Shelf life and shelf stability are two important characteristics for many of today’s meat and poultry products. Before the advent of refrigeration, both shelf life and shelf stability were needed and regularly implemented to safely extend the storage life of otherwise perishable meat and poultry products. Because of the harsher approach (e.g. high salt concentrations, very dry product, etc.) to implementing preservation methods before refrigeration, a product that had a long shelf life was also likely shelf-stable and vice versa. Today, because products are more refined and refrigeration exists, shelf life and stability have become more important for the economic benefit that results from a product having a longer storage life and for creating safe, convenient products.
Shelf stability is the state of a product in which certain intrinsic product conditions are created where the support of bacteria, focusing on the pathogenic variety, does not exist which allows for non-refrigerated storage. There are a number of preservation methods available for achieving shelf stability and it should be noted that sterilization (canning) is included in that list. Concentrating on pasteurized products, shelf stability is achieved by targeting and manipulating the factors that prevent bacteria from growing. There are a number of physiological requirements, scientifically known, that are critical to inhibiting bacterial growth. Factors include: