Testing for Shelf-life of Vital Wheat Gluten

Hi everyone,

I'm looking into assessing the shelf-life of a product - Vital Wheat Gluten. If I have some product that is nearing it's labelled best before date, what parameters might I test it for?

My initial thought was testing for Yeast and Mold, moisture content, appearance, and odour. I could potentially perform a form of bake test, but I was hoping to fish for any other recommendations. 

This is a powdered product, in a 50lb corrugate type bag.

Thank-you for any and all advise or general responses.

Gareth

Vital wheat gluten is meant for further processing so I wouldn't go the micro route (Y&M), more as you mentioned appearance (organoleptic) and moisture, then add protein %.  If you see any variances according to the specification create a new COA based on the newly obtained parameters.  

Vital wheat gluten is meant for further processing so I wouldn't go the micro route (Y&M), more as you mentioned appearance (organoleptic) and moisture, then add protein %.  If you see any variances according to the specification create a new COA based on the newly obtained parameters.  

It has Y&M tested by the manufacturer, so if we tested it at it's current age, would it potentially be an indicator of it's stability, if simply used for internal purposes? i.e., if the results of current test are the same, if not slightly different, would it suggest product stability, in additional to the aforementioned organoleptic tests?

Thank-you for the timely response @nwilson!

Gareth.