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Water activity impacts food chemistry and can end up being manipulated simply by removal (dehydrating or drying) or by way of chemically binding the water, thus decreasing its activity.

 

Humectants as Food Artificial additives Humectants are additives that join normal water and manage water activity. Nevertheless the focus here is on humectants in foods, humectants also have applications in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and veterinary industrial sectors. The reduction of water activity in foodstuffs through the addition of humectants elevates stability, retains texture and decreases microbial activity.

 

Humectant use in foods is wide-spread and has a long history. Salt and sugar are the oldest, most widely used humectants. Several other frequently used humectants include sorbitol, glycerol and propylene glycol. Humectants are easily available from domestic vendors.

 

As food additives, humectants have to fulfill several criteria for acceptance: safety, lack of adverse aromas and flavours, nutritional value, economy and ease of use. A primary benefit is the reduction of microbial activity in foodstuff, achieved through reduction of aw to less than 0.90. Microbial activity may also be minimized by drying foodstuff, therefore lowering the moisture content and aw, but the addition of humectants decreases aw, while preserving moisture.

 

Food Treatment Blending, moist infusion, and also dry infusion methods are ordinarily used to treat foods with humectants. Blending consists of combining the product with a humectant solution and requires that this food product be blended or homogenized. With moist infusion, the food product is saturated in the humectant solution. Dry infusion involves first drying or dehydrating the goods and then soaking it in the humectant solution.

 

Intermediate Moisture Foods Intermediate moisture foods (IMFs) are sufficiently moist to eat “as is” and have aw low enough in order to prevent bacterial growth. Typical water contents range from 10-40%, with water activities ranging from 0.6-0.9. Jams, cheeses and dried fruits tend to be typical IMFs. IMFs manufactured with humectants for human consumption have become a target of rapidly growing interest, but advancement has been slow due to problems related to consistency, texture and flavour changes triggered by humectants. Public perception of potential toxicological attributes of food additives has also restricted widespread advancement of IMFs for human consumption. Current applications have concentrated on developing IMFs for use in space programs and also the military. The inclusion of humectants to raw meat products can greatly reduce the water activity into ranges that allow for storage without the need for refrigeration.