Shelf life validation by monitoring food on the market: the case study of sliced white bread.

The aim of this work was to develop a protocol to validate the shelf life obtained in laboratory based on the product performance on the market. Packed sliced white bread was chosen as target product. Bread shelf life was assessed by measuring the changes in firmness during storage at 25°C and by determining the firmness of bread samples directly purchased from the market with different storage life. Firmness data were modelled by the restricted Avrami equation. Results suggest that shelf life estimates obtained in laboratory should be validated by checking the evolution of product quality on the market.