Accelerated Shelf-life Testing

of Natural Colours in Model Food Systems

 Accelerated shelf-life testing

Content

3 Abstract
4 Introduction
5 Material and Methods
6 Results
8 Summary and Conclusions
9 Imprint

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 Accelerated shelf-life testing

Abstract

A significant part of the UK food industry is moving from artificial colours towards natural
alternatives. However, natural colours are less stable and more expensive. The lack of stability
can be a problem when natural colours are added to food products with a long ambient shelf-
life.3 Normal shelf-life tests are time-consuming.2 To investigate and identify accelerated
tests for predicting the stability of natural colors (anthocyanin, lycopene, chlorophyll and
Cu-chlorophyllin) used singly as an ingredient in three different food matrices (high-boiled
sweets, gelatine jellies, juice-based drinks).

Samples were stored in a constant climate chamber at 20°C, 30°C and 40°C and exposed to
high-intensity light at 4.000 Lux with UV at 1.4 W/m2 and in dark. Loss of color was monitored
in terms of change in Hue (ΔH) over time (7 months at 20°C and 8 weeks at 30°C and 40°C.1
Results showed that the rate of acceleration of colour degradation was affected by the food
matrix and the type of colour being used. In addition the results show that the use of elevated
temperatures in combination with light allows samples to be screened for colour changes
within shorter time scales.1

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 Accelerated shelf-life testing

Introduction

The shelf-life of a product is determined by storing the product under typical storage conditions that
the product will experience, and measuring the changes occurring (chemical, microbiological and
physical) over a specified time interval until the product becomes unacceptable to consumers. Food
manufacturers are under constant pressure to launch new products in shorter time scales and often do
not have sufficient time for real time shelf-life testing. Accelerated shelf-life testing (ASLT) is an indirect
method of measuring and estimating the stability of a product by storing the product under controlled
conditions that increase the rate of degradation occurring in the product under normal storage condi-
tions. In addition to the prediction of product stability including colour, ASLT are useful for a number
of other purposes, e.g. to determine product safety under abuse conditions, for troubleshooting in the
initial stages of product development and for assessing packaging performance of a product.3

Figure 1: Constant climate chamber (Binder KBF 720) with door mounted lights used at Leatherhead Food
Research for colour stability testing.3

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 Accelerated shelf-life testing

Material and Methods

Binder KBF 720 with door-mounted lights2, Anthocyanin (E163), Chlorophyll (E140), Cu-Chlorophyllin
(E141), Lycopene (E160d), High-boiled sweets1, Gelatine jellies1, Juice-based drinks1, HunterLab Co-
lourQuest XE1

Stability Test
Real Time Sorage Accelerated Storage Conditions
Conditions

Temperature 20 °C 30 °C 40 °C

VIS 4.000 Lux

Test with light daylight bulbs VIS 4.000 Lux
UV 1,7 W/m2

Test without light dark dark dark

Test period up to 7 month 8 weeks 8 weeks

Intervall of color
monthly weekly weekly
measurement

Table 1: Stability test conditions maintained by a KBF 720.3

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 Accelerated shelf-life testing

Results

In this paper only the results of the anthocyanins colour stability tests for juice-based drinks are
presented. For further information please refer to the literature listed below.

Figure 2:
Appearance of juice-based drinks containing
anthocyanin after storage.1

Figure 2 shows the appearance of juice-based drinks after exposure at 30°C and 40°C. The fading of
the redness from the anthocyanin was more obvious in the samples that were stored in the light com-
pared to samples that were stored in the dark.1 The redness in samples stored at 40°C for five weeks,
and in the light, faded quicker than samples that were stored at 30°C for 8 weeks and in the light. The
change in Hue between samples stored at the elevated temperatures (30°C and 40°C) and between
light and dark storage is shown in Figure 3.1

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 Accelerated shelf-life testing

Results

Figure 3: Effect of temperature and light on juice-

based drinks containing anthocyanin.1

Figure 3 also shows that the change in Hue (ΔH) increases with increase in storage temperature. The
ΔH in the juicebased drinks was higher than that observed in the high-boiled sweets and gelatine jel-
lies especially those that were exposed to light. As expected, samples stored in the dark had a lower
value of ΔH compared to samples stored in the light at 30°C and 40°C except for samples at 20°C
which changed very little.1

The relative rates of colour change for juice-based drinks containing anthocyanin are given in Table 2.
Samples stored in the dark at 30°C and 40°C were 1 and 4 times faster compared to samples that were
stored at 20°C and in the light. The rate of acceleration was much greater for samples that were stored
in the light at 30°C and 40°C with rates of acceleration of 11 and 26 times faster, respectively. This
indicates that light had a more detrimental effect for juice-based drinks containing anthocyanin than
temperature.1

Rate of Acceleration
30 °C 40 °C 30 ° 40 °C
dark dark light light
Juice-based drinks with
1 4 11 26
anthocyanin
Tabele 2: Relative rates of colour change (juice-based drinks with anthocyanin) compared to 20°C in the light.1

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 Accelerated shelf-life testing

Summary and Conclusions

For juice-based beverage the systems with anthocyanins colour stability tests could be conducted at
temperature of 30°C combined with light as colour change was 11 times faster than under real time
20°C storage.1

The change in colour (demonstrated as ΔH) showed that solid model systems (high-boiled sweets
and gelatine jellies tend to change more slowly than the liquid model system (juice-based drinks). The
anthocyanin molecules in the solid systems are thought to be bound more tightly than molecules in
a liquid system and because of this the molecules are thought not to be able to move freely, resulting
in a smaller change of colour.1

Anthocyanin appeared to be most stable in the high-boiled sweets followed by gelatine jellies and
juice-based drinks as the values of ΔH were <10, <20 and <30 respectively after samples were exposed
at 30°C and 40°C and high-intensity light.1

Generally, a good correlation was found between actual and predicted results for high-boiled sweets,
gelatine jellies and juice-based drinks containing anthocyanin and chlorophyll and a better correlation
between actual and predictive results was seen for products stored in light compared to those stored
in the dark.1

The study showed that accelerated tests with a KBF 720 can be used to predict natural colour stability.2
Please find detailed information on the KBF series at: www.binder-world.com.

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 Accelerated shelf-life testing

Imprint

| Autor
Ina Kanngiesser, BINDER GmbH, Im Mittleren Ösch 5, 78532 Tuttlingen, Germany

| References

1.
Teoh A., Subramaniam P.: “Forum Project Report No. 952, Stability of Natural Colours in Model Food
Systems”, October 2011, Leatherhead Food Research.

2.
http://www.binder-world.com.

3.
Teoh A.: “Predicting the stability of natural colours in food products, A review”, AgroFOOD Industry hi-
tech, September/October 2010, Vol. 21 (5), 20-23.

| company profile

About BINDER GmbH:

BINDER is the world‘s largest specialist in simulation chambers for scientific and industrial laborato-
ries. With its technical solutions, the company contributes significantly to improving the health and
safety of people. Our range of products is well-suited for routine applications, highly specialized work
in research and development, production, and quality assurance. With approximately 400 employees
worldwide and an export rate of 80%, BINDER 2015 sales were more than 60 million euros.

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Contact

| Contact
BINDER GmbH
Im Mittleren Ösch 5
78532 Tuttlingen
Tel: +49(0)74 62-20 05-0
[email protected]
www.binder-word.com