Content of this lecture

y Introduction

MOISTURE AND TOTAL SOLID ANALYSIS y Moisture content in foods

y Importance of moisture analysis

Assoc. Prof. Pham Van Hung y Methods

Department of Food Technology { Oven drying methods

{ Other methods

Introduction What is moisture content?

y Moisture or water is by far the most common

component in foods ranging in content from 0 –
y Moisture content express the amount of water
95%.
present in a moist sample.
y Moisture
M i t assays can b
be one off the
th mostt iimportant
t t
analyses performed on a food product. y Moisture content can be expressed on wet basis or
dry basis.
y The two most common moisture considerations in
foods is that of total moisture content and water
activity.

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 What is water activity? Importance of Moisture Analysis

1- Moisture is a quality factor in the preservation of

y The ratio of the vapor pressures of pure water some products and affects stability in
and a solution. a. dehydrated vegetables and fruits
b. dried milks
p c. powdered eggs
p gg
aW = d. dehydrated potatoes
p0 e. spices and herbs
2- Moisture is used as a quality factor for
Where
a. jams and jellies, to prevent sugar crystallization
p = the vapor pressure of water in the food at T
b. sugar syrups
p0 = the vapor pressure of pure water at the same T
c. prepared cereals conventional,4-8%; puffed, 7-8%

Importance of Moisture Analysis Importance of Moisture Analysis

3- Reduced moisture is used for convenience in
packaging or shipping of 5- Computations of the nutritional value of
a. concentrated milks
foods require that you know the moisture
b. liquid cane sugar (67% solids) and liquid corn sweetener
(80% solids) content.
c. dehydrated products
d
d. concentrated fruit juices
4- Moisture (or solids) content is often specified in 6- Moisture data are used to express results
compositional standards (i.e., Standards of of other analytical determinations on a
Identity)
a. Cheddar cheese must be ≤ 39% moisture. uniform basis (i.e., dry weight basis).
b. Enriched flour must be ≤ 5% moisture.
c. Pineapple juice must have soluble solids of ≤10.5° Brix
(conditions specified).
d. Glucose syrup must have ≥ 70% total solids.
e. The percentage of add water in processed meats.

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 Forms of water in foods Moisture contents in foods

y Free water:
Food Item % of Moisture
White bread, enriched 13.4
{ This water retains its physical properties and thus acts as Corn flakes cereal 3.0
the dispersing agent for colloids and the solvent for salts. Milk, whole, fluid, 3.3% fat 88.0
Ice cream, vanilla 61.0
y Adsorbed water: Margarine, regular, hard, corn 16.7
Oil 0
{ This water is held tightly or is occluded in cell walls or
Oranges, raw 86.8
protoplasm and is held tightly to proteins. Apples, raw, with skin 83.9

y Water of hydration: Beef, ground, extra lean, raw 63.2

Egg, whole, raw, fresh 75.3
{ This water is bound chemically, for example, lactose Peanuts, all types, dry roasted with salt 1.6
monohydrate; also some salts such as Na2SO4 · 10H2O. Sugar, granulated 0
Sugar, brown 1.6
Cucumbers, with peel, raw 96.0

Total moisture Content assay Total moisture Content assay

y The total moisture content of foods is generally y Sometimes, moisture content also reported as “total
determined by some forms of drying method solid”
whereby all the moisture is removed by heat and
y Total solid is a measure of the amount of material
moisture is determined as the weight lost. remaining after all the water has been evaporated
{ measure the mass of a food before and after the water y Advantages
is removed by drying.
{ Cheap, easy to use, many samples can be analyzed
y Basic Principle simultaneously
{ Water has a lower boiling point than the other major
y Disadvantages
components within foods such as lipids, protein and
carbohydrate. { Destructive, time consuming

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Determination of Moisture: Methods Drying Methods

Testing sample Weight (Ws)

1. Drying Methods
{ Oven drying methods
Container Weight (W1)
2. Distillation method
{ Dean and Stark Method
Heating machine
3. Chemical Methods
{ Karl Fisher
Cooling
{ Gas production
4. Physical Methods
Container + dried sample Weight (W2)

How to calculate moisture content How to calculate moisture content

y Moisture Content on Wet Basis y Moisture Content on Dry Basis

y Moisture content on wet basis is the amount y Moisture content on dry basis (db) is the
of water per unit mass of moist- or wet- amount of water per unit mass of dry solids
sample. in the sample.

