SHELFLIFE OF FOOD SENSITIVE TO

MOISTURE

Margarida Vieira
 Moisture levels of dried and moisture sensitive foods

Dried foods fall readily into categories based upon moisture content and these tend
to define the packaging requirements of each group.

Group 1. Instant beverages such as tea and coffee, freeze-dried and vacuum dried
foods contain very low levels of moisture in the range 1-3%. Although potato crisps,
chocolates and some sugar confectionery such as boiled sweets contain very low
levels of moisture in this range, for convenience their packaging requirements are
described in the snackfoods (Group 2) and sugar confectionery (Group 4) categories
respectively.

Group 2. Most dehydrated vegetables, herbs and spices, meat, some fish, milk, eggs,
breakfast cereals, soup powders, some biscuits, snackfoods (e.g. most nuts) contain
moisture in the 2-8% range. Tea and roast and ground coffee are also in this range.
mportance of Moisture Content in Foods
Proper moisture content is essential for maintaining fresh, healthy foods. If a food is
too moist or too dry, it may not be suitable to eat and will not taste as good as it would
if it had the correct moisture content. Most of the food products contain moisture.
The moisture content per cent is seldom of interest. Rather, it shows whether a
product intended for trade and production has standard characteristics such as:
1. Storability
2. Agglomeration in the case of powders
3. Microbiological stability
4. Flow properties, viscosity
5. Dry substance content
6. Concentration or purity
7. Commercial grade (compliance with quality agreements)
8. Nutritional value of the product
9. Legal conformity (statutory regulations governing food)
In addition to above characteristics, the determination of moisture content plays
important role commercially with respect to following aspects:
1. Freshness
Fresh, ripe fruits and vegetables are moist to the touch. As they age and begin to
rot, some dry out and some pick up excess moisture and begin to mold.
2. Labeling
Food industries require a minimum or maximum percentage of moisture on
certain foods in order for them to be packaged and labeled. If they don't fit to
these standards, the foods cannot be sold.
3. Cost
In processed foods, the percentage of water in a product can determine its final
price. Generally, a product with more water will cost less.
4. Processing
Biologists and manufacturers need to know the moisture content of food to
ensure that it's processed and packaged in a safe, stable way.
5. Quality
Moisture content determines the way most foods taste, feel and look. It is one of
the important ways to measure food quality.
Group 2. Most dehydrated vegetables, herbs and spices, meat, some fish, milk,
eggs, breakfast cereals, soup pasta, some biscuits, snackfoods (e.g. most nuts)
contain humidity in the range of 2-8%. Tea, roasted and ground coffee are also in
this range.

Group 3. Dried fruits, cereals, cereals, legumes, oilseeds, flours, some nuts and
some roasted products have a moisture content in the range of 6 to 30%.

Group 4. Jams, some sugary confectionery and high humidity nuts generally have
humidity levels between 25 and 40%. Some dried and fermented meats (e.g.
salame) and cod or other dehydrated and salted fish also fall into this range. The
specifications for dry foods invariably indicate the residual moisture content
present. The humidity level itself is only of limited use for the packaging
technologist. The most important data for them include relative equilibrium
humidity (ERH) or water activity (aw) and the isothermal water sorption curve.
The relative equilibrium humidity (ERH) of a food product defined as the
relative humidity of the air that surrounds the food for which it does not
gain or lose its natural humidity i.e. is in balance with the environment

pW
aw  ~ % ERH
pW , 0
Vapor Phase above Water

Water will evaporate until the

moisture content reaches a
temperature dependent
equilibrium.
Or in an open container,
eventually all of the water will
evaporate

A solution will lose moisture to the

atmosphere
The partial pressure of water above
the solution is reduced by the
presence of solute
Vapor pressure depends on
concentration of solute as well as
temperature
If wheat and oats having 16 % moisture content are kept in the environment of 86°C
and 75% relative humidity, wheat will absorb moisture and oat will lose. This is
because of the different vapor pressures of the moisture in wheat and oat. At above
air temperature and humidity the vapor pressure of wheat is 0.444 psi and oat is
0.477 psi where as vapor pressure of moisture in air at 86°C and 75% relative
humidity is 0.461 psi. Therefore, wheat will gain moisture from air as vapor pressure
of air is more than wheat. At the same time oat will lose moisture as its vapor
pressure is higher than air. There is always tendency of movement of moisture from
higher vapor pressure to lower vapor pressure, Hall (1980).
. The Figure 2 shows the movement of moisture from and to food.
 Vapor Depends on Solution Composition

