Food Shelf Life Testing
FSNS provides food shelf life testing for food and beverage manufacturers so they can confidently set expiration, best-by, and sell-by dates that protect product quality and reduce waste.
FSNS offers standard shelf life testing, premium shelf life studies, and accelerated shelf life testing. Our team brings 190+ years of combined food safety testing experience, including shelf life study design across diverse food matrices, packaging formats, and storage conditions.
Contact our team to discuss your product and testing needs.
What is Food Shelf Life Testing?
Shelf life testing for food products measures quality performance over time under defined storage conditions. A shelf life study answers one core question: how long can my product maintain its performance characteristics during storage?
Why Shelf Life Testing for Food is Done
Establish or validate an expiration, best-by, sell-by, and other date code.
Protect brand quality and consumer trust by identifying when the sensory characteristics of a product become unacceptable.
Verify the affect of changes to formulation, packaging, or processing.
Justify stability of nutritional components that support label claims.
Satisfy customer or retailer requirements for shelf life verification.
FSNS Lab+ Food Shelf Life Testing Services
FSNS offers three services to match your timeline, product type, documentation needs, and budget.
Microbiology Assays Available for Shelf Life Testing of Food
We offer the following microbiology assays. Additional assays are available, so contact us if you don’t see what you need.
Aerobic Plate Count (APC)
Anaerobic Plate Count
Lactic Acid Bacteria
Enterobacteriaceae
Coliform
Mesophilic Anaerobic Sporeformers
Osmophilic Yeast and Mold
Pseudomonas
Psychrotrophic Plate
Yeast and Mold
Chemistry and Physical Assays Available for Food Shelf Life Testing
We offer the following analytical chemistry and organoleptic testing. Additional options are available, so contact us if you don’t see what you need.
Water activity (aw)
pH
Moisture
Fat
Protein
Rancidity indicators (as applicable):
Peroxide Value, Free Fatty Acids, p-anisidine
Hunter colorimetry
Brookfield viscosity
Organoleptic evaluation (as scoped):
odor, color, texture, appearance
Package integrity evaluation (as scoped)
Accelerated Shelf Life Testing of Food Products
Accelerated shelf-life testing (ASLT) helps food manufacturers estimate an expiration date faster than real-time food shelf life testing by intentionally speeding up the product’s degradation under controlled “stress” conditions.
Ideal for long-shelf-life products (e.g., dry cereals, dry powders, confectionery) where real-time testing would take too long to observe meaningful degradation.
Products are stored under elevated stress conditions to accelerate physicochemical changes and increase the rate of degradation; temperature is the most common acceleration factor used.
ASLT can shorten the time needed for shelf-life testing to about one-half, or even one-quarter, of the time required for real-time shelf-life analysis.
Accelerated shelf life testing doesn’t provide microbiology data, only analytical chemistry and organoleptic
Discover five reason to do accelerated shelf life testing in our article.
Types of Products for Food Shelf Life Testing
FSNS supports shelf life testing for food products across a broad range of samples types. Contact us if you don’t see your product type listed – we likely can test it, too!
- Ready-to-eat foods: deli items, prepared meals, meal kits, refrigerated entrees
- Meat and poultry: raw, cooked, cured, smoked, sliced, marinated, fully cooked RTE
- Seafood: fresh, frozen, smoked, cooked, RTE seafood products
- Dairy and dairy alternatives: milk products, cultured dairy, cheeses, plant-based alternatives
- Bakery and grains: breads, tortillas, pastries, cakes, cookies, grain-based snacks
- Snacks: chips, crackers, extruded snacks, nuts, trail mixes, bars
- Confections: chocolate, candy, gummies, coated products
- Sauces, dips, and dressings: emulsions, acidified sauces, condiments, spreads
- Soups, broths, and prepared components: bases, stocks, refrigerated and shelf-stable
- Produce: leafy greens, cut fruit, cut vegetables, salad kits
- Frozen foods: frozen meals, frozen produce, frozen proteins, frozen desserts
- Canned and retorted products: low-acid and acidified canned foods, shelf-stable retort pouches
- Beverages: juices, soft drinks, functional beverages, teas, coffees, dairy-based beverages
- Powders and dry blends: seasoning blends, drink mixes, baking mixes, protein powders (food)
- Oils and fats: edible oils, shortenings, fat-based fillings and spreads
- Ingredient systems: inclusions, fillings, bases, concentrates, and intermediate products
- Specialty formats: high-moisture foods, high-sugar foods, high-fat foods, low-aw products
Find a Food Shelf Life Testing Lab Near You
FSNS partners with Certified Laboratories, our fellow Certified Group company, to operate food testing labs across North America, including three FSNS Lab+ locations dedicated to performing shelf life studies for food and other contract research work. Standard shelf life testing of food can be done at most food testing labs, while premium studies are done at a Lab+ facility near you.
