Water Activity in Foods. Fundamentals and Applications
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Author(s): G. V. Barbosa-Cánovas
Publisher: Blackwell Publishing
ISBN: 9780813824086
Format: hardback
435pp
Price: £115.00
Review Date: 10 December 2007
Review: Here the editors introduce the basic principles and applications of the properties and stability of food as related to water. In particular they look at two key values: water activity, aw, and glass transition temperature. The authors illustrate the mechanisms by which water activity influences the quality, shelf life and safety of food products. Other approaches to studying water relations in food are also discussed, including the polymer science approach and nuclear magnetic resonance. There are chapters on: water activity and glass transition; water mobility in foods; water activity prediction and moisture sorption isotherms; moisture effects on food chemistry; diffusion and sorption kinetics in water in foods; effects of aw on microbial stability; principles of intermediate-moisture foods; desorption phenomena in the food dehydration process; applications of water management in the food industry; and the future of water activity in food processing and preservation.