Non-ideal properties of solutions mean some have a greater affinity

for water than others.
The vapor pressure will always be less than above pure water but
not necessarily the same over all solutions Different saturated
solutions will have different partial pressures of water
What is the 'Equilibrium Moisture Content'?
As mentioned before, rice grains absorb moisture from the air surrounding them. The grain will
continue to absorb moisture until it reaches an equilibrium or a balance with its environment. That
final grain moisture content is called the equilibrium moisture content or EMC.

In (non-hermetic) storage, the final moisture content of rice will depend on the temperature and relative humidity of
the air around the grain.

The following table shows the EMC that paddy will get under
The yellow colored area indicates the right different storage conditions.
grain moisture content of 13-14% in
relation with humidity and temperature
Moisture content of paddy at different
storage temperatures and Relative
Humidity

With the help of this table we can work

out if paddy with a certain moisture
content is safe for (non hermetic) storage
with a certain temperature and relative
humidity.
Temp. Termómetro Seco TTS
Temp. Termómetro Húmido TTH
Humidade relativa HR
Ponto de Orvalho PO
% de Humidade
RH of 75% means that 75% of the maximum
amount of water vapour possible at that
temperature is present
 Moisture Sorption Isotherms

• Highly product specific (physical and chemical structure)

• Highly temperature dependent
• Show sorption/desorption hysteresis
• Affect both physical/chemical reactivity of the food and the
dynamics of water transport
• The knowledge and understanding of moisture sorption isotherms are
highly important in food science and technology
- For the design and optimization of drying equipment
- To design packaging
- to predict shelf-life
- Calculating moisture changes that may occur during storage (Andrade et
al. 2011)
- Determination of critical moisture and water activity for acceptability of
products that deteriorate mainly by moisture gain (Togrul and Arslan
2007).
 WATER VAPOR SORPTION ISOTHERMS
The term sorption is generally used to describe the initial penetration and the dispersal of the
permeant molecules into food matrices (Chirife and Iglesias 1978) and, more generally, into all
kinds of polymers (Naylor 1989; Tsujita 1992).

This term includes adsorption, absorption into microvoids, and cluster formation.

When a food matrix is placed in a humid atmosphere, the relationship between the ambient water
activity (aw) and the water concentration (Q w) in the material at a given temperature is described

by an equilibrium sorption isotherm (Qw = f(aw)).

Water concentration (Qw) can be defined as the ratio of the mass of sorbed water at equilibrium

(Mw) to the mass of dry matter (Md):

𝑴𝒘
𝑸𝒘 =
𝑴𝒅
 Moisture content (d.w.b.)

aw
 Moisture Sorption Isotherm

Moisture content (d.w.b.)

aw
 Temperature Dependency

Moisture content (d.w.b.)

cold

hot

aw
The measurement of water sorption isotherms requires bringing the
material to an equilibrium state corresponding to a point on the sorption
curve and measuring its moisture content when aw is fixed or, conversely,

measuring an aw when moisture content is controlled (Bell and Labuza

2000). In both cases, the method involves changing the total amount of
water in the product being studied by imposing a moisture transfer
between the air surrounding the product and the product itself.
Once equilibrium is reached, the aw or the moisture content can be measured using
manometric, hygrometric, or gravimetric methods.
Manometric methods measure the vapor pressure of water (pw) in equilibrium with
the food material by using sensitive manometers.

Hygrometric methods measure the equilibrium relative humidity (RH) of air in

contact with the food material by using dew point or electric hygrometers.
Gravimetric methods involve the registration of sample weight changes.
Sal equação

Sal g
Lithium Chloride 11% RH Magnesium Chloride 33% RH Potassium Carbonate 45% RH

Sodium Nitrite 65% RH Amonium Sulphate 81% RH

when negligible changes in the samples’ weight were observed

samples were weighed (We )and EMC or Me was evaluated as Mi

water activity (aw)

