eC tt) WaterActivity News Is the and Most Accurate? ecagon’s advertising slogan for its AquaLab water activity meters states that they are the fastest, most accurate, guaranteed. This slogan is based on Decagon’s claims that for most products, water activity tests can be done in less than five minutes, with an accuracy of +20.003a,, and a precision (repeatability) of 00a. using an AquaLab chilled mirror dewpoint instrument. It has been suggested that Decagon cannot achieve the results they claim; instead the less-than-five-minute test is accomplished by some type of predictor Redefining Potentially Hazardous Foods he term potentially hazardous food (PHF) was developed by the U.S. Public Health Service during the last half of the nwentieth century to regulate perishable food. In 1962, PHF was defined as a perishable food that supports the rapid and progressive growth of infectious or toxigenic microorganisms. Exemptions for foods with an ay = 0.85 or pH = 4.6 were added in 1976. Thus, foods were considered non-PHE when their ay = 0.85, which is below the water activity for Staphylococcus aureus growth and toxin production o the pHs 4.6, which is below the pH for proteolytic Clostridium botulinum growth and toxin production. Potentially hazardous food means a food that has no or inadequate hurdles to pathogenic bacterial growth and requires temperature control for safety (TCS) to limit pathogenic microorganism growth or toxin formation in the food. ie UY aquatas PRECISION AQUALAB SAFETY AquaLab Still the Fastest 2006 mode and that the reported accuracy actually refers to the precision of the instrument. What is the real story? This article clearly details the validity of Decagon’s claims AQUALAB Water Activity QUALITY Measurement Theory First, an understanding of how to determine water activity is needed to understand why the AquaLab is fast and accurate. Water activity is ‘See AquaLab, AquaLab Lite, & Pawkit in action at our 2006 Tradeshows! Is the Aquatab still the Fastest and Most Visit us at the following Accurate? Pg 1 tradeshows and conferences in 2006: Redefining Potentially IFT Annual Mi a os Hazardous Foods Pg 1 Food Expo Jone 24-228, 2006 Dear Anthony, Pg 4 Notional Environmental Health Association June Teaching Students les of Water How Decagon Tailors Training Seminars for Their Customers Pg 8 International Association of Food Protection Moisture Sorption Isotherms Pg 10 American Associati Cereal Chemists P V Water Activity Seminar Schedule Pg 11 Decagon Devices Sponsors AACC Symposium Pg 12 American Associat Pharmaceutical Scientists Newly Redesigned Eastern Analytical Pawkit Pg 12 Symposium N pals sities DECAGON DEVICES 'AquaLab— St continued from ever defined as the partial vapor pressure of water in equilibrium with a sample divided by the vapor pressure of pure water at the same temperature. It is often written as ay= p/p,. All water activity instruments operate under the same theory. A sample is placed in a closed chamber and the water in the sample is allowed to equilibrate with the water vapor in the headspace. The rate limiting steps of the process are the time it takes for vapor and temperature equilibrium to occur. Once equilibrium is obtained, some method is used to measure the humidity or vapor pressure in the headspace above the sample. Table | The differences between final ae and inital ay for 4 saturated sols solutions ond water when tested continuously for 90 minutes, Measuring Water Activity An electric hygrometer Saturated lution sensor to indirectly determine the relative humidity (vapor pressure) of the headspace. This i indirect measurement because humidity sensors require a calibration that relates ‘changes in electrical properties to relative humidicy values of known, standards. Decagon’s LITE and Pawkit, and all ‘competitor instruments, are electric hygrometers. Aqual.ab directly measures water activity by recording the dewpoint temperature of the air i the headspace and the temperature of the sample once vapor equilibrium has occurred. The dewpoint temperature is used to calculate the saturated vapor pressure at the dewpoint temperature. By definition, the saturated vapor pressure at the dewpoint temperature is equal to the vapor pressure at ambient temperature. ‘The sample temperature is used to calculate the saturated vapor pressure at the same temperature. Water activity is then determined an by dividing the sarurated vapor pressure at thes Moro spark dewpoint temperature by the saturated vapor pressure at che sample temperature, Water Activ [25°C] uses a relative humidity oll 0.4315 07529 Oaaa 1.0000 0.0005 abdse Fastest and Most Accurate? Why is the Aqualab Accurate I has been suggested thar since Aqual.ab uses these two temperatures to determine water activity and each can only be measured with an accuracy in the range of £0.10 to 0.15 °C, the best water activity accuracy that can be achieved is #0.015 based on reference to a psychometric chart. Itis critical to remember that AquaLab uses saturated vapor pressures to calculate water activity, not a psychometric chart. Since dividing saturated vapor pressures allows subtracting the sample temperature from the dewpoint temperature, the critical measurement is the difference between two temperature means— rather then measurement of the temperatures themselves. Aqual.ab ‘measures this temperature difference with an accuracy of 0.01 or better. Hence, Decagon is able to achieve the accuracy they claim because the AquaLab measures water activity by determining the difference between two Initiol aw (20 minutes) 0.0009 (0.0002 ‘0.0005 0.0006 ‘0.0002 eded 5 mines ond ine exceaded 90 minutes # temperature means. Why is the Aqualab Fast It also has been claimed that AquaLab cannot complete a water activity test in less than 5 minutes because the equilibration process takes a minimum of 20-30 minutes for all samples. In reality, vapor equilibration occurs very quickly as evidenced by theoretical modeling and by. observation using NMR techniques. So, it is thermal equilibration that requires the longest time, When using an electric hygrometer that does not use the sample temperature as part of the calculation, it is necessary for the sample to be in complete thermal equilibration with {or your groduct the humidity sensor to obtain accurate protection results, This process can take up to 20” minutes or longer. However, if the sample temperature is used as part of the calculation, itis not necessary for the sample to be in complete a We Working together. thermal equilibration with the sensor, only that it be close ao tha the sample isnot Table 2. Piciion and accuracy of wale otvty meosraents of &sotuoted undergoing drastic temperature changes on eens