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Water Activity

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Food Physics

Abstract

The shelf life of food is strongly dependent on water activity. Water activity is linked to moisture content by use of a sorption isotherm, which graphically describes the relationship between moisture content of a food and its water activity. Isotherms are unique to any one food material and are therefore a fundamental physical property of food materials. In this chapter, the creation of such isotherms and the mathematical modeling of them is demonstrated using examples. With the help of the sorption isotherm, the hygroscopicity of materials can be quantitatively specified. Finally, application examples are listed, which can be used for further studies and as suggestions for your own investigations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Food Engineering, Hochschule Osnabrück, University of Applied Sciences, Osnabrück, Germany

    Ludger O. Figura

  2. University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Arthur A. Teixeira

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  1. Ludger O. Figura
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Figura, L.O., Teixeira, A.A. (2023). Water Activity. In: Food Physics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27398-8_1

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