The most common technique,
recommended by the European COST action
90 on physical properties of foodstuffs, uses
thermostated jars filled with saturated salt
solutions to set the air RH. The evolution of
weight of the sample with time is recorded
until the equilibrium is reached (Lomauro et
al. 1985a, b).
A wide range of equations (theoretical, semi-empirical, empirical) have been
suggested; however, no one equation provides precise results over the entire
range of water activity (WANG et al., 2013).
Some of the best known equations are:

• Brunauer-Emmet-Tetter (BET) equation which has been successfully

applied to almost all kinds of materials, but especially to hydrophilic
polymers for aw< 0.5

• Guggenheim-Anderson-Boer (GAB) equation which is evaluated as the

most useful sorption model present in the literature, capable of application
to circumstances over a wide range of water activities (0.1< aw< 0.9) (KOÇ
et al., 2010).
• kinetic models based on an absorbed mono-layer of water (BET model)
• kinetic models based on a multi-layer and condensed film (GAB model)
• semi-empirical (e.g. Halsey model)
• purely empirical models (e.g. Oswin and Smith models).

The moisture sorption isotherms are unique for every material and must be evaluated
experimentally (Muzaffar and Kumar 2016).
Two different plastic films were used and their thickness was measured. Then small pouches were
made and their dimensions measured,

15cm

10cm

Then the pouches were filled with sílica gel and stored in desiccators. The samples were weighed every day until
stabilisation of its weight.

This assay was performed in triplicate for each plastic material, at room temperature (23°C) and at 100% relative
humidity.

20 g of silica-gel

PE PA/EVOH/PE
 Weight change of sachets with time
WVTR = 22.6
f(x) = 0.0391520618556699 x + 22.2181742268041
22.4

22.2 f(x) = 0.0274350515463918 x + 22.0693618556701

Weight in grams
t = time (day) 22 f(x) = 0.0282077319587632 x + 21.8462783505155

21.8
Q = weight change, slope of the linear
21.6
regression of weight change versus time
21.4
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
A= area of the plastic pouch (m2).
Days

The WVP was calculated after obtaining WVTR

WVP =
 Zone aw Water state in food
1: water strongly 0.00 - 0.35 Adsorption of a monolayer of water
bonded

2: water weakly 0.35 – 0.60 Adsorption of aditional layers on top of the

bonded monolayer

3: free water 0.60 – 1.00 Water condenses in the capillaries/pores

followed by dissolution of the soluble solids .
Type I - Isotherm Langmuir
Obtained by monomolecular adsorption of gas by porous solids with
a finite volume of void.
Typical of anti-binder agents.
It holds large amount of water with low water activity.
Water is absorbed via chemosorotion at specific sites.
Once filled all the sites, there is a small increase in humidity with
great increase in water activity due to:
All pores are filled; It does not swell;
No solute present that can dissolve;
Type II - Sigmoid Isotherm

Obtained in soluble products and shows the asynatotic tendency

as water activity increases.
The format is caused by the effect of additives
Raoult's Law
Effect of capillarity
Water surface interaction
Two inflection regions due to changes in the magnitude of
chemical and physical effects
aw from 0.2 - 0.4
Accumulation of multi-layered water
Filling of small pores
aw from 0.6 - 0.7
Dilation
Filling of large pores
Dissolution of solutes
Type III - Isotherm a format "J"
It represents the isotherm of crystalline material such as sugars
and salts.
Flory-Huggins isotherm – adsorption of a solvent above the
glass transition temperature.
Moisture gain is very low to the point where crystals begin to
dissolve in water absorbed on the crystal surface (deliquescence
point)

Type IV
Describes adsorption by a hydrophilic solid that swells to
maximum hydration of its sites.
The two isotherms most commonly found in food products are
Type II and Type IV

Type V - BET Multi-Layer Adsorption Isotherm

Observed by adsorption of water vapor in coal
Related to type II and III
 Breakfast
cereals, Most bacteria, some yeasts,
Snack Foods, pathogenic
Food Powders and spoilage organisms

Most cocci, lactobacilli, some molds

and lactic acid bacteria mainly

Most yeast, mycotoxin-producing molds,

spoilage often by molds and yest

Staphilococcus aureus
may grow
Most Halophilic
No growth Osmophilic bacteria Most molds.
yeast
Xerophilic No growth of
molds pathogenic bacteria

