JOURNAL OF FOOD COMPOSITION AND ANALYSIS 6, 364-369 (1993) Water Activity in Selected High-Moisture Foods J. FERNANDEZ-SALGUERO,' R. GOMEZ, AND M. A, CARMONA Departamento de Tecnologia de fos Alimentos, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Cordoba, irda Medina Azahara s/n, E-1400S Cérdoba, Spain Received December 2, 1992, and in revised form July 29. 1993, The water activity, moisture, sodium chloride content, and pH of samples of 73 different selected types of Spanish high-moisture foods including meat, fish and dairy products, fruits. vegetables, and sugar products were determined. The average measured water activities of the foods ranged from 0.91 | for plum marmalade to 0.997 for infant foods. potatoes. and radish. ie. all exceeded 0.910, the lower limit for foods considered high moisture. Both the pH values and the average moisture and salt contents of the samples varied over wide ranges. viz. 2.72-6.44, 14.1-95.9, and 0.36-6.58%., respectively. The water activity of most of the foods assayed can be accurately calculated from their NaCI molality by using the equation a, = 1.0048-0.0386 1 199% Academic Pres, tv INTRODUCTION Of the various water-related criteria used to study food stability, which include the moisture content, solute concentration, osmotic pressure. equilibrium-relative hu- midity, and water activity, there is a consensus that the last is the most useful for expressing water requirements for microorganism growth (Scott, 1957), enzyme activity (Acker, 1962), and other chemical alterations. The term “water activity.” a, denotes the ratio between the partial pressure of water vapor of the food and that of pure water at the same temperature, Since food stability usually decreases with increasing aq, a number of different procedures (e.g., desiccation, addition of salt) have long been used to preserve foods. When the water activity is greater than 0.950, bacteria make up the predominant flora in most types of food. Below an a,, of 0.950, yeasts and molds are the cause of most biological alterations of foods (Hocking, 1988). The effect of the water activity factor on the stability of foods depends on the solute composition of the food. For example, according to van den Berg (1986), growth of a Pseudomonas species is inhibited at a water activity of 0.970, 0.964, and 0.945 when the medium is adjusted with sodium chloride, sucrose, and glycerol as wetting agent, respectively. Asa result, the difficulties encountered in preserving food—particularly high-mois- ture foods—when only the water activity factor is taken into account, have led to the development of the “hurdle technology” (Leistner, 1987), which relies on two or more factors or “hurdles” in order to ensure that a given product remains stable. Thus, many processed products of high-moisture contents including shelf-stable products (Leistner, 1987) are made stable in commercially available forms by combining several hurdles. This methodology considers water activity to be one of several factors affecting microorganism growth and its significance to some commercially available products To whom correspondence and reprint requests should be addressed. 0889-1575/93 $5.00 364 Copynght 1993 by Academic Pres, Ie Allright of reeoduction in 289 form reservedWATER ACTIVITY IN HIGH-MOISTURE FOODS, 365 not to exceed those of other potential hurdles such as pH. redox potential, or food composition. The purpose of this work was to supplement currently available information on the water activity and pH of selected Spanish foods of low (Fernandez-Salguero and Gomez, 1992) and intermediate moisture (Gémez, 1990). The water activity and chemical composition of a wide variety of Spanish cheeses was also previously studied by the authors (Marcos ef a/., 1983, 1985). Since NaCl is the main water activity depressor in many processed foods of high moisture, analytically obtained @,. values are also compared with calculated values based on the molality of salt. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Most of the foods assayed are rather commonplace in EEC countries, so they require no description. The others, viz. raw sausages (Catalonian pork sausage), canned pork meat (pork loaf and wild pork loaf), canned condensed bull tail soup. and canned olives of the Spanish varieties “Hojiblanca” and “Sevillanas” are typical of Mediter- ranean countries. The samples studied were obtained in 1991 and 1992 at supermarkets and specialist shops in various Spanish cities and belonged to several classes of high- moisture Spanish foods including meat products. fish products, dairy products, fruits, vegetables and related products, and sugar products. All were purchased in their selling packages or, whenever possible, in cut portions of ca. 500 g. The water activity of the foods was determined at 20°C by using a CX-1 dew-point hygrometer from Decagon Devices (Pullman, U.S.A.) and calibrated with saturated solutions (Greenspan, 1977). Their moisture was measured according to the British Standard Institution (1963) and AOAC methods 24.003 and 16.205 (1980): for most samples, this involved desiccation to weight constancy in a hot air oven at 100°C for ca. 18h. Sodium chloride was quantified by the Volhard method 24.010, 18,035, and 16.209 (AOAC, 1980) and pH values were measured with a Beckman 3500 digital pH meter, either directly or in the aqueous extract (1:1, w/v). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Intermediate-moisture foods are partly desiccated foods that are consumed as such— with no rehydration—and require no refrigeration during their shelf lives. On the other hand, the EEC directive 77/99 for meat products (Commonantes Europeennes, 1976) identifies conservable products as those which, among others, have water activ- ities below 0.910. Taking into account the above two definitions and the dissimilar a., ranges reported in the literature for classification of intermediate-moisture foods as a function of their water activities (Labuza er a/., 1972; Karel, 1973; Leistner and Rédel, 1975, Multon, 1981), in this work foods with a, > 0.910 are considered to be high-moisture foods. On the basis of the above criterion, Table | lists the average dy and pH, as well as the moisture and salt contents (in g/100 g sample or product) for different numbers of samples of each of the 73 types of Spanish high-moisture foods. Whenever two or more samples of a given type of food were assayed, the standard deviation of each parameter is also given. As can be seen, samples are grouped into five categories: meat. fish and dairy products, fruits, vegetables and related products, and sugar products. Cooked meat samples listed in Table 1 were analyzed in previous work: all other samples were assayed in this work.366 FERNANDEZ-SALGUERO, GOMEZ, AND CARMONA TABLE | WaTeR ACTIVITY, MOISTURE, pH. AND NaCl CONTENTS (%) OF SELECTED SpaNtsit HiGH-MOISTURE Foops Type ote Ro amps : Noise wi Wat Meat products Bacon 2 0968 $092 09 + 0002 615 008 (Caonian pork sausage 3 bese Eon os7 Sonor So 2006, Condensed bull it'soup TOL 9990 se Condes Gough soup 10978 981 5h Chopped pk 6 0969 +0005 607 +012 ‘Cooked hn 8 9% Eo005 32 S03 Bok a fortage 3 ass Foo ot tone Gale 6 os foo foo Pose Nonaials & boo E0007 800 $045 Pook fst 8 O8er Foote eas F018 Tru tulle whey {asm Sa i pork oar 1 bere om Foie res 2 OSM +0005 82? +002 Infant foods 3 oar Sooo) Sh 200 Pit se fine herbs 2 b9Re F008 633 F013, Plaga Campagne i ast eat Pite au Roguefow tbe 30 bio ay sauce t ogot Sos ‘Rio tomato souce 1 bee 39 Stunge $ O98 son 98T + 000s S87 022 Fish proters Cane fs Mackerel 5 oes = 0.05 598 +002 Manmated mussels 2 9st 2000 am Foor Toa 5 ome On0s 0s F017 Siro 5 ons 20.06 bo zo heal emce i 07s sa Comish eas 3 05% soo 574 < 009 Moun ‘archon 1 0.96 sa iene i in Strkcl smon 3 0975 s 0010 SB soo +059 seid cee i O98 oe ‘Anchovies 1 0.362 10 406 Pompane 1 Oto, $13 os Saimon ' SO Sos os Trout 1 O98 0s 42 snaked ston ple 2 Dowd soon 0971 soo ek 04 $2 soos 345 F008 ona pte 1 asst O80 Be 535 o Mk prods Evaporated ik oes m3 62 Saits'eaner 2-98 toa; 097 soo Tl son SHY e018 oss e0nr Skim mak 2 Deve Ebon sto 00 ote ole foaued tutes 33m 15S ia rane. vesetaies and raed proc Apples 3 098 soon ss +03 ‘Stans 2 9% Foo BS T96 The average a, values obtained ranged