Accelerated life test analysis for packaging solutions. A case study of edible oils distribution

Within the supply chain, packaging systems are usually subject to multiple and variable physical stresses, e.g. temperature, humidity, light exposure and vibrations. In particular, the international shipment of food products, e.g. edible oils and wine, can be affected by variable and not predictable climate conditions. Accelerated life test (ALT) analysis can supports the logistics and supply chain managers to best configure the packaging system, including primary package, secondary package, tertiary package and container solutions (e.g. standard containers and refrigerated containers). This study deals with the application of the so-called “cumulated damage models” in order to test the reliability of edible oils packages moving from Italy to worldwide, e.g. far east, Canada, USA, south of America, etc. At the First Workshop on Food Supply Chain in 2011, we discussed about the effectiveness of ALT modelling assuming constant levels of stress. Now the adoption of variable and most realistic cycles of temperature gives the decision maker the opportunity to quick predict the time to failure of primary packages in food supply chain given historical and monitored stresses of temperature.