Common Humectants used in food products to depress water activity

Water activity impacts food chemistry and may end up being manipulated simply by removing (dehydrating or drying) or as a result of chemically binding the water, thus decreasing its activity.

 

Humectants as Food Artificial additives Humectants are additives that bind water and manage water activity. While the main focus here is regarding humectants in foods, humectants have also got applications within the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and veterinary industrial sectors. The lowering of water activity in foodstuffs via the inclusion of humectants enhances stability, preserves texture and also decreases microbial activity.

 

Humectant use in foods is extensive and has a lengthy history. Salt and sugar are the oldest, most favored humectants. Other sorts of commonly used humectants include sorbitol, glycerol and propylene glycol. Humectants are acquireable from domestic vendors.

 

As food additives, humectants need to meet numerous criteria for approval: safety, lack of adverse odours and flavours, nutritional value, economy as well as convenience. A key benefit is the reduction of microbial activity in food items, attained through reduction of aw to less than 0.90. Microbial activity can be reduced by dehydrating food items, thus decreasing the moisture content and aw, however the addition of humectants reduces aw, whilst preserving moisture.

 

Food Treatment method Blending, moist infusion, and also dry infusion techniques are commonly utilized to treat food items with humectants. Blending involves mixing the product with a humectant solution and requires that this food product be blended or homogenized. With moist infusion, the food product is immersed in the humectant solution. Dry infusion involves first drying out or dehydrating the goods and then placing it in the humectant solution.

 

Intermediate Moisture Foods Intermediate moisture foods (IMFs) are sufficiently moist to try to eat “as is” and have aw low enough in order to avoid bacterial growth. Typical water contents vary from 10-40%, with water activities which range from 0.6-0.9. Jams, cheeses and also dried fruits are typical IMFs. IMFs produced with humectants for human consumption have developed into a target of rapidly growing interest, but development has been slow due to problems related to uniformity, texture and flavour adjustments triggered by humectants. Consumer perception associated with possible toxicological qualities of food additives has also limited widespread advancement of IMFs for human consumption. Current applications have concentrated on developing IMFs for use in space programs and the military. The inclusion of humectants to raw meat products can reduce the water activity into ranges that allow for storing without the need for refrigeration.