisture loss, gain and migration in foods

• Moisture loss, gain and migration in foods and quality deterioration
• Mechanism of the moisture transfers in food products
• Measuring, monitoring and predicting moisture loss, gain and migrations
• Moisture loss, gain and migration related to the shelf life
• Conditions for moisture migration and foods affected by moisture transfer

Insect and mite penetration and contamination of packaged foods

• Insects and mites contaminating stored food products
• Coleoptera
• Lepidoptera
• Psocoptera
• Other insects
• Mites
• Combating critical points in the food chain

The influence of ingredients on product stability and shelf life

• Introduction to shelf life
• Methods of shelf life extension
• Movement of moisture in food systems
• Food spoilage due to water activity
• Edible moisture barriers
• Molecular mobility
• Preservation of foods by freezing
• Sweetener ingredients as humectants or cryoprotectants
• Ingredients for shelf life extension

Processing and food and beverage shelf life

• Main quality change factors and their interaction with processing
• Shelf life and stability
• Product and process design
• Processing
• Unit operations
• Production of low and intermediate moisture foods
• Thermal processing
• Filling and packaging
• Novel processes
• Hygiene

Packaging and food and beverage shelf life

• Role of packaging in extending food and beverage shelf life
• Major packaging materials
• Key package properties related to shelf life
• Predicting shelf life of packaged foods and beverages
• Packaging migrants and food and beverage shelf life

Effects of food and beverage storage, distribution, display and consumer handling on shelf life

• Overview of the cold chain
• Storage life
• Sectors of the cold chain and their influence on food quality and safety

Smart packaging for monitoring and managing food and beverage shelf life

• Smart packaging- time temperature integrators (TTI)
• Principles of (TTI) application for shelf life monitoring
• Requirements and selection of (TTI) for food and beverage products
• Use of (TTI) for shelf life management and optimization in the cold chain- case study

Part 2: Methods for Shelf Life and Stability Evaluation

Food storage trials: an introduction

• Food deterioration and spoilage
• Storage trials

Sensory evaluation methods for food shelf life assessment

• Principles of sensory evaluation
• Basic requirements for sensory analysis
• Discrimination tests
• Quantitative descriptive tests
• Consumer acceptability testing
• Operation of sensory shelf life tests
• Design of sensory shelf life tests
• Interpretation of sensory shelf life data
• Instrumental methods
• Standardisation in sensory shelf life testing

Advances in instrumental methods to determine food quality deterioration

• Assessing food appearance
• Measurement of relative humidity (RH), moisture, and water activity (aw)
• Texture evaluation
• Evaluation of rheological properties of liquid and semisolid foods
• Assessing lipid oxidation
• Electronic nose
• Electronic tongue
• Infrared (IR) spectroscopy
• Microbiological test

Modelling microbiological shelf-life of foods and beverages

• Classification of predictive models by microbial response
• Development of predictive models for microbiological safety and stability
• Modelling approaches, applications and opportunities for shelf life prediction
• Usage considerations and access to predictive microbiology electronic resources

Modelling chemical and physical deterioration of foods and beverages

• Factors influencing the shelf life
• Development of mathematical models
• Predictive mathematical models

Accelerated shelf life testing of foods

• Basic principles
• Initial rate approach
• Kinetic model approach
• Single accelerating factor
• Glass transition models
• Multiple accelerating factors
• Dynamic methods
• The ‘no model’ approach
• Combination of approaches
• Problems in accelerated shelf life tests

Microbiological challenge testing of foods

• Role of challenge testing in shelf life evaluation
• Basic principles
• Challenge testing-limitations
• Challenge testing and the use of mathematical models

Part 3: The Stability and Shelf Life of Particular Products

Beer shelf life and stability

• Biological instability
• Physical instability
• Flavour instability
• Foam instability
• Gushing
• Light instability

Shelf life of wine

• Factors affecting wine stability and shelf life
• Changes during the shelf life of wine
• Evaluating wine shelf life
• Preventing wine quality deterioration at or post-bottling
• Sensory significance of shelf life changes

The stability and shelf life of fruit juices and soft drinks

• Factors influencing the stability of fruit juices and soft drinks
• Ensuring product stability and extending shelf life
• Shelf life determination

Practical uses of sensory evaluation for the assessment of soft drink shelf life

• Using a risk based approach to shelf life for soft drinks
• Estimating shelf life
• Determining shelf life
• Monitoring shelf life
• Considerations before developing the shelf life plan
• Developing the sensory plan

The stability and shelf life of coffee products

• Main critical events affecting the stability and shelf life of coffee products
• Ensuring stability and extending the shelf life of coffee
• Evaluating the shelf life of coffee

The stability and shelf life of fruit and vegetables

• Stability and shelf life of fruits and vegetables
• Extending the shelf life of fruit and vegetables
• Controlled and modified atmosphere packaging for longer shelf life

The stability and shelf life of bread and other bakery products

• A brief overview of the manufacture of bakery products
• The key ‘fresh’ characteristics of bakery products
• Factors affecting the stability of bread and other bakery products
• Evaluating the shelf life of bread and other bakery products
• Ensuring stability and extending the shelf life of bread and other bakery products

The stability and shelf life of fats and oils

• Mechanisms of oxidation and hydrolysis in fats and oils
• Factors affecting the stability and shelf life of fats and oils
• Evaluating the shelf life of fats and oils
• Ensuring stability and extending the shelf life of fats and oils

The stability and shelf life of confectionery products

• Factors affecting shelf life
• Chocolate and chocolate products
• Sugar glass
• Toffee
• Gums and jellies
• Aerated confectionery

The stability and shelf life of vitamin-fortified foods

• Factors affecting the stability and shelf life of vitamin-fortified foods
• Ensuring stability and extending the shelf life of vitamin-fortified foods
• Evaluating the shelf life of vitamin-fortified foods

The stability and shelf life of milk and milk products

• Chemical composition and principal reactions of milk
• Bacteria in milk and related enzyme activity
• Raw milk enzymes
• Control of the quality of short shelf life products
• Factors influencing the life of long shelf life products
• Control of the stability of long-life milk products

The stability and shelf life of seafood

• Factors affecting the stability and shelf life of seafood
• Microorganisms involved in seafood spoilage
• Evaluation of the shelf life of seafood

The stability and shelf life of meat and poultry

• Factors affecting the stability and shelf life of meat and poultry
• Evaluating the shelf life of meat and poultry
• Ensuring stability and extending the shelf life of meat and poultry

Index

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