Shelf-life studies
Measure how a product's sensory attributes decay over time, with regression and per-attribute threshold-crossing detection.
What it is
A shelf-life study measures how a product's sensory attributes (color, aroma, flavor, texture) evolve over time, under controlled storage conditions. You schedule a series of time points (day 0, day 30, day 60…), evaluate the product at each point, and AreaCacao computes the decay curve and the moment each attribute crosses the acceptability threshold you defined.
It's the tool to answer, with data, the question "how long does this chocolate last before it's no longer acceptable?".
Pro plan and above. On the Starter plan, the section is replaced with an invitation to subscribe.
Access path
- URL:
https://app.areacacao.com/sensory-analysis/studies/shelf-life - How to get there: from Sensory analysis, open Shelf life.
Studies list
The main screen shows:
- Header with the title Shelf-life studies and a summary: number of studies, how many are in progress, and the total of completed evaluations.
- Filter bar:
- Search by title, batch, or recipe.
- Status: All, Active, Draft, Paused, Completed, Canceled.
- Sort: Newest first, Oldest first, Title A-Z, Title Z-A, Progress (highest first), Recent start date.
- Study cards, each with its title, the status badge, the start date, the duration (in days), the frequency (every N days), the number of attributes, and two progress bars: Points (completed points out of the total) and Time (days elapsed out of the total).
Click a card to open the study detail. Click New study to open the creation wizard.
For now, in the list the summary's completed-evaluations counter and each card's Points progress bar show 0: the total number of points is real, but the progress of completed points will be reflected once the backend exposes the aggregated counts.
If you haven't created any study yet, you'll see the message No shelf-life studies yet with the Create first study button. If the list can't load, Couldn't load the shelf-life studies appears with a message like "… Try again later or contact support if it persists."
How it works, at a glance
Create the study
Define the storage conditions, the attributes to monitor with their threshold, and the time-point planning. See Create a study.
Evaluate at each time point
At each scheduled point (T+0, T+30, T+60…) your panel evaluates the product. The study accumulates the panel's means per point.
Review the curve and the regression
As soon as the panel evaluates the first point, AreaCacao plots the decay curve; with more points it computes, per attribute, when it will cross the threshold. See Regression and threshold.
The decay curve appears with a single evaluated point, but the Sensory evolution curves (the computed fit) need at least 3 time points with evaluations to be plotted.
Before you start
Define the sensory attributes you'll monitor in the Attributes module. The creation wizard needs available attributes: if there are none, it will prompt you to create attributes before starting a study.