Forecasting and quality control of confectionery products with the use of “water activity” indicator

For confectionery products, the value of water activity is mainly determined by their moisture and sugar content in a recipe. Along with the preserving effect, sugar is involved in the formation of organoleptic, functional and technological products properties; it also regulates their acidity, lowers water activity, which increases water binding energy in material and reduces probability of microorganisms’ development. To reduce sugar content in products, white cane sugar is replaced by other sugars, sugar substitutes, or “new generation” sweeteners, which differ in their chemical nature, sweetness degree and technological properties (including water-binding ability). To obtain a specific confectionery product with specified consumer properties, it is necessary to make a technologically justified choice of the most suitable raw materials and semi-finished products (you need to know the chemical composition, humidity and water activity amount). The purpose of the study is the generalization and systematization of the information available in the scientific and technical literature on the value of the water activity indicator of raw materials, semi-finished products and confectionery products; obtaining new experimental data on the value of the water activity index in a number of “new generation” sweeteners sold in the Russian market. By controlling the moisture content and Aw indicator value of the products, it is possible to forecast the intensity of various physicochemical, biochemical and microbiological processes during products storage, to create “Stability maps of confectionery products depending on water activity” and to produce products with the required shelf life.