A Step-by-Step Guide to Conducting Food Shelf Life Studies in the UAE
What Exactly Is a Food Shelf Life Study?
The short answer? It’s a scientific stress test for your food. A shelf-life study measures how long a product stays safe, looks good, and tastes right under specific storage conditions.
It isn’t a one-size-fits-all process. A bag of chips in a cool warehouse needs different testing than a chilled yoghurt in a delivery truck. By simulating these real-world environments, labs can pinpoint the exact moment your product starts to lose its edge. This helps you set accurate expiry dates that satisfy both the Dubai Municipality and your customers.
Step 1: Identify Your Storage Reality
Before you even touch a test tube, you need to know where your product will live. In the UAE, we typically test across six standard conditions.
Are you looking at ambient storage at 25°C, or does your product need to survive the “tropical” conditions of 30°C with 75% humidity? If you’re in a rush to hit the market, accelerated shelf life testing is your best friend. This method uses higher temperatures (like 40°C) to speed up the aging process, giving you months of data in just a few weeks.
Step 2: The Core Testing Pillars
Think of the % Daily Value (%DV) as a quick reality check. It tells you how much a nutrient in a single serving contributes to a daily 2,000-calorie diet.
Here is a pro tip: the 5/20 rule. If a nutrient shows 5% or less, it’s considered low. If it shows 20% or more, it’s high. You want your “bad” stuff—like saturated fat and sodium—to stay near that 5% mark. You want your “good” stuff—like fibre, vitamin D, and calcium—to aim for 20%. It’s a fast way to judge a product without doing complex math in the grocery aisle.
Step 3: Determining the Date
After the data is in, it’s time to crunch the numbers. The shelf life isn’t just when the food becomes “dangerous”; it’s when it stops being “perfect.”
In the UAE, regulators like the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) have strict rules on how these dates are displayed. For products lasting less than three months, you need a Day/Month/Year format. For anything longer, a month/year is usually the standard. Using accurate data from shelf life analysis ensures your labels are legally compliant and won’t get your shipments rejected at the border.
Step 4: Monitoring and Validation
The study doesn’t truly end once the product is in the store. Good “EEAT” (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) practices suggest periodic revalidation.
If you change your packaging material or swap a preservative for a natural alternative, you need a new study. Even a small change in the manufacturing process can shift your expiry date by weeks. Staying on top of these variables protects your brand reputation and minimizes food waste
Final Thoughts
Conducting food shelf life studies in the UAE is a blend of science and local regulatory savvy. It protects your bottom line and, more importantly, your customers. Don’t leave your product’s lifespan to chance.
FAQ
The short answer? No. UAE climate and storage regulations (like GSO standards) are specific. A product that lasts 12 months in a temperate climate might only last 6 months in the high humidity and heat of the Gulf.
“Use By” is about safety. After this date, the food could make you sick. “Best Before” is about quality. The food is still safe to eat, but it might not taste, smell, or look its best.
For real-time studies, it takes as long as the shelf life you’re testing. For accelerated shelf-life testing, we can often give you a 6-month prediction in about 6 to 8 weeks.
Yes. A professional lab like TESTHUB provides a detailed technical report. This document is essential for product registration and proves to authorities that your expiry dates are backed by hard science.
