Title: Shelf-Life of Pre-packaged Food Products An Industry Perspective
1Shelf-Life of Pre-packaged Food ProductsAn
Industry Perspective
- Dr. Ahmet Anbarci
- Scientific Regulatory Affairs
- Kraft Foods CEEMA Region
- Dubai International Food Safety Conference
- 24-26 February, 2009
2Agenda
- Kraft Foods in short
- Shelf-life Definition, Dimensions
- Shelf-life ? Kraft Foods RDQ functions
- Establishing and Managing Shelf-life
- Testing, Principles, Parameters
- Selected Aspects, Examples
- Discussion
3Kraft Foods Overview, 2008
4Kraft Foods Overview, 2008
Worldwide headquarters in Northfield, Illinois,
U.S. Sales in more than 155 Countries Operations
in 70 Countries With approximately 100,000
employees, more than 180 manufacturing and
processing facilities 11 global or geographic
Research and Development Centers around the world
5One of Best Brand Portfolios in Food Beverage
Industry
9 Brands over 1 billion annual revenue 50
Brands over 100 million 40 Brands over 100
years old
6Eastern Europe, Middle East Africa Region
Fast Facts Region headquarters Vienna, Austria
Key markets in the region Bulgaria, Egypt,
Romania, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine
and the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as
other Middle East Africa Markets Some key
region brands Kraft cheeses Tang powdered
beverages Alpen Gold, Karuna, Korona and Milka
chocolates Estrella and Cipso salted snacks
Rasco biscuits Carte Noire, Jacobs, Maxwell
House and Nova Brasilia coffees.
7- Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- Production Facility Biscuits
- Employees 138 (23 Saudi)
- Brands Oreo, Ritz and Belvita
Kraft Foods in GCC
8Shelf-life, definition, dimensions
- Shelf-Life is the time between manufacture and
possible latest consumption, wherein the
characteristics of a food product are considered
to remain acceptable with following dimensions
and aspects - products must be safe - self-speaking,
un-debated, un-compromised HACCP----------------
--------------------------------------------------
------------------------ - quality must remain acceptable - consumer
accepted quality vital to gain consumers and
maintain their loyalty - nutritional value needs to be maintained -
prime aspect for food maintain claims on
products - commercial stability to be assured -
package integrity, look key for customers and at
point of sale
9Packaged food over shelf-life
10Shelf-life ? Food Research, Development Quality
(Kraft Foods RDQ)
Kraft Foods RDQ is the owner of shelf-life and
has the responsibility, expertise and the
infrastructure for establishing products
shelf-life.
Category Expertise
Geographic Proximity
Functional Excellence
- Coffee
- Refreshment Beverages
- Grocery
- Biscuits and Cakes
- Confectionery
- Savory Snacks
- Cheese/Dairy
- Convenient Meals
- Quality and Safety
- Scientific Affairs
- Regulatory
- Nutrition
- Research
- Chemistry
- Microbiology
- Sensory / Consumer Insight
- Packaging
- Intellectual Property/ Patents
- Banbury, UK
- Tarrytown, NY
- East Hanover, NJ
- Munich, Germany
- Glenview, IL
- Madison, WI
- Battle Creek, MI
- Melbourne, Australia
- Curitiba, Brazil
11Our RDQ centre in Munich has the geographic
responsibility for West, Central, East Europe,
Middle East and Africa
- Global
- Glenview, IL
- East Hanover, NJ
- Tarrytown, NY
- Banbury, UK
- Munich, Germany
Geographic / Local Madison, Battle Creek,
Melbourne, Curitiba and 50 other smaller centers
- Functions in Munich
- Product Dev
- Process Dev
- Packaging
- Microbiology Food Safety
- Quality
- Chemistry
- Sensory
- Regulatory
- Scientific Affairs
- Nutrition
- Munich Geographic Scope
- West, Central, East Europe, Middle East and
Africa - Munich Product Role
- Cheese/Dairy, Convenient Meals, Refreshment
Beverages, Grocery, Chocolate Confectionery,
Savory Snacks, (Quality Safety for Coffee)
12Same principles around the Globe
Kraft Product Safety Quality Assurance Guiding
Principles
- Product Safety/Public Health is our uncompromised
priority. - Food Safety is pre competitive.