between 0.911 for plum marmalade and 0.997 for infant foods, potatoes, and radish. The moisture content of the samples varied from 14.1% for salted butter to 95.9% for tomatoes. This wide range was also found with the salt content: many of the products contained no NaCl; others (c.g., some seasoned fish products and Dijon mustard) contained as much as 4% NaCl. The pH values varied between 2.72 for lemon and 6.44 for Paté a la Campagne. All 20 meat products assayed had average a values greater than 0.961, which, together with their relatively high pH values, required them to be made stable by (1) sterilization (canning), (2) the combined effects of pasteurization with subsequent refrigeration and addition of preservatives, or (3) ripening and the addition of preser- vatives. Some foods (¢.g., ravioli, infant foods, and patés) had water activity values exceeding 0.980-0.990, which was reported for fresh meat by Leistner and Ré- del (1975).WATER ACTIVITY IN HIGH-MOISTURE FOODS 367 TABLE (Continued Type a fod Wore a Caos S14 $85 £035 Condensed onion 099 5 20 Condensed Yepetable Soup bom 098i ase 200 Dijon musa O98 098 ue sm genta 8985 + 0001 203 $52 son Fle oon oe Fred tomato sauce 0980 4000 0963 +0000 © «8S 408 $22 s008 150 S001 Grapes 0979 0001 feo 212 Son Som Ketchup sauce 958 sao in ia Temont 8989. + 0001 M2 so. 22 to07 ihe Vegatble margarine oon sea ie 256 Mavonnase osa7 002 S soars i :29 Sar sous 133 coe Nelo 9a sos 584 “Anchovy stuffed G97 20004 0998 + 0001 402 422 2017 049 s010 Mostlanss 094s oe 33 $8 “Seva” O96 969 330 538 oranges 995 + ooo to4 38 2019 Peaches 5990, 380 Powe: 099) = e001 11 612 S007 Radish 99 640 Sweet andsour asorment O96 seo: 0990 = 0002 227 $35 s0x7 2 orn Tomaies 996 3 Boor 207 4p 38 Uasalted margarine D936 0986 305 ost Wegetble margarine o9st 0350 ia O36 Watrmeioe os3t tos S00 ‘White aparags 992 ® She ome ‘White Sedch bead 0539, O98 eo 10 Sugar prods Peaches in prop 1 9986 a8 Prcapple marmalade 1 09 ie Plum marmalade 1 os at Seawoery marmalade 2513 = 000 toe 348 +002 * dns Water activity values as calculated from a, = 1.0048 ~ 0.0386m, where wis the NaCl molality ° Data for cooked meat products from Fernandez alguero and Llinares (1985). The fish products require virtually the same comments as the meat products. With the exception of anchovy mousse, which had the lowest water activity, smoked products had the smallest a,, values and also the highest salt contents (above 4.0%) among fish products. A number of salted butter samples have been classed as intermediate-moisture foods (Gémez and Ferndndez-Salguero, 1992a); however, the samples included as “salted butter” in Table 1, with an average a,, of 0.949, contained only 0.55% NaCl on average; the a, is close to the water activity of semisalted butter. Among dairy products, cheeses, rennet pudding, and yoghurt make a major group of high-moisture foods. However, some cured cheeses after a long period of ripening may have a, values below 0.910 and be classed as intermediate-moisture foods (Gémez and Fernandez-Salguero, 1992a); such is the case with oil-stored cheese and some blue vein cheeses (Fernandez- Salguero et al., 1986) The a,, pH, and moisture and salt contents of the fruits, vegetables, and related products varied with the differences in chemical composition of the foods concerned. The pH of the fruits was lower than 5.00 except for figs. melon, and watermelon, whereas that of the vegetables was always greater than 5.50—tomatoes excluded. The stability of these harvested products relies on their peculiar structural features and chemical composition, as well as on proper storage. The a, values of the fruits and vegetables were similar to those reported by Chirife and Ferro Fontan (1982) in a literature review on water activity in fresh foods. Figs had the lowest water activity among fruits and vegetables (4,, = 0.971), followed by grapes and bananas. Since these foods have high moisture contents, their a, values are determined by the nature and368 FERNANDEZ-SALGUERO, GOMEZ, AND CARMONA concentration of their naturally occurring dissolved chemical substances (e.g., sugars, organic acids, inorganic