SHELF LIFE EVALUATION OF APPLE FLAVOR BEVERAGE USING ACCELERATED SHELF LIFE TESTING (ASLT) ARRHENIUS MODEL AT PT. XYZ

Abstract

Indonesia's fruit-flavored beverage industry has grown rapidly in response to increasing consumer demand for practical, hygienic, and long-lasting packaged drinks, yet many shelf life claims printed on product labels remain scientifically unverified. PT. XYZ was selected as the object of this study because its apple flavored beverage, marketed under the "Siiplah" brand, carries a 12-month label expiration date while the company applies a 9-month product return policy, creating a 3-month discrepancy that requires scientific justification. This study aimed to estimate the shelf life of PT. XYZ's apple flavored beverage using the Accelerated Shelf Life Testing (ASLT) Arrhenius method based on three physicochemical quality parameters, namely pH, total soluble solids (TSS, °Brix), and total titratable acidity (TTA, %), and to evaluate whether the company's 9-month return policy is scientifically justified relative to the 12-month label claim. Samples were stored at three temperatures (25°C, 30°C, and 40°C) and analyzed weekly for four weeks. Results showed that all three parameters followed first-order reaction kinetics. The activation energy (Ea) was highest for pH (7,295.5 kcal/mol), followed by TSS (7,195.1 kcal/mol) and TTA (3,925.4 kcal/mol), indicating pH as the most temperature-sensitive quality parameter. At 30°C, representing the maximum normal distribution temperature under tropical conditions, the estimated shelf life based on pH and TTA was 12 months, while TSS yielded 16 months. These findings confirm that the 12-month label claim is scientifically valid and that the 9-month return policy provides a justified 3-month safety buffer to accommodate temperature variability during distribution