Of the preservation methods currently being used at NASA for the Shuttle and International Space Station food systems, the thermostabilized items will have the longest shelf life. Currently four approved International Space Station thermostabilized packaged foods are undergoing accelerated shelf life testing in the Space Food Systems Laboratory (SFSL) at NASA/Johnson Space Center. The foods, bread pudding, carrot coins, tuna noodle casserole, and apricot cobbler, are being stored in controlled temperature chambers at 40oF, 72oF, and 95oF. Analytical tests to measure color, texture, pH, and water activity will be correlated with the sensory tests to determine the changes occurring in the foods. The sensory tests will measure the difference from control (40oF) as well as overall acceptability. Nutritional analysis will be completed three times during the shelf life test.

The objective of this research is to continue the shelf life determination of these four thermostabilized food items. Sensory and analytical data will be collected every four months on the four food items that will be stored at 40oF, 72oF, and 95oF for approximately 3 years. The shelf life test will be terminated after 3 years or whenever the product becomes unacceptable, if before 3 years. In addition to determining the shelf life of these foods, a better understanding of the chemical and physical changes that can occur throughout their shelf life will be learned.

Also, as part of this year's tasks, a document describing the accelerated shelf life testing protocol for NASA/JSC will be completed. It will combine the practical portions of a sensory protocol written in FY01 (SFSL Sensory Protocol, 2001) and the analytical tests that have been developed in Fiscal Year 2002.

The objective of this project was to continue the accelerated shelf life testing of four thermostabilized food items: apricot cobbler, tuna noodle casserole, bread pudding, and carrot coins. Sensory and analytical data were collected every four months on the four food items stored at 40oF, 72oF, and 95oF.

To provide an accelerated shelf life test protocol for thermally processed pouches with a potential 3 - 5 year shelf life.

The entire nutritional profile was determined analytically for 26 new food items by a selected accredited laboratory at “zero time” after stabilization processing. The empirical data was then compared with the calculated nutrition data. While incongruities in the estimates prevented broad conclusions on vitamin stability, a detailed look at some of the food products confirmed previous study assumptions that the stabilization processing was resulting in degradation of many of the vitamins, including vitamin C, vitamin A, folic acid, and thiamin. Losses after retort processing were as high as 100% for vitamin A and vitamin C.

For the fifteen food items tested during FY 2008, repeat analytical testing was conducted on the anniversary of their original stabilization processing. Vitamin A continued to diminish in the package for most products over the one year of storage. Likewise, most folic acid and thiamin levels decreased, and vitamin C levels in all products declined from original levels by 37% to 100%. This degradation is attributed to remnant oxygen in package after nitrogen flushing. The presence of oxygen, even at decreased levels, allowed oxidation reactions to progress which chemically destroyed the vitamins.

Given that the estimates highlighted the absence of nutrient dense menu items and that degradation of vitamin profiles was noted after processing and during storage, it is unlikely that vitamin levels will subsist through the necessary three year product life. Countermeasure exploration should begin parallel to this study completion. NASA must identify means for solving critical nutrition problems including, reformulation with more resilient ingredients; fortification and supplementation; and development of processing and preservation methods that have less affect on the nutritional content of the food, e.g., high pressure processing and microwave sterilization. Additionally, the process of nitrogen flushing the retort pouches should be revisited for optimization or replacement.

Of the preservation methods currently being used at NASA for the Shuttle and International Space Station food systems, the thermostabilized items will have the longest shelf life. Currently four approved International Space Station thermostabilized packaged foods are undergoing accelerated shelf life testing in the Space Food Systems Laboratory (SFSL) at NASA/Johnson Space Center. The foods, bread pudding, carrot coins, tuna noodle casserole, and apricot cobbler, are being stored in controlled temperature chambers at 40oF, 72oF, and 95oF. Analytical tests to measure color, texture, pH, and water activity will be correlated with the sensory tests to determine the changes occurring in the foods. The sensory tests will measure the difference from control (40oF) as well as overall acceptability. Nutritional analysis will be completed three times during the shelf life test.

The objective of this research is to continue the shelf life determination of these four thermostabilized food items. Sensory and analytical data will be collected every four months on the four food items that will be stored at 40oF, 72oF, and 95oF for approximately 3 years. The shelf life test will be terminated after 3 years or whenever the product becomes unacceptable, if before 3 years. In addition to determining the shelf life of these foods, a better understanding of the chemical and physical changes that can occur throughout their shelf life will be learned.

Also, as part of this year's tasks, a document describing the accelerated shelf life testing protocol for NASA/JSC will be completed. It will combine the practical portions of a sensory protocol written in FY01 (SFSL Sensory Protocol, 2001) and the analytical tests that have been developed in Fiscal Year 2002.

The objective of this project was to continue the accelerated shelf life testing of four thermostabilized food items: apricot cobbler, tuna noodle casserole, bread pudding, and carrot coins. Sensory and analytical data were collected every four months on the four food items stored at 40oF, 72oF, and 95oF.

To provide an accelerated shelf life test protocol for thermally processed pouches with a potential 3 - 5 year shelf life.

[Ed. note: added record in December 2010 to reflect change in 2006 from ADVANCED HUMAN SUPPORT TECHNOLOGIES program to HUMAN RESEARCH PROGRAM/Space Human Factors Engineering/Advanced Food Technology]

Of the preservation methods currently being used at NASA for the Shuttle and International Space Station food systems, the thermostabilized items will have the longest shelf life. Currently four approved International Space Station thermostabilized packaged foods are undergoing accelerated shelf life testing in the Space Food Systems Laboratory (SFSL) at NASA/Johnson Space Center. The foods, bread pudding, carrot coins, tuna noodle casserole, and apricot cobbler, are being stored in controlled temperature chambers at 40oF, 72oF, and 95oF. Analytical tests to measure color, texture, pH, and water activity will be correlated with the sensory tests to determine the changes occurring in the foods. The sensory tests will measure the difference from control (40oF) as well as overall acceptability. Nutritional analysis will be completed three times during the shelf life test.

