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Morsel Adventures 

Morsel Adventures is a small, local company producing plant-based cheeses, sausages and snacks, amongst which a range of vegan jerky. The jerkies are aimed at those wanting to take a convenient and healthy snack with them on their outdoor adventures (such as hiking, climbing, camping etc). The jerkies and all of the other products can be bought online, on local vegan markets or from ecofriendly shops around the UK. Morsel Adventures were supported by UKSPF funding, to work with the FIC, to help extend the shelf life of their products safely.  

 

 
Project brief

•       Extend the shelf life of the products safely, whilst maintaining quality to allow them to expand into wider markets and enhance retailer listings. 

• Review the current methods in use for preservation and packaging to see whether any improvements could be made.

The response

• The key physico-chemical parameters of the current product were determined in the lab.   

• A review of literature was carried out to gain knowledge on key strategies used in this product category for stabilisation over shelf life.  

• Suggestions for small formulation updates were made based on the results from the literature review. These enhancements were recommended to enable the product to have a composition suited to a longer shelf life.  

• The current production process and conditions were reviewed in detail and suggestions were made to enable the product to be more resilient over a longer life. 

• Advice was given for required updates to the company’s HACCP plan to incorporate the suggested changes to formulation and processing steps/conditions.  

• The current packaging specifications were reviewed to ensure suitability for longer shelf life. 

• A real time shelf-life trial was designed and carried out to validate the new, longer shelf life. The FIC team monitored key physico-chemical and sensory properties over a 6 month period, with the company being advised on how and when to conduct sampling for microbiological testing with a commercial lab.

Benefit to the business

Working with Alice and the Food Innovation Centre team has been pivotal in understanding the value of a consistent recipe process. Alice guided me through each step of the HACCP process, aiming to fully assess the risks our product might face. She also thoroughly researched each ingredient to determine which bacteria or moulds could cause spoilage. 

Additionally, we received clear directions on each step of our process to minimize the risk of bacterial and mould development. We were also advised to decrease the pH to further mitigate these risks.  

The knowledge we gained through this process has been invaluable, and we deeply appreciate the flexibility of the entire team in supporting us with pre-shelf-life tests for moisture activity (AW) and pH. These preliminary lab tests were crucial in refining our recipes and processes before conducting the full shelf-life test. 

Beyond that, Alice and her team provided ongoing support during the shelf-life test, conducting a two-fold check—monitoring moisture activity and visually inspecting for mould activity. This approach allowed us to track changes in the samples' moisture levels while pairing the findings with chemical analysis to determine when the shelf life ended. 

I cannot thank everyone involved enough. It has been a pleasure and an incredible opportunity to confidently confirm that our jerky’s shelf life has been extended—the longest variation now lasting eight weeks. We are singing praises to anyone who will listen, and once we secure additional funding, we look forward to returning for round two with a refined recipe and renewed energy to push the shelf life even further.