0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0

• BET EQUATION USUALLY FITS POORLY THE WATER SORPTION BY
BIOPOLYMER MATRICES AT HIGH WATER ACTIVITIES (AW>0.4).
• FOR THIS REASON, THE SO CALLED GUGGENHEIM-ANDERSON-DE BOER
(GAB) ISOTHERM EQUATION WAS INTRODUCED AND IS OFTEN APPLIED TO
FIT AND ANALYSE ATTER VAPOR SORPTION BY BIOPOLYMER MATRICES.
• GAB EQUATION IS OBTAINED BY THE BET EQUATION
1. Permeation Methods

Steady State

Time lag Methods

𝑫 𝒆𝒇𝒇 𝑪 𝟏
( )
𝟐
𝑳
𝑾𝒕= 𝒕−
𝑳 𝟔 𝑫 𝒆𝒇𝒇
2. Water Sorption or Desorption (Drying) Kinetics

lWD M 2 dM
dt  
PA M 1  po  pi M 
Moisture Sorption Isotherm

Zone 2
Moisture content (d.w.b.)

Zone 1

Zone 3

aw
 Zones in Isotherms

• Zone 3: Bulk water

• Zone 2: Loosely bound water
• Zone 1: Tightly bound water
When to use a moisture sorption isotherm
Product developers can use a moisture sorption
isotherm in a wide variety of cases but focus is on

1.To determine storage conditions for your product.

2.To determine how different components from your
product might interact
Dynamics of Moisture Exchange
• Both solutions will exchange water with the atmosphere
• The whole system will finally come to equilibrium
• The equilibrium concentration of both solutions will be such that they
are in equilibrium with the atmosphere.
• The moisture content need not be the same. The partial pressure will
be.
The typical water activity of some foodstuffs
Type of product Water Activity (aw)
Fresh meat and fish .99
Bread .95
Aged cheddar .85
Jams and jellies .8
Plum pudding .8
Dried fruit .6
Cookies .3
Milk powder .2
Instant coffee .2
SORPTION AND DESORPTION

Moisture content (d.w.b.)

desorption

sorption

aw
REACTION RATES AND WATER ACTIVITY

Moisture content (d.w.b.)

log (RATE)
on
a ti

s
on
id
ox

c ti
rea
id
Li p

st
Mo
N ISOTHERM
O
SORPTI Microbial growth

aw
RATE OF OXIDATION OF POTATO CHIPS

100

Relative rate constant

10

Monolayer moisture
0.1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
aw
 THE GAB MODEL m0Ckaw
Moisture content

0.15 M
(1  kaw )(1  kaw  Ckaw )
0.1
(dwb)

0.05 mo monolayer value

K multilayer parameter
0 C temperature dependency parameter
0 0.5 1
aw
TEXTURE CHANGES

Moisture content (d.w.b.)

Crispy/crunchy

Soft

0.2-0.5
 Powder Changes

Free flowing
Moisture content (d.w.b.)

Agglomerated

~0.4
 Moisture Sorption Isotherm

Moisture content (d.w.b.)

aw
 Moisture Sorption Isotherm

Moisture content (d.w.b.)

aw
Water sorption models are mathematical equations (linking Qw and aw or Qw and Pw )
used for the prediction of the sorption properties of materials and for analyzing sorption
mechanisms and possible interactions between the substrate and water. In some cases,
the parameters involved in these equations have physical meaning and can provide
useful information on the possible interactions between the product and water (e.g., the
dimensionless solvent-polymer interaction parameter v in the Flory–Huggins theory) or
on the physical state of the substrate (e.g., amorphous, crystalline, etc.).
 Formulating For Water Activity Control

Isotherms can be valuable for formulation and product development.

By comparing the isotherms of different formulations, it is possible to determine if a
product can be adjusted to allow higher moisture content at a given water activity or
a lower water activity at a given moisture content. The result can be a moister
product that is still shelf stable.
Two ingredients at the same moisture content may not be compatible when mixed together.
If two materials of differing water activities but the same moisture content are mixed together, the
water will adjust between the materials until an equilibrium water activity is obtained.
Thus, for a multi-component product, to prevent moisture migration, one should match the water
activity of the two components.

