Shelf-life testing – Adoption of time-efficient technologies expected to promote market growth
by Mit K. SEOThe shelf life of food & beverage products is
the duration during which the food commodity kept under specific conditions, or
storage, is expected to maintain its optimum safety and quality. While the
shelf life of a product begins the moment it is processed and packaged into a
finished product, these criteria change in accordance with factors such as its
production process, type of packaging, storage conditions, and ingredients
used. Additionally, the rise in the consumption of processed and packaged foods
has led to increased use of additives, mainly preservatives, to improve the
product’s shelf life further. This has resulted in a higher risk of
contamination associated with these additives. Therefore, shelf-life testing
practices of various food products are conducted to be able to determine a date
within which the product should be consumed and are expected to be
microbiologically safe.
The shelf-life testing market is projected to grow
at a CAGR of 7.0% during the forecast period (2018–2023), to reach USD 4.76
billion by 2023. Amongst various parameters for shelf-life testing, microbial
contamination is estimated to be the largest in 2018 and is also expected to
grow at the highest rate during the forecast period. Microorganisms pose
serious health problems, resulting in strict regulations imposed by national
governments and international bodies with respect to maximum content level in
food products. As a result, shelf-life testing is essential to ensure that the
microbial content is limited to only a certain level throughout the shelf life
of the food products, thereby contributing to consumer safety and compliance
with regulatory limits.
TD-NMR to be the optimal choice for determining
shelf life
The focus on reducing lead time, sample utilization,
cost of testing, and drawbacks associated with several technologies has
resulted in technological innovations and the development of new technologies
in the spectrometry segment. Higher adoption of these technologies, with
financial support from government authorities, is an opportunity for medium-
and small-scale laboratories to expand their service offerings and compete with
large market players in the industry, as these technologies offer higher sensitivity,
accuracy in results, reliability, multi-contaminant and non-targeted screening
with a low turnaround time, and cost-effectiveness, among other benefits.
The shelf-life testing industry is experiencing
technological innovations as major players in the industry are now offering
newer, faster, and more accurate technologies such as the TD-NMR (Time-Domain
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) for testing the shelf-life, and quality of various
food product samples. The TD-NMR testing method has been widely employed for
measuring oil and moisture content in snack foods, thereby enabling the cooking
time for these products to be accurately optimized. Additionally, the TD-NMR
method can measure water in different molecular environments, and also
distinguish water from other molecular components of food. The most commonly
tested parameters, while determining the shelf life of various products, are
the oxidation of fats and texture & moisture content, thereby making TD-NMR
the optimal choice for determining the shelf life.
Low
Enforcement of Regulatory Laws & Lack of Supporting Infrastructure in
Developing Economies to Inhibit the Growth of the Shelf-Life Testing Market
The food industry in developing countries remains
highly fragmented and is dominated by small and unorganized players, who may
have not necessarily adopted proper food testing and shelf-life testing
practices, leading to a greater risk of their contamination. Testing of food
& beverage products such as packaged foods, dairy products, beverages, and
meat products requires proper enforcement measures, coordination between market
stakeholders, and supporting infrastructure. However, many countries that are
classified in the cluster of developing economies lack these factors, which, in
turn, restrain the shelf-life testing industry growth.
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Food systems in several developing regions lack
organization, sophistication, and technological capabilities for the shelf-life
testing of food & beverage products. The infrastructure of food &
shelf-life testing laboratories in many developing countries is likely to be
scarce due to limited resources, limited technology, and poor management
practices. There are numerous issues related to improper shelf-life
information, such as lack of institutional coordination, outdated technology,
less expertise for the execution of regulation at low levels, and a lack of
updated standards; all these factors have been constraining the market for the
shelf-life testing of food. Shelf-life testing laboratories are poorly equipped,
with a substantial lack of suitably trained analytical staff, especially in the
African and South American countries. India, China, and the Southeast Asian
countries are among those getting financial assistance from governments to be
able to develop technologies. The concerned regulatory bodies of these
developing countries need to apply their resources for the development of
infrastructure, food and shelf-life testing capacities, and technology
enhancement. These developing countries also lack support from international
agencies such as the FAO, WHO, and the World Bank. Thus, the lack of shelf-life
testing infrastructure and resources in developing countries inhibits the
growth of the shelf-life testing market.
Therefore, the market for shelf-life testing is
expected to experience robust growth, owing to the growing demand for packaged
& convenience foods and an increase in the outbreak of foodborne illnesses.
However, improper enforcement of laws and lack of supporting infrastructure in
developing countries are expected to disrupt the market growth during the
forecast period.
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Created on Dec 7th 2020 05:20. Viewed 549 times.