Chapter 8: Accelerated Stability Testing – History and Recent Developments Check Access

Oxidation in food products can affect quality and sensory characteristics such as flavor, texture and nutritive value. In order to determine the oxidative stability of products, they can be stored in recommended storage conditions and monitored in real time. However, due to commercial deadlines and potentially significant costs, this approach is usually not feasible. Therefore, accelerated stability testing, where products are subjected to stress conditions such as temperature and oxygen, is often used to determine the shelf-life of products. Due to the complexity of food systems, a single or uniform method cannot be applied. The matrix of the sample, cost of analysis and measurement of primary or secondary oxidation products are some of the considerations for analysts prior to undertaking the analysis. This chapter discusses lipid oxidation, the advantages and disadvantages of common analytical methods for measuring the oxidative status of products, new or novel analytical methods and the role of antioxidants in oxidative stability.