Shelf Life and Labelling Technical Guideline

In Australia, meat and meat products are processed, packaged and labelled to ensure that consumers are provided with food which is safe and suitable. Raw meat can be sold either chilled or frozen. Meat products have been further processed by heating, curing, drying, fermenting or canning and can be sold at ambient, chilled or frozen, temperatures depending on the processing conditions, and the product’s composition

Shelf life

The shelf life of a product is the time that the product remains safe and suitable for human consumption under the intended storage conditions. In addition to the impact that processing conditions and the product’s composition have on shelf life the temperatures encountered along the supply chain will also have an effect.

Shelf life may end in different ways:

• Products may become unsafe if pathogenic bacteria grow in the product. An example is the growth of Listeria monocytogenes in some ready-to-eat, refrigerated processed meats so the shelf life is set to the number of days of refrigerated storage before this bacterium grows significantly.
• Product may become unsuitable for consumption through spoilage if the growth of bacteria, yeasts or moulds result in changes to the colour, odour or texture of the product; even if it isn’t unsafe, no one wants to eat it. Raw meat, intended to be cooked prior to consumption, will reach the end of shelf life in this way.
• Even if bacteria or moulds are unable to grow in a product, the product may reach the end of shelf life due to deterioration; changes in colour, odour, flavour or texture. The shelf life may be very long, and assumes intact packaging and appropriate storage conditions. For example, the colour of beef jerky, or texture of frozen meat may change during storage making the product unsuitable for sale.

The way that shelf life ends will determine how the product should be tested for shelf life and how the product is labelled (Figure 1).

Shelf life can be determined in several different ways.

• Pathogen growth. If a product’s shelf life may end due to the growth of pathogenic bacteria (for example, Listeria monocytogenes) then the shelf life is determined by the regulations (Food Standards Code) or Guidelines for that product and/or pathogen. The Australian Meat Industry Council has produced a book, Guidelines for the Safe Manufacture of Smallgoods (3^rd edition) which contains useful information and advice on setting shelf life for these products.

• Spoilage or Deterioration. If the product is common, there may be a consensus of what the shelf life is, found in various authoritative guides. For example, Meat & Livestock Australia has produced a shelf life calculator validated for beef and lamb primals and various retail-ready products (mince and/or steak) in vacuum skin packs, thermoformed packs, modified atmospheric packaging and overwrap packs, when the storage temperature is known, and the microbial load at the time of packing is estimated (Shelf Life Calculator | Meat & Livestock Australia). Other calculators and tools may be available and suitable for use. If using a consensus shelf life, care must be taken to ensure that the stated shelf life is applicable: the shelf life should be determined at 5°C because this is the maximum temperature for storage in the Australian Standard 4696 and in the Food Standards Code (unless another temperature is assured); the hygienic quality at commencement of shelf life of the product should be similar; and the packaging system the same. When using a consensus shelf life, you should always check the shelf life of your product to ensure that it is what you expect (next point).
• If there is no consensus shelf life, you might use your own experience to estimate a shelf life and/or conduct a shelf life trial.

Various methods for shelf life testing are suitable. You need to conduct a trial with your own product, in the packaging system that you will use, and at temperatures that a realistic for your supply chain and measure the characteristic that leads to the end of shelf life (pathogen growth, odour, colour, appearance, etc.). As for the consensus shelf life, your trials should be conducted at 5°C unless you have evidence that a different temperature is satisfactory. Your customer may have requirements for shelf life testing methods which should be followed. Meat & Livestock Australia has published a book, Shelf Life of Australian Red Meat which may be helpful for raw products and the Guidelines for the Safe Manufacture of Smallgoods will be helpful for processed meats..

Labelling

The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code) Part 1.2 Labelling and other information requirements requires that food businesses provide information for consumers, so they are informed about the products they purchase. The Code prescribes the content and format of labels and specifies some specific requirements for meat products (FSC 2.2.1). Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) provides guidance for businesses on some aspects of labelling: Labelling | Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Each licensee’s food safety program must contain procedures for collecting data to allow validation and verification of any statements or claims made on a product label.

Below are some of the Code’s requirements for information to be included on labels (FSC 1.2.1 – 8):

• Name of the product – to describe the nature of the food; some names are mandatory for meat products (FSC 1.2.2 – 2)
• Name and address of the supplier – an address in Australia of the packer, manufacturer, or vendor of importer of the food (FSC 1.2.2 – 4)
• Lot identification for most packages(FSC 1.2.2 – 3)
• Advisory statements and declaration of allergens for some other foods and ingredients that cause allergic reactions (including sulphites, wheat, nuts, soy) (FSC 1.2.3). For a warning statement, text must be minimum 3mm high for large packages and 1.5mm for small packages (FSC 1.2.1 – 25). Incorrect allergen labelling is the most common reason for product recalls in Australia. FSANZ provides a lot of useful guidance.
• Directions for storage conditions and use – to ensure that the product will keep until the date indicated (FSC 1.2.6 – 2)
• Date marking – the date of packaging (AS 4696 clause 16.7 and best before or use by date (see below) for foods that have a shelf life of less than 2 years (FSC 1.2.5 – 3)
• Ingredient listing and percentage declaration – listed in descending order of ingoing weight and percentage of ingredients characterising the name of the product (e.g., species of meat) (FSC 1.2.4 – 2, FSC 1.2.10)
• Nutritional information – protein, carbohydrate, fat, etc. and energy content (FSC 1.2.8).

Date marking

All packaged meat products must be labelled with the date of packaging (AS 4696, clause 16.7) and those that have a shelf life of two years or less must have date marking to show the best-before or use-by date. The definitions are in Table 1 below. The labelling requirements are described above. The shelf life must be determined by the meat processor, packer or retailer. The determination of shelf life has been discussed above. In some instances, a processor or retailer may be cautious and choose to mark the product with a use-by date instead of a best-before date to ensure that the product is not sold after that date.

Table 1: Definition of date marking terms (based on FSC 1.2.5)

Further information

CSIRO (2021) Refrigerated storage of perishable foods – CSIRO

CSIRO (2002) Storage life of meat.

CSIRO (2006) Shelf-life testing: methods for determining the claimable life of meat products. MEAT_TECHNOLOGY_UPDATE_06-2.pdf

Food and Drug Administration (2018), Refrigerator & freezer storage chart. 2018-03-06-FoodStorageCharts-English

Disclaimer

This information is a guide only and must not be used in place of the current Standard. PrimeSafe does not guarantee its accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness. It cannot be used to substitute for legal or professional advice. PrimeSafe accepts no legal liability arising from reliance on any part of this document.