Background:
Our client was producing refrigerated short shelf life deli meats and salads utilizing preservatives and/or thermal processing to extend shelf life. The wanted to replace chemical preservatives with natural anti-microbial's and/or non thermal processing (HPP) to extend shelf life to 60 plus days and improve product quality.
Project Overview:
Background:
Our client was producing refrigerated short shelf life deli meats and salads utilizing preservatives and/or thermal processing to extend shelf life. The wanted to replace chemical preservatives with natural anti-microbial's and/or non thermal processing (HPP) to extend shelf life to 60 plus days and improve product quality.
Project Overview:
- Wrote protocol and designed experiment for several deli meats and salads to evaluate both non-thermal as well as other anti microbials used in both formulation as well as packaging material to extend shelf life.
- Evaluation of products included
- Flavor, initial, during, and end of shelf life
- Color
- Chemical stability (rancidity, and off flavor production)
- Shelf Life
- Efficacy, both microbial, and shelf life
- Produced products and put into shelf life sensory, microbiological, and chemical testing
- Evaluated products produces on bench, made recommendations on which process to move forward with for each product category
- Developed protocol for manufacturing runs, ordered ingredients, set up test and responsible for running production at three different locations and different processing/formulation
- Put products into shelf life, evaluated for sensory, chemical, and microbiological results
- Made recommendations on next steps based on results, and recommended which process, and/or new formula for new product(s)
- Followed up with technical oversight and troubleshooting on subsequent production runs