A great example of this type of product is a snack cake with a crème filling, cake,
and icing covering. The crème filling, cake, and icing have very different moisture
contents, and hence very different textures, but the same water activity. This
provides a product with variety but is still stable because the water activities are
in the safe range. In addition, the icing coating serves as a moisture barrier to
the more moisture sensitive cake interior.
Using the isotherms of the
components, the final water activity of
a mixture of ingredients can be
determined without actually making
the product.
This works best by transforming the
isotherm to a chi plot (chi being –ln[-
ln(aw)]) as shown in Fig. 12. The
isotherm can then generally be fit by
one or more straight lines. Figure 12
has some of the data from Fig. 11 for
the snack cake ingredients. The x axis
now is the chi variable. The y axis is the
wet basis moisture content.
The y-axis is the wet basis moisture content. The conversion from dry basis to wet basis is:

(1)

Where w is the mass of water divided by total product (water + dry mass), and m is the mass of water divided
by the dry mass.
The conversion to wet basis moisture content easys the calculations.
The wet basis moisture content of the mixture is:

(2)

Where i is the mass fractions of component i (the wet mass of the component divided by the total mass of

the mixture) and wi, is the the wet basis moisture content of the componente.
Within the range of water activity for which the chi plot is a straight line the isotherm is described by:
(3)
Where  and  are the slope and intercept of the chi plot.
As long as water is not gained or lost by the mixture, equation 2 gives the average moisture content at the time of
mixing and also after equilibration has occurred among components.
At equilibrium, the water activity, and therefore the chi value of all componentes is equal, so eqs 2 and 3 can be
combined to find that chi value:

(4)

Where the average moisture content is computed from the initial values and eq. 2.
Once the chi value is known, eq. 3 can be used to find the final moisture contents of the individual constituents.

To illustrate how these values can be used, assume we want to know the water activity of a mixture of 60% cake, 20%
crème filling, and 20% chocolate icing. The starting moisture contents and their corresponding water activities are
shown in the table. Using eq. 2 we compute that the average moisture content for the mix is 12.8%.
 Using eq. 4 the final chi value to be 0.93, giving a final water activity of

(5)

Using eq. 4 and the  and  values for the components, we can now compute the final moisture
contents, as shown in the last column of the table. It may appear counterintuitive that the
moisture contente of both the creme and the cake increased, in spite of the fact the icing was
initially at a much lower moisture contente that the creme and cake. This should underline the
concept that it is water activity not moisture content that equilibrates between compnents.
 Humectants

• e.g.: sucrose, propylene glycol, glycerol

• Be careful of:
– Solubility, MW
– Flavor
– Crystallization on storage
– Chemical reactivity
– Toxicity
THE EXPRESSION FOR THE STEADY
Permeability STATE PERMEATION
of polymeric OF A GAS OR VAPOR
material
THROUGH A THERMOPLASTIC MATERIAL CAN BE WRITTEN AS (ROBERTSON, 1993):

𝒅𝒘 𝑷
= . 𝑨.(𝒑 𝟏 − 𝒑 𝟐)
𝒅𝒕PERMEABILITY
P/X - PERMEANCE (THE 𝑿 CONSTANT P DIVIDED BY THE THICKNESS OF
THE FILM X)
A - SURFACE AREA OF THE PACKAGE,
P1 AND P2 - PARTIAL PRESSURES OF WATER VAPOR OUTSIDE (PO) AND INSIDE (PI)
THE PACKAGE
W/T IS THE RATE OF GAS OR VAPOR TRANSPORT ACROSS THE FILM  Q/T IN THE
INTEGRATED FORM OF THE EXPRESSION.
external conditions do not remain constant during storage, distribution, and retailing
of a packaged food. therefore, p/x will not be constant.
however, using gives a
‘‘worst-case’’ analysis
tropical markets - WVTR determined at 37°c/90% RH
temperate climates markets - WVTR determined at 25°c/75% RH
WVTR can be converted to permeances by dividing by p.
a further assumption is that the moisture gradient inside the package is negligible,
i.e., the package should be the major resistance to water vapor transport.
this is the case whenever p/x is less than about 10 g m−2 day−1 (cm.Hg)−1, which is
the case for most films but not paperboard under high humidity conditions.
THE CRITICAL POINT ABOUT THIS EQUATION

