Food Testing - Abuse Testing

ABUSE TESTING :

What is it?
Evaluation of the microbial stability of both product and production process under adverse conditions.

How is it performed?
Typically either intrinsic, extrinsic or both parameters are altered. The altered ‘abuse’ state will be well controlled and compared to standard state.

When do you do it?
When customer abuse may be an issue or to investigate product and process issues.

Pros
Provides insight into product performance under worse case scenarios.

Cons
May not be indicative of shelf life attainable under normal conditions.