shelf-stable

English

Adjective

shelf-stable (comparative more shelf-stable, superlative most shelf-stable)

1. Of foods, storable for extended periods at room temperature.

   Antonym: perishable

   shelf-stable whipping cream

   • 1985, National Research Council, Institute of Medicine, Committee on Food Protection, Subcommittee on Microbiological Criteria, An Evaluation of the Role of Microbiological Criteria for Foods and Food Ingredients, National Academies Press (→ISBN), page 43:

     It is necessary to distinguish between the shelf-life of two broad categories of foods, namely those that are shelf-stable and those that are perishable. For this discussion, shelf-life will be treated as it relates to microbial activity only.

See also

• shelf life

Further reading

• “shelf-stable”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.