Quality & Sensory
Q10
The factor by which a reaction rate changes for a 10 °C rise in temperature.
Real-life application
Explains why food spoils roughly twice as fast for every 10°C rise in storage temperature — the basis for shelf-life predictions and cold-chain rules.
Related terms
Accelerated shelf life testing
Quality & SensoryEstimating shelf life by storing product under elevated stress, usually temperature, and extrapolating using a kinetic model such as Q10 or Arrhenius.
z-value
Food MicrobiologyThe temperature increase required to reduce the D-value by a factor of ten — the slope of the thermal death time curve.
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