𝑑𝑤 𝑃
= . 𝐴 .(𝑝 1 − 𝑝 2)
𝑑𝑡 𝐿
is that the internal water vapor pressure is not constant but varies with the moisture content of the food at
any time. Thus the rate of gain or loss of moisture is not constant but falls as ·p gets smaller. Therefore some
function of P2, the internal vapor pressure, as a function of the moisture content, must be inserted into the
equation to be able to make proper predictions.
IF P2 =cte, a constant rate is assumed, the product will be overprotected.
In low and intermediate moisture foods, the internal vapor pressure is determined solely by the water
sorption isotherm of the food. Several functions can be applied to describe a sorption isotherm, although
the preferred one Is the G.A.B. (from GUGGENHEIM-ANDERSON-DE BOER) model (VAN DEN BERG AND
BRUIN, 1981). If a linear model is used, the result is directly integrable, but if the G.A.B. model is used, it
must be numerically evaluated using computational techniques.
In the simplest case, the isotherm is treated as a linear function:
In the simplest case (linear case)
𝒎=𝒃. 𝒂𝒘 +𝒄
m = moisture content in g H2O per g solids,
aw = water activity, b = slope of curve, and c = constant.
The moisture content can be substituted for water gain using the relationship:
𝑾 (𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅)
𝒎=
Dried cookies 𝑾 𝒔 (𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒓𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 )

𝑾 =𝒎. 𝑾𝒔
𝒑𝒐( 𝒎𝒆 −𝒎)
∆ 𝒑=𝒑 𝟏 − 𝒑 𝟐=
𝒃

𝒅𝒘 𝒅𝒎 .𝑾𝒔 𝑷 𝒑𝒐 (𝒎𝒆 −𝒎𝒊)

= = .𝑨.
Awi 𝒅𝒕 𝒅𝑻 𝑳 𝒃
vapor pressure inside food
p2out = ps .RH

p1in = ps .aw

𝑝 2 𝑜𝑢𝑡 =( 𝑚𝑒 − 𝑐 )
𝑝0
𝑏 ( )
−5321.66
ln 𝑝 0 ¿ +21.03 𝑚𝑚𝐻𝑔
𝑇 (𝐾 )

vapor pressure in balance, that gets without food protection

 𝒅𝒘 𝒅𝒎 .𝑾𝒔 𝑷 𝒑𝒐(𝒎𝒆 −𝒎𝒊)
= = . 𝑨.
𝒅𝒕 𝒅𝒕 𝑿 𝒃

rearranging
𝒎𝒄 𝒕
𝒅𝒎 𝑷 𝑨 𝒑𝒐
∫ =∫ . .
(𝒎𝒆 −𝒎𝒊) 𝟎 𝑿 𝑾𝒔 𝒃
𝒅𝒕
𝒎𝒊

𝒎𝒆 − 𝒎𝒊 𝑷 𝑨 𝒑𝒐
𝒍𝒏 = . . .𝒕
𝒎𝒆 − 𝒎 𝑳 𝑾𝒔 𝒃
me = equilibrium moisture content of the food if exposed to external package RH
mi = initial moisture content of the food
m = moisture content of the food at time t
po = water vapor pressure of pure water at the storage temperature (not the actual vapor pressure outside
the package).
• the end of product shelf life is reached when m = mc, the critical moisture
content, at which time t = s, the shelf life. thus the previous equation can
be rewritten as

𝒎𝒆 − 𝒎𝒊 𝑷 𝑨 𝒑 𝒐
𝒍𝒏 = . . .𝜽𝒔
𝒎𝒆 − 𝒎𝒄 𝑿 𝑾𝒔 𝒃

Note: p0 is the vapor pressure of pure water at the storage temperature, not the actual
vapor pressure outside the package

𝒎𝒆 −𝒎𝒊
𝒍𝒏
𝒎𝒆 −𝒎𝒄
𝜽 𝒔=
𝑷 𝑨 𝒑𝒐
. .
𝑿 𝑾𝒔 𝒃
 We need to know

Storage conditions
Temperature And the moisture-sorption isothermal
Humidity To determine the b (slope of the initial part
Atmospheric pressure linear curve of this curve)

