The water activity value decreases and inhibits the effective growth of microorganisms, so effectively controlling the water activity (water activity) of food can improve the shelf life.
So what are the effective ways to reduce the water activity value?
Control the water activity of the product below 0.85 or lower: adjust the formula, dry, adjust the shape of the product and adjust the production process by salt impregnation.
Drying is the most commonly used method, which the ancients learned early, using sunlight and air to take away water to store food and articles; now industrial food drying introduces more methods:
:: Hot air drying – solid foods such as vegetables, fruits and meat products
:: Spray drying – liquid foods: milk, etc
:: Vacuum drying – reducing air pressure to allow moisture to volatilize quickly, fluid if juice, etc
::(vacuum) freeze-drying – Food is a recently rapidly developing drying technique that is slow to respond at low temperatures and can greatly guarantee flavor, nutrition and quality
Whether the final product meets your requirements, through the water activity meter to digitize the results, more intuitive representation of shelf life data.
