Shelf Life

Foods are perishable by nature. Numerous changes take place in foods during processing and storage. It is well known that conditions used to process and store foods may adversely influence the quality attributes in foods. Upto storage for a certain period, one or more quality attributes of a food may reach an undesirable state. At that instant, the food is considered unsuitable for consumption and it is said to have reached the end of its shelf life.  
 
Shelf life of a food product may be actually defined as the time between the production and packaging of the product and the point at which it becomes unacceptable under defined environmental conditions. Storage and distribution are necessary links in the food chain, and hence considered as factors influencing the shelf life. We are all aware of the fact that food deteriorates with time and become unacceptable. In this context, it is useful to understand the factors that influence food deterioration.  We will learn about these factors next.