ISSN:
1750-3841
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
,
Process Engineering, Biotechnology, Nutrition Technology
Notes:
The objective of this work was to develop a working equation for calculating moisture content of a formulated food system giving the desired aw. It was hypothesized that the total moisture content at a given aw is equal to a weighted-average of the moisture bound by each component at the given aw. A mass balance equation based on this hypothesis was tested with mixtures of starch, casein, sugar, salt, propylene glycol, and ground beef in binary and ternary. combinations. In 22 determinations, the discrepancy between calculated and measured moisture contents ranged from -3.52 to +3.82% with an algebraic average of -0.014%. A t test showed the equation valid at 1% confidence level. The regression line for calculated vs experimental had a slope of +1.0191 and intercept of -0.0044. The coefficient of determination was 0.9976. It was concluded that the mass balance hypothesis is valid at aw 0.90-0.33 for both desorption and absorption.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2621.1980.tb06527.x
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