Turlock, CA
San Antonio, TX
Aurora, IL
Calibrated Storage Chambers and Wide Range of Conditions
- FSNS maintains multiple calibrated storage chambers that support a broad range of conditions for food shelf life studies, including temperature and humidity combinations.
- Conditions are monitored digitally and logged for traceable, controlled study data.
- Backup power maintains conditions during disruptions.
What Does 190+ Yearsof Combined Experience Look Like?
Our team has 190+ years of combined experience with food testing, including shelf life studies for food. They use their expertise to understand your food matrices and how conditions influence shelf life. This empowers them to choose the right assays and tests for a robust, high-quality study to help you make the best product decisions.
Alex Brandt, Ph.D.
Chief Science Officer, Microbiology
11 yrs.
Ben Howard, B.S.
Director of Research
18 yrs.
Wayne Muraoka, Ph.D.
Director of Research
17 yrs.
Isaac Boateng, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
2 yrs.
Jihun Kang, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
9 yrs.
Egle Karklis, M.S.
Research Scientist
1 yr.
Rebecca Linker, B.S.
Contract Research
Study Coordinator
8 yrs.
Sherman Mah, B.S.
Senior Manager Technical Services/Process Authority
30 yrs.
Wendy Reid, B.S.
Senior Research Operations Manager
36 yrs.
Vicki Gharibian, B.S.
Senior Research Operations Manager
26 yrs.
Ryan Welsh, M.S.
Technical Services Specialist
15 yrs.
Daniela Chavez, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
1 yr.
Nathan Kilgore, Ph.D.
Research Coordinator
1 yr.
Aaron Pleitner, Ph.D.
Director of Microbiology Technical Services
10 yrs.
Food Shelf Life Testing FAQs
What is food shelf life testing?
Food shelf life testing evaluates how a food product changes over time under defined storage conditions. Results help support expiration, best-by, and sell-by dates based on product-specific quality indicators. Setting optimal dates protects your brand experience and reduces waste.
What is the difference between standard shelf life testing and premium shelf life studies?
Standard shelf life testing focuses on routine verification using turn-key microbiology and chemistry assays and COA-style deliverables. Premium shelf life studies are designed to include additional testing and a more robust final report, as scoped.
Which assays are included in shelf life testing for food products?
Assays are selected based on the food matrix, packaging, storage, and expected failure modes. Common measures include microbiological indicators, water activity, pH, moisture, and other chemistry or physical indicators tied to quality loss.
What is accelerated shelf life testing of food?
Accelerated shelf life testing uses controlled, elevated or stress conditions to model change faster. It is often used to compare packaging or formulation options and to support faster development decisions when timelines are tight.
How long does accelerated shelf life testing of food take?
Accelerated shelf life testing can reduce study time to about one-half, or even one-quarter, of the time required for real-time shelf life testing by using controlled stress conditions to speed degradation.
Complete Our Shelf Life Testing Questionnaire
Provide details about your product, packaging, and testing needs to get a quote for food shelf life testing.
Questions About Food Shelf Life Testing?
Contact our team using the form and let’s discuss your food shelf life testing needs. We’ll reply within one business day!