A complex set of conditions determines bakery product shelf life, which complicates efforts to extend the "life" of these items. Extending their longevity relies on product developers, process technologists and packaging technologists to produce attractive and good-tasting products that don't harbor microorganisms.

Understanding how to extend shelf life requires defining what determines loss of shelf life. "It's dry," "tastes stale" or "this is soggy" are familiar phrases, but how can they be translated into their underlying physical and chemical conditions? Some solutions are simple; others are complex. Certain deleterious chemical and physical changes are eventual and unavoidable. However, methods exist to delay them, providing a product with a few more days or weeks of high-quality life.