Where: Where:
%W wb: Moisture content on wet basis %W db: Moisture content on dry basis
mH20: mass of water (kg) mH20: mass of water (kg)
msample = total mass of moist - or wet - sample (kg) mts = total mass of the dry solids in the sample (kg)

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 Drying Methods Forced draft ovens

y Convection or forced draft ovens (AOAC) y Objective

- Very simple; Most common Determine the moisture content of cereal flour
y Vacuum Oven using a forced draft oven method.
- Sample is placed in oven under reduced pressure thereby reducing the
gp
boiling point of water. y Principle of Method
y Microwave Oven The sample is heated under specified conditions
- Uses microwave as a heat source; Very fast method and the loss of weight is used to calculate the
y Infrared Drying moisture content of the sample.
- Uses infrared lamp as a heat source; Very fast
y Equipment
y Rapid moisture analyzer
- cover a wide range of applications within the food industry
{ Forced draft oven
- offers quick and accurate results within minutes. { Analytical balance, 0.1 mg sensitivity

Forced draft ovens VACUUM OVEN

y Procedure y Objective
{ Determine the moisture content of sample by the vacuum oven
{ Weigh accurately dried pan with lid (Note identifier
method, with and without the addition of sand to the sample.
number on pan and lid.)
y Principle
{ Place 2–3 g of sample in the pan and weigh accurately.
{ Th sample
The l is
i heated
h t d underd conditions
diti off reduced
d d pressure to
t
{ Place in a forced draft oven at 130°C for 1 h. Be sure remove water and the loss of weight is used to calculate the
metal covers are ajar, to allow water loss. moisture content of the sample.

y Equipment
{ Remove from oven, realign covers to close, cool, and
store in desiccator until samples are weighed. { Vacuum oven (capable of pulling vacuum
to <100 mm of mercury)
{ Calculate percentage moisture (wt/wt) as described
below. { Analytical balance, 0.1 mg sensitivity

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 VACUUM OVEN MICROWAVE DRYING OVEN

y Objective
y Procedure
{ Determine the moisture content of sample (corn syrup and
{ Label weighing pans (i.e., etch identifier into milk) using a microwave drying oven.
tab of disposable aluminum pan) and weigh
y Principle
accurately.
{ The
h sample l is h
heatedd using microwave energy, andd the
h lloss
{ Place 5 g of sample in the weighing pan and of weight is used to calculate the moisture content of the
weigh accurately. sample.
{ Dry at 70°C and a vacuum for 24 h. y Equipment
{ Store in a desiccator until samples are cooled { Microwave drying oven
to ambient temperature. Weigh. (e.g., from CEM Corporation,
Matthew, NC).

MICROWAVE DRYING OVEN NEAR INFRARED ANALYZER

y Objective
y Procedure { Determine the moisture content of cereal flour using a
{ Follow instructions from manufacturer for use of the near infrared analyzer.
microwave drying oven, regarding the following:
y Principle
Ù Turning on instrument and warming up
{ Specific frequencies of infrared radiation are absorbed
Ù Loading method for specific application (i.e., sets time, by the functional groups characteristic of water. The
power, etc.) concentration of moisture in the sample is determined
Ù Tarring instrument by measuring the energy that is reflected or
Ù Testing sample transmitted by the sample, which is inversely
proportional to the energy absorbed.
Ù Obtaining results
y Equipment
{ Near infrared analyzer

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 NEAR INFRARED ANALYZER Rapid Moisture Analyzer

y Procedure { Using a digital balance, the

test sample is placed on an
{ Follow instructions from manufacturer for use of the near aluminum pan and the
infrared analyzer, regarding the following: constant temperature is
Ù Turning on instrument and warming up applied to the test sample.
Ù Calibrating instrument { Instrument automatically
Ù Testing sample weighs and calculates the %
of moisture or solids
Ù Obtaining results

Rapid Moisture Analyzer WATER ACTIVITY MACHINE

y Follow instruction manual from manufacture

{ Turning on instrument and warming up
{ Specifying settings
{ Tarring instrument
{ Placing the sample pan in the tester
{ Selecting test material
{ Testing sample
{ Obtaining results

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The end!