Shelf-Life-Test

The packaging industry use the same well-known structure of packaging since many years. Laminates such as: paper plus PE, PET plus PE, PET plus Aluminum and PE, laminated OPP among others are automatically on the mind of many people involved from this fascinating market. The expertise how to combine the different materials to bring the characteristics of sealabililty and barrier protection against oxygen, moisture, fat, and aroma creating solutions with standard thickness and layers are well acknowledged.

However, it happens often also that these standard structures don’t correspond exactly to the requirement of the food protection itself leading to overengineering of packaging and waste of resources. Changing this established structure to sustainable and recyclable barriers papers requires a new innovative mindset to test the new material solution.

Why are shelf-life tests so important in this context of paper packaging innovation?

By conducting thorough shelf-life tests, manufacturers can ensure their products packed with Koehler NexPlus® paper remain safe, maintain quality, reduce food waste, and meet consumer expectations throughout their intended lifespan.

Besides that, understanding shelf life helps manufacturers assess the risk of quality issues occurring during storage and distribution, especially under varying environmental conditions.

One example is the ASLT (Accelerated Shelf-Life Test), which can be conducted in different projects with Koehler NexPlus® barrier paper. For example, the chocolate manufacturer Nucao conducted the shelf-life test in a climate chamber for different types of chocolate packaged with Koehler NexPlus Advanced®.

In many cases it is a competitive advantage to accelerate the product launch and shortening the time to market. The ASLT can significantly reduce the duration compared to conventional durability tests. It speeds up a product's aging process through exposure to controlled, harsher conditions such as higher temperatures and increased humidity. Every manufacturer can control the parameters individually for the conditions and requirements of their sensoric tests.