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Effect of Surface Active Agents on Water Activity of IM Food Solutions
Author(s) -
ALZAMORA S. M.,
CHIRIFE J.,
FONTÁN C. FERRO
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
journal of food science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1750-3841
pISSN - 0022-1147
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2621.1981.tb04540.x
Subject(s) - surface tension , moisture , water activity , food science , work (physics) , food processing , chemistry , environmental science , water content , thermodynamics , geology , organic chemistry , geotechnical engineering , physics
Some recent literature results indicate that the water activity (a w ) of intermediate moisture food model solutions increased as the surface tension decreased by addition of surfactants. Consequently, it was suggested that in the processing of intermediate moisture foods, ingredients which result in the reduction of surface tension should be avoided to attain low a w . The results obtained in this work do not confirm those reported by Chen and Karmas (1979); instead it is concluded that the effect of surface tension on the a w of food solutions is such that it needs not be considered, at least for the large majority of research or development applications in the food area.