8. Predicting a lifetime controlled by gas transport

Predicting the shelf life of a long-life food product is an important issue for the food industry: announcing a shelf life without waiting for the actual ageing period in view of the often eagerly-awaited launch of a new product, and rapidly correcting poor sizing or packaging choices. We're focusing here on the DDM, or date of minimum durability (formerly DLUO). It applies to microbiologically stable food products (cookies, chocolate, dry cured meats, preserves, dehydrated products, jams, drinks, etc.). The MDD depends on the product's packaging.

First and foremost, we need to know the food product well enough to be able to establish a relevant quality criterion that must not be exceeded (figure