Accelerated Aging Package Testing

Accelerated Aging Package Testing

The shelf life of products is an important factor to consider, especially for medical items that must adhere to FDA regulations. To determine a product’s shelf life, two methods are commonly used: accelerated aging and aging in real time. The length of time for real-time aging testing can range from a few months to several years.

To accelerate the aging process, temperature, and humidity are used to speed up the deterioration of materials. This is known as the accelerated aging integrity and shelf-life packaging test. Two main test standards are used for this purpose: ASTM F1980 and ISO 11607-1. The Arrhenius equation is a calculation behind the deterioration of a material which dictates that the chemical reaction rate of deterioration doubles for every 10 degrees Celsius increase in temperature. This calculation can be used to figure out the accelerated test time equivalent of shelf-life testing.

Real-time and accelerated aging package testing must occur simultaneously to compare the results. Parameters for the shelf-life package aging test are determined by the manufacturer and are outlined in the aforementioned test standards. In addition to temperature and humidity, the impact of solar radiation can also be taken into consideration.