
Water Activity and Food
- 1st Edition - November 13, 2012
- Latest edition
- Author: John Troller
- Language: English
Water Activity and Food explores the role of water activity in the water relations of microorganisms and in food processing, packaging, and storage. It reviews the literature and… Read more

Water Activity and Food explores the role of water activity in the water relations of microorganisms and in food processing, packaging, and storage. It reviews the literature and provides numerous examples demonstrating the use of water activity to predict the reactions of microorganisms or the stability of food components. It also highlights cases where water activity is not a reliable predictor of events and considers some interesting interactions with other environmental parameters.  Comprised of 11 chapters, this volume begins with an overview of water in foods and solutions, water activity values for foods, and water relations of enzyme activity. It then discusses lipid oxidation, enzyme reactions and non-enzymatic browning, and several other food-related factors. The reader is also introduced to water relations of microbial growth; the effects of water on microbial survival; the spoilage and preservation of foods at various levels of water activity; the water relations of food-borne pathogens such as Salmonella and toxigenic molds; the importance of water activity in non-microbiological aspects of food processing and storage; and the influence of atmospheric relative humidity on sanitation and the protection of food products.  This book is an important source of information for researchers in food microbiology and microbial water relations.
ForewordPreface1 Water Activity—Basic Concepts     Water in Foods     Properties of Solutions     Water Binding     Water Sorption Isotherms     Temperature Effects     Hysteresis     Frozen Foods     Nonequilibrium Conditions     Applications     Water Activity Values for Foods     References2 Methods     Desired Characteristics     Water Activity Methods     Relative Humidity Methods     Total Moisture Methods     Calibration     Control of aw     References3 Enzyme Reactions and Nonenzymatic Browning     Effect of Water Activity on Enzymatic Reactions     Effect of Water Activity on Nonenzymatic Browning Reactions     References4 Lipid Oxidation, Changes in Texture, Color, and Nutritional Quality     Effect of aw on Lipid Oxidation     Effect of aw on Food Texture     Effect of aw on Food Pigments     Effect of aw on Nutrients     References5 Microbial Growth     Bacteria     Fungi     Interactions with Water Activity     Sporulation, Germination, and Outgrowth     Solute Effects     Hysteresis Effects     Physiological Basis of Tolerance of Reduced Water Activity     References6 Food Preservation and Spoilage     Cereals and Legumes     Fish     Meat     Milk Products     Vegetables     Fruit     Confectionery     References7 Microbial Survival     Survivor Curves     Survival at Freezing Temperatures     Survival at Moderate Temperatures     Survival at Elevated Temperatures     Sublethal Impairment     References8 Food-Borne Pathogens     Staphylococcus aureus     Toxigenic Molds     Salmonella     Clostridium perfringens     Clostridium botulinum     Vibrio parahaemolyticus     Bacillus cereus     Parasites     References9 Control of aw and Moisture     Dehydration     Concentration by Water Removal     Intermediate Moisture Foods     References10 Packaging, Storage, and Transport     Bulk Storage of Commodities     Transport     Refrigerated Storage of Bulk Products     Packaged Foods     Measurement of Water Vapor Permeability     Permeability of Packaging Materials     Unrefrigerated Packaged Foods     Refrigerated Packaged Foods     References11 Food Plant Sanitation     Process Equipment Cleaning     Food Storage Sanitation     Effect of Relative Humidity on Insects and Insect Control     Effect of Relative Humidity on Fumigants and Antimicrobial Agents     Effect of Relative Humidity and aw on Bacterial Survival on Surfaces     Effect of Relative Humidity on Airborne Microorganisms     ReferencesAppendix AAppendix BIndex
- Edition: 1
- Latest edition
- Published: November 13, 2012
- Language: English
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