Prolonging the Fresh Factor: Shelf Life Extension for High-Speed Bakeries

Food waste is a rising concern that’s no longer half-baked. According to the 2024 UNEP Food Waste Index Report, over 1.05 billion tons of food were wasted in 2022. In high-speed bakery operations, where output is measured by the second and delivery chains span days or weeks, shelf life becomes more than a label. Defined as the period a product maintains acceptable quality, shelf life dictates everything from ingredient sourcing to distribution frequency. Join us as we share insights from our recent Shelf Life Extension BAKERview.

What Determines a Baked Good’s Shelf Life?

We hear a lot of bakers talking about shelf life extension, but what serves a good model? Well, three main characteristics define how long our products stay fresh:

• Sensory Characteristics: Aroma, flavor, texture, and appearance. If it doesn’t pass the sniff or squeeze test, it won’t pass the register.
• Microbiological Stability: Mold is the arch-nemesis of shelf life. Delaying its appearance is critical.
• Physico-Chemical Properties: Moisture migration, water activity (a_w), and pH determine both oxidation and microbial risks.

What Affects Shelf Life?

1. Ingredient Composition
   The formula is where shelf life begins. Natural extenders and novel ingredients, like cultured wheat and fermented acid blends, can act as effective antimicrobials while maintaining clean-label appeal. But ingredient interaction and pH must be dialed in precisely.
2. Environmental Conditions
   From baking to cooling to packaging, every step matters. Fast cooling, stable humidity, and temperature control are critical in preventing condensation that can result in mold.
3. Packaging Methods
   Antimicrobial packaging, oxygen absorbers, and UV barriers have become essential tools in our proofing box of tricks. The better the barrier, the longer the bakery bliss.

Tech That’s On a Roll

Fortunately, there are plenty of innovations that can help bakers tackle issues like mold and staling. Here are some popular advanced technologies for shelf-life extension:

• Freezing: Ideal for pausing staling in yeasted products, especially for par-baked lines.
• UV Treatment: Post-bake UV exposure reduces surface microbial load.
• Baking Process Optimization: Using the S curve to bake out consistently at 20% arrival can reduce variability in internal moisture and crust firmness.
• Innovative Packaging: Multi-layer films and intelligent labeling systems can help ensure you keep things fresh.

Categories for Shelf-Life

When it comes to shelf-life extension, solutions aren’t one-size-fits-all. Shelf life strategies must be product-specific and are usually divided into categories, which include:

• Yeasted Doughs: anti-staling enzymes and anti-microbials like Cal-pro are common.
• Snack Cakes: focus on moisture migration and oil oxidation.
• Cookies: barrier packaging is crucial for crispness retention.
• Tortillas: flexibility is king! Compression and ball probe testing for foldability guides formulation.

Want to learn more? Watch the full BAKERview:

Mastering Shelf-Life Metrics

Lesaffre North America has a team of bakery experts that are no strangers to extending shelf life. They highlighted the importance of testing firmness, resilience, moistness, and foldability. Firmness can be measured by doing a press test or texture profile analysis (TPA) to measure crumb structure. As for moistness, manual squeeze tests can reveal internal water retention or dryness. Nonetheless, it is better to collect data using advanced instrumentation for optimal results. Some instrumentation for this include TPA for crumb softness and spring back, puncture probes for crust firmness, compression and ball probes for flatbread flexibility, and finally, custom test protocols based on product need

Anti-Staling Solutions

Alongside getting to know the texture of your baked goods to improve shelf-life, it’s also vital to consider anti-staling agents. Some factors to consider for these are product type & formulation, sugar, pH, target shelf life, desired attributes, and packaging format. One popular anti-staling agent is calcium propionate. Cal pro dissolves into calcium salt and propionic acid, which is an effective mold inhibitor. However, only a fraction is active based on pH. At pH 5.5, only 19% is effective; drop that to 5.0, and efficacy doubles.

Not to mention, Lesaffre North America offers a range of dry-blended NMIs made through fermentation. These include:

• Cultured Wheat Starch: Organic acid-rich and label-friendly
• Citric Acid: Boosts Calpro efficiency by lowering pH
• Enriched Wheat Flour: Functional carrier for uniformity

These solutions can be particularly interesting for those looking to prolong shelf life and clean up their labels.

Get a Better Shelf-Life for your Baked Goods

Shelf life extension should be about engineering freshness with precision. High-speed bakeries must think beyond the crust and into the science. And for bakers serious about sustainability, profitability, and customer satisfaction, our Baking Shelf Stable Products Pocket Guide offers deep insights into making bakery products that stay fresher longer. Download the Pocket Guide today!

Download the Pocket Guide now!

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