The objective of this research is to continue the shelf life determination of these four thermostabilized food items. Sensory and analytical data will be collected every four months on the four food items that will be stored at 40oF, 72oF, and 95oF for approximately 3 years. The shelf life test will be terminated after 3 years or whenever the product becomes unacceptable, if before 3 years. In addition to determining the shelf life of these foods, a better understanding of the chemical and physical changes that can occur throughout their shelf life will be learned.

Also, as part of this year's tasks, a document describing the accelerated shelf life testing protocol for NASA/JSC will be completed. It will combine the practical portions of a sensory protocol written in FY01 (SFSL Sensory Protocol, 2001) and the analytical tests that have been developed in Fiscal Year 2002. The objective of this project was to continue the accelerated shelf life testing of four thermostabilized food items: apricot cobbler, tuna noodle casserole, bread pudding, and carrot coins. Sensory and analytical data were collected every four months on the four food items stored at 40oF, 72oF, and 95oF. To provide an accelerated shelf life test protocol for thermally processed pouches with a potential 3 - 5 year shelf life.

• Bread Pudding:

o Color: A sharp decline in lightness values was seen between months 7 through 12 indicating the product became darker over this time period.

o Sensory: Sixteen months was the last testing point that the 95oF sample was still acceptable. The 40 degree and 72 degree samples continued to score above the 6.0 standard (out of 9 on a hedonic scale) until the 36-month test conclusion. The decline in overall flavor, level of sweetness, level of vanilla, and overall aftertaste may all be due to Maillard reactions. The Maillard reactions are a series of reactions of free amino groups and reducing sugar resulting in a brown color and toasted flavor. The three most prevalent ingredients; skim milk, sugar and egg, would provide sufficient amounts of free amino groups and reducing sugar to allow for these reactions to occur. It may be hypothesized that these reactions attributed the changes seen in both color and flavor related characteristics.

The Q10 is a measure of how the rate changes for every 10oC change in temperature. The Maillard reaction has different Q10 values depending upon the stage of the reaction. The Q10initial = 2, while flavor intermediate Q10’s range from 2 to 5, and brown color formation Q10’s range from 3 to 8. Using Q10 = 2 (worse case scenario), the 72 degree samples would not reach the same level of degradation until approximately 48 months of storage. The refrigerated, 40 degree F (4.4 degree C) samples would not reach the same level of degradation until approximately 166 months of storage.

• Tuna Noodle Casserole: Only acceptability tests were conducted at 20 months for all temperatures since both 72 degree F and 95 degree F had shown significant differences from control at 16 months. At 20 months, the 95oF samples failed the acceptance sensory test.

At two years of accelerated shelf life testing, the samples stored at 40oF and 72oF are still acceptable. The overall acceptability scores were 7.33 and 6.82 out of a 9-point hedonic scale, for 40oF and 72oF, respectively at 24 months.

• Apricot Cobbler: At 16 months, the difference from control tests showed significant differences at 72 degree F and 95 degree F. When the acceptability tests were run, the 95oF sample failed the sensory test. The 40oF and 72oF samples passed acceptability tests at 20 months and 24 months. The overall acceptability scores were 6.92 and 6.40 out of a 9-point hedonic scale, for 40oF and 72oF, respectively at 24 months.

• Carrot Coins: At 16 months, the difference from control tests showed significant differences. However, when the acceptability tests were run, the all three temperature samples passed. At 20 months, the 95oF sample failed the sensory test. The 40oF and 72oF samples passed acceptability tests at 20 months and 24 months.

The accelerated shelf life test will continue in FY’05 with the 40oF and 72oF samples.

Of the preservation methods currently being used at NASA for the Shuttle and International Space Station food systems, the thermostabilized items will have the longest shelf life. Currently four approved International Space Station thermostabilized packaged foods are undergoing accelerated shelf life testing in the Space Food Systems Laboratory (SFSL) at NASA/Johnson Space Center. The foods, bread pudding, carrot coins, tuna noodle casserole, and apricot cobbler, are being stored in controlled temperature chambers at 40oF, 72oF, and 95oF. Analytical tests to measure color, texture, pH, and water activity will be correlated with the sensory tests to determine the changes occurring in the foods. The sensory tests will measure the difference from control (40oF) as well as overall acceptability. Nutritional analysis will be completed three times during the shelf life test.

The objective of this research is to continue the shelf life determination of these four thermostabilized food items. Sensory and analytical data will be collected every four months on the four food items that will be stored at 40oF, 72oF, and 95oF for approximately 3 years. The shelf life test will be terminated after 3 years or whenever the product becomes unacceptable, if before 3 years. In addition to determining the shelf life of these foods, a better understanding of the chemical and physical changes that can occur throughout their shelf life will be learned.

Also, as part of this year's tasks, a document describing the accelerated shelf life testing protocol for NASA/JSC will be completed. It will combine the practical portions of a sensory protocol written in FY01 (SFSL Sensory Protocol, 2001) and the analytical tests that have been developed in Fiscal Year 2002. The objective of this project was to continue the accelerated shelf life testing of four thermostabilized food items: apricot cobbler, tuna noodle casserole, bread pudding, and carrot coins. Sensory and analytical data were collected every four months on the four food items stored at 40oF, 72oF, and 95oF. To provide an accelerated shelf life test protocol for thermally processed pouches with a potential 3 - 5 year shelf life.