Microbial shelf life validation of natural flavour components
30 July 2017
One of our clients had a very special project for us: a flavour component that could not be classified in the shelf-life matrixes we regularly use. Acid, salt, pH, Aw value: we could not classify the product anywhere. Our own method of predictive modelling came up with results: using an alternative path, we were able to find some product-specific properties that had to have an impact on the shelf life. Using a series of exploratory tests with various spoilage-causing bacteria we succeeded in making a matrix for this product category. The flavour component was further developed using this matrix. Finally we validated the end product, using several dedicated challenge tests.