- Food Safety is based on sound science and correct
risk assessment. - HACCP and our ISO based QCMS (Quality Chain
Management System) are central to our business
process. - Kraft applies common Food Safety Quality
Standards globally. - In addition we believe in
- a systems and process driven approach
- a strong upstream focus with major supplier
collaboration - covering each and every component in the business
Value Chain.
13Quality Chain Management System
Shelf-life evaluation and management is an
essential part of successful food quality
management. Ideally, shelf-life is an integral
part of an overall Quality Management System
through the entire value chain.
- Kraft Foods worldwide approach to the systematic
management of product Safety and Quality is
called the Quality Chain Management System
(QCMS). - QCMS is a complete embodiment of the ISO 9001
quality system model enhanced to include the
product Safety and Quality requirements of Kraft
Foods worldwide food businesses. - QCMS defines the requirements throughout the
process of design, procurement, manufacture,
distribution and customer/consumer product usage
and relations.
- Kraft Foods procedure on shelf-life evaluation
is a fundamental part of QCMS and has to be
applied by all relevant employees around the
world. - Objective All Kraft Food businesses shall
have a process in place for establishing and
managing the shelf-life of all products.Scope
Shelf-life evaluation applies globally to all
KF businesses and categories. Key elements are
parameters, procedures, storage conditions,
shelf-life management and modification of
shelf-life.
14Food Value Chain
15Shelf-life, definition, dimensions
- Shelf-Life is the time between manufacture and
possible latest consumption, wherein the
characteristics of a food product are considered
to remain acceptable with following dimensions
and aspects - products must be safe - self-speaking,
un-debated, un-compromised HACCP----------------
--------------------------------------------------
------------------- - quality must remain acceptable - consumer
defined quality vital to gain consumers and
maintain their loyalty - nutritional value needs to be maintained -
prime aspect for food maintain claims on
products - commercial stability to be assured -
package integrity, look key for customers and at
point of sale
16RDQ functions involved
RDQ is responsible for the design and
establishing shelf-life Category Product
Development Groups lead, relevant RDQ functions
as listed below support the process. Other
parties along value chain consulted as required,
e.g. Manufacturing.
- quality must remain acceptable - Quality
/Safety - Regulatory - Chemistry -
Microbiology - Sensory / Consumer Insight -
Packaging - commercial stability to be assured - Quality
/Safety - Regulatory - Packaging
- products must be safe - Quality /Safety -
Chemistry - Microbiology - Toxicology -
Packaging - nutritional value to be maintained -
Scientific Affairs - Regulatory - Nutrition -
Chemistry - Packaging
17Testing
Shelf-life testing is a vital part of new product
development. Existing products are re-evaluated,
if an extension of shelf-life is targeted or any
changes are considered. Re-evaluation may also
be triggered by consumer complaints or quality
issues.
Testing protocols - Sampling - Testing
conditions - Testing period - Schedule,
intervals - Attributes, parameters - Methods -
Record keeping
Close to reality conditions pursued - Full
shelf-life testing and beyond - Representative
samples - Representative storage conditions -
Consumer relevant sensory testing - Consumer
research, if required
18Testing parameters, questions to be considered
- Product Safety and Robustness are uncompromised
and checked and verified for the intended use and
foreseeable misuse of products. - risk of pathogens ?
- risk of toxins ?
- allergens ?
- Shelf-Life beyond safety Many parameters and a
high number of possible combinations for
industrially packaged food lead to a wide range
of possible shelf-lifes. - product category, type, nature ?
- micro-stability, risk of spoilage ?
- chemical reactions ?
- physical changes ?
- organoleptic, sensory, consumer ?
- packaging integrity and protection ?
- transport and storage conditions ?
- consumer behaviour, usage ?
19Shelf-life Regulated limits?
Considering the complexity inherent to
shelf-life, i.e. many parameters, their
interaction, possible combinations (vs. the time
we have in this forum), only some selected
aspects/examples will follow.
20Aspects/Examples Basics for micro risks
STATIONARY
LOG
DEATH
LAG
Microbiological Growth
Time of LAG phase determines maximum shelf life
possible. LAG phase can vary depending on other
parameters and can be extended by improved
sanitation, processing, storage conditions,
preservatives, modified atmosphere or some
emerging technology.