salts, and other soluble compounds). The pH of related products varied from 3.25 for the sweet-and-sour assortment to 6.32 for Hojiblancas olives. Most of these products are treated thermally processed in cans, Margarines may contain animal and vegetable oils. However, for this study, only light vegetable margarine, unsalted margarine, and vegetable margarine were included; they contain only vegetable oils and fats. The salt content of these three products was quite similar; however, the high moisture content of the light vegetable margarine (56.9%) resulted in a much higher ay. Like salted products, sugar products typically feature intermediate a, values (Gomez, 1990); however, some marmalades (see Table 1) had water activities slightly above the lower limit for high-moisture foods (a. = 0.910). The peaches-in-syrup sample, with a moisture content of 87.4%, also had a high water activity. The stability of these products is assured by the combined effects of water activity and pH. In addition to experimental a, values, Table 1 contains water activity values (dem) for foods with added salt. These values were computed from the NaCl molality by using the equation given in the table footnote. The equation was derived from data reported by Robinson and Stokes (1959) and had previously been applied successfully to high-moisture dairy products (Marcos ¢ a/., 1981) and cooked meat products (Fer- nandez-Salguero and Llinares, 1985). As can be seen in Table 1, the calculated ay values for the meat products (4ycm) were very similar to their experimental counterparts (a4). indicating that salt is the main depressor of their water activity. On the other hand, the calculated dw values for some of the fish products are more deviant (up to 0.02 dy units) from the experimental values. The special composition of salted butter among dairy products gave rise to exper- imental a, values that were rather different from their calculated counterparts, The water activity of cured cheeses is also difficult to predict accurately from the NaCl molality because their proteolysis produces a number of substances of low molecular weight that further depress a. The calculated water activity of most processed fruit and vegetable products with added salt was similar (lower by 0.015 units) to the experimental values. The difference exceeded 0.02 units for only five products, probably as a result of the presence of salt and organic acids and other soluble salts that are further depressors of water activity. The water activity of salted butter and salted and vegetable margarine can be cal- culated by using the following equation, which resulted in a high correlation between 4, and the NaC! molality in the aqueous phase of 10 samples of butter and margarine previously studied by Gomez and Fernandez Salguero (1992b): ay. = 0.954 — 0.036, application of which yielded 0.930, 0.938, and 0.94 |, respectively, for the above three types of product. all of which are closer to the experimental values than those obtained by using the equation given in the footnote to Table 1. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, ‘The authors express their gratitude to the Plan Andalu= de Investigacién for their financial support of Group 2084 of Sciemific Research and Technological Development and of CICyT through Project PETRI 044.90,WATER ACTIVITY IN HIGH-MOISTURE FOODS 369 REFERENCES ACKER, L. (1962). Enzymic reactions in foods of low moisture content. Adv. Fond Res. 11, 263-330. AOAC (1980). Official Methods of Analysis (W. Horwitz, Ed.), 13th ed. Washington. DC. Barris STANDARD INSTITUTION (1963). Methods for the Chemical Analsis of Cheeve, BS 770, pp. 855~ 908 CiiRiFe, J., AND FERRO FONTAN, C. (1982), Water activity of fresh foods. J. Fed Sci, 47, 661-663. CoMMONANTES EUROPEENNES (1976), Doc. R/604/74, Meat Products 73/99, AGRI 209, FERNANDEZ-SALGUERO, J.. AND LLINARES, M.(1985), Water activity (A,) in cooked Spanish meat products asa function of moisture and salt contents. Fleischwirstchaft 65(4), 877-479. FERNANDEZ-SALGUERO. J., ALCALA, M., MARCOS, A.. AND ESTEBAN, M. A. 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