Factors Affecting

Shelf Life of Food

Dr. Theresa DL Alday
3 Questions

01
Factors Affecting Shelf Life of Food.
2. Functions of Food Packaging

3.Examples of Food
Packaging
Product
1.3.1 Product characteristics
Water activity (a )
w

 PH/total acidity
 Natural micro flora and surviving
microbiological counts in final product
 Availability of oxygen
 Reduction potential (Eh)
 Natural biochemistry/chemistry of the product
 Added preservatives (e.g. salt, spices,
antioxidants)
Product formulation
1.3.2 Environmental factors
1.3.2.1 Temperature

 Temperature is a key factor in determining the rates of

deteriorative reactions, and in certain situations the
packaging material can affect the temperature of the
food.
1.3.2.2 Relative humidity

 The RH of the ambient environment is important and

can influence the water activity (aw) of the food unless
the package provides an excellent barrier to water vapor.
1.3.2.3 Gas atmosphere
The presence and concentration of gases in
the environment surrounding the food have a
considerable influence on the growth of
microorganisms, and the atmosphere inside
the package is often modified.

1.3.2.4 Light
Many deteriorative changes in the nutritional quality
of foods are initiated or accelerated by light.
 1.3.3 Enzymic reactions
 In food packaging technology, knowledge of enzyme
action is essential to a fuller understanding of the
implications of different forms of packaging.
 1.3.4 Chemical reactions
Many of the chemical reactions that
occur in foods can lead to deterioration
in food quality (both nutritional and
sensory) or the impairment of food
safety.
3.4.1 Lipid oxidation
.

Autoxidation is the reaction of molecular O2 by a free radical

mechanism with hydrocarbons and other compounds

 1.3.4.2 Nonenzymic browning

Nonenzymic browning (NEB) is one of the
major deteriorative chemical reactions that
occur during storage of dried and concentrated
foods. The NEB or Maillard, reaction can be
divided into following three stages.
1.3.4.3 Color changes
Acceptability of color in a given food is influenced by many factors, including cultural,
geographical and sociological aspects of the population.

 1.3.4.4 Flavor changes

 In fruits and vegetables, enzymically generated compounds derived from long-chain

fatty acids play an extremely important role in the formation of characterristic flavors.
1.3.4.5 Nutritional changes
The four major factors that influence nutrient degradation and can be controlled to
varying extents by packaging are light, O2 concentration, temperature, and aw


1.3.5 Physical changes
 The physical properties of foods can be defined
as those properties that lend themselves to
description and quantification by physical rather
than chemical means and include geometrical,
thermal, optical, mechanical, rheological,
1.3.6 Microbiological changes
Microorganisms can make both desirable and undesirable
changes to the quality of foods, depending on whether they
are introduced as an essential part of the food preservation
process or arise adventitiously and subsequently grow to
produce food spoilage.
Spoilage mechanism during storage
2. Introduction
The nature of the deteriorative reactions in foods and the
factors that control the rates of these reactions will be briefly
outlined. Deteriorative reactions can be enzymic, chemical,
physical, and biological.
The most important quality-related changes are as follows:
 Chemical reactions, mainly due to either oxidation or nonenzymic browning
reactions.
 Microbial reactions, microorganisms can grow in foods. In the case of
fermentation this is desired; otherwise, microbial growth will lead to spoilage
and, in the case of pathogens, to unsafe food.
 Biochemical reactions, many foods contain endogenous enzymes that can
potentially catalyze reactions leading to quality loss (enzymic browning,
lipolysis, proteolysis, and more). In the case of fermentation, enzymes can be
exploited to improve quality.
 Physical reactions, many foods are heterogeneous and contain particles.
These particles are unstable, and phenomena such as coalescence,
aggregation, and sedimentation usually lead to quality loss.
Example Type Consequences

Color, taste and aroma, nutritive value, formation of

Nonenzymic browning Chemical reaction (Maillard reaction)
toxicologically suspect compounds (acrylamide)

Loss of essential fatty acids, rancid flavor, formation of

Fat oxidation Chemical reaction
toxicologically suspect compounds

Off-flavors, mainly due to formation of aldehydes and

Fat oxidation Biochemical reaction (lipoxygenase)
ketones

Hydrolysis Chemical reaction Changes in flavor, vitamin content

Formation of free fatty acids and

Lipolysis Biochemical reaction (lipase)
peptides, bitter taste

Formation of amino acids and peptides, bitter taste, flavor

Proteolysis Biochemical reaction (proteases)
compounds, changes in texture

Enzymic browning Biochemical reaction of polyphenols Browning

Separation Physical reaction Sedimentation, creaming

Gelation Combination of chemical and physical reaction Gel formation, texture changes
2.2. Chemical/biochemical processes
Many important deteriorative changes can occur as a result of reactions between
components within the food, or between components of the food and the environment.

2.3. Oxidation
 A number of chemical components of food react with oxygen
affecting the colour, flavor, nutritional status and occasionally the
physical characteristics of foods.
2.4. Enzyme activity

 Fruits and vegetables are living commodities and their rate of

respiration affects shelf life – generally the greater the rate of
respiration, the shorter the shelf life. Immature products such as
peas and beans have much higher respiration rates and shorter
shelf life than products that are mature storage organs such as
potatoes and onions.
 2.6. Physical and physico-chemical processes
 Many packaging functions such as protection of
the product from environmental factors and
contamination such as dust and dirt, dehydration
and rehydration, insect and rodent infestation,
containment of the product to avoid leakage and
spillage, and physical protection action against
hazards during storage and distribution are taken
for granted by the consumer.
2.5. Microbiological processes
Under suitable conditions, most
microorganisms will grow or multiply. During
growth in foods, microorganisms will
consume nutrients from the food and produce
metabolic by-products such as gases or acids.
Physical damage
Insect damage
Moisture changes
Barrier to odor pick-up

2.7. Migration from packaging to foods

 The direct contact between food and packaging materials
provides the potential for migration. Additive migration
describes the physico-chemical migration of molecular
species and ions from the packaging into food.
Lesson- 3 Functions of food packaging
The UK Institute of packaging provides three definitions
of packaging.
(a) A coordinated system of preparing goods for
transport, distribution, storage, retailing and end-use.
(b) A means of ensuring safe delivery to the ultimate
consume in sound condition at minimum cost.
(c) A techno-economic function aimed at minimizing
cost of delivery while maximizing sales.
3.2.1. Containment
3.2.2 Protection
3.2.3 Communication
3.2.4 Preservation
3.2.5 Convenience