21Aspects/Examples Consumer Relevant Shelf-life
Testing
Key elements
- Representative Sampling- Final testing with
plant products only (pilot products only for
pre-assessment)- Freezing samples ( freezing
the time)- If products cannot be frozen,
multiple lots testing (assess impact of lots
variability) - Representative Storage Conditions- All along the
Value Chain (transport, warehouses, consumer
households)- Close to reality simulation
(consider varying conditions, best / worst case
scenarios) - Test plan/methods relevant to product, market,
potential consumers alienation- Internal sensory
testing (people without project involvement,
descriptive)- Quantitative descriptive analysis
(trained panel)- Consumer acceptance testing
(consumer liking, judgemental)
22Shelf-life of food products
- Internal Sensory Testing
- At least three of the same participants at each
tasting, involving people without project
background. - Focus should be descriptive, not judgement. After
documenting the descriptive differences,
judgement about the expected seriosity of
deviations may be necessary. - Representative control product needs to be used
as a reference. - Project leaders organize the taste sessions,
sample storage and ensure right participants at
each session. Consumer Sensory group provides the
test procedure and analysis forms. - Project leaders own next steps as agreed by team
23Shelf-life of food products
- Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA)
- A tool to test in an objective manner, whether
sensory changes are perceivable. - Generally recommended, when significant changes
are expected / predicted over shelf-life. - In case of changes that are not necessarily
negative Perceivability and relevance of changes
need to be tested with consumers, to determine
effects on consumer acceptability. - Key acceptance drivers are known from earlier
consumer tests can be used to judge the
differences observed in QDA and the shelf life.
24Shelf-life, Consumer testing
- Consumer Acceptance Testing
- For key products, and for critical cases,
consumer acceptance testing is recommended. - Multiproduct Central Location Test of samples at
different stages in shelf life, before, at, and
after end of shelf life at stake. - Absolute safety of samples to be ensured via
thorough micro testing. - Test should be run with target consumers in the
target countries. Participants need to be unaware
of the test background.
25Aspects/Examples Cheese and many parameters
Same category, different types, processing,
storage conditions, packaging, gt
Shelf-lifes in a range of few to 18 months.
12 months
18 months
26Aspects/Examples Packaging materials
Substrate OTR (cc/m2/24hrs) WVTR (g/m2/24hrs) Light Barrier Strength
Foil 0 0 100 Low
Aluminum laminate lt1 lt1 100 Medium
Polyester (PET) 90 40 lt5 Medium
Metallised PET (met-PET) 0.5 lt1 gt95 Medium
PVdC coated PET 6 14 lt5 Medium
Biaxially Oriented Polyprop. 1900 6 lt5 Medium
PVdC Coated BOPP 10 5 lt5 Medium
Metallised BOPP (met-BOPP) 100 1.5 gt95 Medium
Biaxially Oriented Nylon (OPA) 45 260 lt5 Medium
PVdC Coated OPA 6 7 lt5 Medium
Glass Jar 0 0 lt5 High
PP Rigid lt1-200 lt1-100 lt5 High
Tetrapak/Combibloc 0 0 100 Medium
3 Piece Metal Can 0 0 100 High
27Aspects/Examples Packaging with the right
protection
High protection and other factors help to achieve
a long shelf-life
Processed Cheese in a glass jar with a proven
shelf-life of 12 months.
28Shelf-life Regulated limits?
Considering the complexity of shelf-life, limits
set for shelf-life of packaged foods would either
be overcomplicated (wide array, needs regular
updating) or a weak compromise, most likely at
category minimum. Risks and disadvantages for all
appear to outweigh any advantages.
- Consumers and all stakeholders along the value
chain benefit from safe and high-quality products
with tested and proven shelf-life. While the
added safety, quality and value through regulated
shelf-life limits is open to discussion, some
risks and disadvantages are certain for
industrial, packaged food - Avoidable costs, economic penalty, if the limits
set are too conservative, , i.e. at the
category minimum (lowest common denominator) - Risk of low quality products to consumers, if
the limits set are too broad - Risk of missing new aspects, development or
scientific progress - Low incentive, low motivation for industry to
innovate or apply the new
29Shelf-life Regulated limits?
Conclusions The food industry should perform
due-diligence to judge, test and establish the
shelf-life for each single product they
manufacture, regardless how strict or wide the
limits set by regulations may be. Food companies
in general have to have their products data and
expertise and to know about the nature, details
and limits of their products. Shelf-life limits
set for packaged food are open to abuse and do
not appear to add value, safety or quality of
especially packaged food. Shelf-life limits may
be an unnecessary hurdle, especially for long
tested products with a good record in country of
origin or in other markets.
30Shelf-life of food products
Thank you!