The properties of food And

The initial aw
Initial humidity Identify critical humidity, humidity
from food to storage conditions
Packaging properties
WVTR packaging material
Mass Transference Area
Material thickness
 A package containing 10 g of milk powder has initially at a water activity of
0.1.
The slope of the isotherm from Figure is 0.0259 g/g.
The package has a surface area of 10 cm2.
Ambient and package temperature are 25°C, ambient humidity is 0.6, and
atmospheric pressure is 100 kPa.
The package permeability is 0.01 g m-2 s-1. Saturation vapor pressure at 25 C
is around 3 kPa.
Putting these values into the eq. below gives a time constant of 8.67 x 105 s,
or around 10 days. Using this value in eq. 10, with the specified ambient
humidity values shows that the sample will be at a water activity of 0.42 after
10 days, 0.53 after 20 days, and 0.58 after 30 days when exposed to 60%
ambient humidity at 25°C. If we take 0.43 as the critical water activity, the
time to reach this value, as computed using eq. 12, is 10.8 days. From the
previous calculation we
𝒎𝒆 − 𝒎𝒊 𝑷 𝑨 𝒑𝒐 𝑷 𝑨 𝒑𝒐 𝟎 . 𝟎𝟏 𝟑
𝒍𝒏 = . . . 𝜽𝒔 . . =𝟎 . 𝟎𝟏 × ×
𝒎𝒆 − 𝒎𝒄 𝑳 𝑾𝒔 𝒃 𝑿 𝑾𝒔 𝒃 𝟏𝟎 𝟎 . 𝟎𝟐𝟓𝟗

=
A product’s isotherm can also be used to determine package requirements
depending on the products sensitivity to moisture and the type of
conditions it may be exposed to (Bell and Labuza, 2000). If we assume the
product and the environment are at the same temperature, and that the
permeability of the package is low enough so that changes in water activity
are uniform over the entire product inside the package, then the water
activity of the product can be predicted from:
 Application of aw in shelf time calculation

The establishment of the sorption isothermal of a packaged food can assist in

estimating life for a given storage condition. The Heiss and Eichner model can be
used to estimate the potential storage time based on a critical aw for a given
system under given storage conditions.
It is based on the assumption that water sorption vapor is the determining
factor, as well as the presence of decaying bacteria, oxygen and light, in limiting
the shelf life. Moisture is presumed to diffuse through the packaging material of
the surrounding atmosphere into the material
Mo and Mc should fall into a portion
of the Isothermal that is linear or a
second derivative can be applied and
the maximum identified
 25

20

15

%H2O
10

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1

aw

A balance moisture curve is obtained when the balancing humidity of the product (y-axis) is represented as a
function of HR (x-axis). If HR is divided by 100, aw is obtained, and a moisture sorption isothermal (moisture
content versus water activity) is produced. It can be seen that breakfast cereals with a moisture content of 3.18%
have an aw of about 0.2 and, however, would allow the growth of molds to an aw of 0.755. If the packaging of this
cereal is left open in a place with a humidity of 25% during the winter, the texture will remain crispy because the HR
is usually less than 25%. The taste can change; insects can invade the packaging but will continue with a crispy
texture.
m is the percentage of water on the dry base, X, is the water content
corresponding to the occupation of all primary adsorption sites by the
molecule of a water (X, also called the humidity 'monolayer'); C and K are
constants of the isothermal of GAB which is temperature dependent and
related to the energies of interaction between the first and more molecules in
the individual sorption sites;
and the values of the GAB constants (X, C and K) were also calculated.
 More Packaging Calculations

A product’s isotherm can also be used to determine package requirements depending on the
products sensitivity to moisture and the type of conditions it may be exposed to (Bell and Labuza,
2000). If we assume the product and the environment are at the same temperature, and that the
permeability of the package is low enough so that changes in water activity are uniform over the
entire product inside the package, then the water activity of the product can be predicted from:

For illustration, assume we have a package containing 10 g of milk powder, initially at a water
activity of 0.1. The slope of the isotherm from Figure 13 is 0.0259 g/g. The package has a surface
area of 10 cm2. Ambient and package temperature are 25°C, ambient humidity is 0.6, and
atmospheric pressure is 100 kPa. The package permeability is 0.01 g m-2 s-1. Saturation vapor
pressure at 25 C is around 3 kPa (Table A3, (Campbell and Norman, 1998)). Putting these values into
eq. 11 gives a time constant of 8.67 x 105 s, or around 10 days. Using this value in eq. 10, with the
specified ambient humidity values shows that the sample will be at a water activity of 0.42 after 10
days, 0.53 after 20 days, and 0.58 after 30 days when exposed to 60% ambient humidity at 25°C