an eter ees cessrtons during the test. Consequently, since vapor | Solvated ——Woiey Activity Precision Accuracy equilibration happens very quickly and Selution [25°C AquaLab measures the sample temperature, | Cl 01180 (004 00004 tests can be completed in less than S minutes | “jc, aE aaa ae for most products. It is possible that some samples may require longer equilibration Nect 0.0009 times, such as those with coatings, high fat, | KC) 06434 0.0007 high viscosity, glassy texture, or multiple Wee Taboo Soma ‘components. Average 010005 How Fast is the AquaLab Now that the theory of AquaLab has been explained, it is time to test the theory. First, can equilibration be achieved in less chan 5 minutes? Four saturated salts and water were evaluated continuously in the AquaLab Series 3TE over a time period of 90 minutes. This was accomplished using the continuous mode setting on the Aqual.ab Series 3TE, which runs a test to completion, logs the data, then immediately begins the next test. The time per individual test never exceeded 5 minutes for any solution, The largest difference between the initial ay and the final ay for any solution was 0.0009, which is less than the reported precision of the instrument. Since there is essentially no change in water activity from the first <5 minute cest to the final test after 90 minutes, it can be concluded that for the solutions tested, and most sample types, vapor equilibration can be achieved in less than 5 minutes. Accurate and Precise ‘The difficulty in reporting an accuracy and precision value for a water activity instrument is that accuracy and precision will depend on the sample being analyzed. Standard procedure to determine the accuracy of water activity instrumentation is to compare its readings to literature values for saturated salts. Since the accuracy can vary with each solution, an average accuracy across the range of possible water activity values may be reported. Another difficulty lies in how to IDECAGON calculate accuracy. Precision is simply DEVICES calculated as the standard deviation across multiple observations. However, there is no standard calculation for determining accuracy. For this work, accuracy was determined as the square root of the sum of square differences between measured values and literature values across all observations divided by the degrees of freedom. Four saturated salts and water representing a range of water activities were evaluated for water activity across 19 replicated observations per solution in an AquaLab Series 3TE. Table 2 indicates that AquaLab’s accuracy and precision values were very good for all 5 solutions and were better than Decagon’s reported accuracy (+£0.03) and precision (#0.001) values. The average accuracy across all solutions was 0.0006 while the average precision was #0.0005. While the accuracy of other types of samples may not be as good as for these solutions since the samples themselves are not completely uniform, the results of this study indicate that the accuracy and precision of the AquaLab when reading saturated salt solutions and water are actually better than the values listed in the specifications and certainly berter than the #0.015 that has been suggested by others. Fastest, Most Accurate, Guaranteed Decagon Devices claims their Aqual.ab water activity instruments are the fastest, most accurate, guaranteed. The information presented here indicates that both in theory and in practice, they are. =DECAGON DEVICES Dear Anthony, What is the status of USP Method <1112> for pharmaceutical products? The Microbiology Committee at USP has approved USP Method <1112> Microbiological Ateributes of Nonsterile Are there other uses for water activity besides controlling microorganisms? Yes! Water activity also influences the rate of chemical reactions, physical properties such as texture, moisture migcation and shelf life. Similar to microbial control, the reaction rate of many chemical reactions, that impact stability are dependent on Pharmaceutical Products — water Application of Water activity. Activity Determination. “Thank you for sucha Water The method will be may published in the USP-NE speedy repair on our influence Second Supplement in August 2006. Pawkit meter. We chemical Control of the water activity in a reactivity pharmaceutical product can be used to appreciate everything by inhibie microbial growth, Reduced water ” acting activity will greatly assist in the you do for us.’ oat asa prevention of microbial contamination of —Frin Cillessen solvent, pharmaceutical products, and the RyeanRaRTee reactant, formulation, manufacturing, and testing or by ‘of nonsterile dosage forms should reflect changing, this parameter. When formulating drug products, the water activity should be evaluated so that the product may be self-preserving. To lower water activity of a food, one can remove water, add ingredients, or lower the temperature. Adding, ingredients such as salt, sugars, glycols, glycerin or amino acids will result in a formulation with a lower water activity that discourages the proliferation of microorganisms in the product. ‘The new method can be used to establish a microbial limits testing strategy for typical pharmaceutical and over-the-counter drug products based on water activity. Pharmaceutical drug products with water activities well below 0.75, ive. direct compression tablets, liquid-filled capsules, nonaqueous liquid products, ointments, and others would be excellent candidates for reduced microbial limit testing. This is especially true when pharmaceutical products are made from ingredients of good microbial quality, in manufacturing environments that do not foster microbial contamination, by processes that inherently reduce the microbial content, and in manufacturing sites that have an established testing history of low bioburden associated with their products. the mobility of the reactants by affecting the viscosity of the product. Water activity influences non-enzymatic browning, lipid oxidation, degradation of vitamins, enzymatic reactions, protein, denaturation, starch gelatinization, and starch retrogradation, Since water activity describes the thermodynamic energy status of the water within a system, there is a close relationship between water activity and the physical stabilicy and shelf life. Foods with high ay, havea texture that is described as moist, juicy, tender “Your company is the best, very efficient and courteous to work with.” —Carol Brown, Sensus America and chewy. When the water activity of these products is lowered, undesirable textural attributes— such as hard, dry, stale and tough—are used. Low ay foods normally have texture attributes described as crisp and crunchy, while ac higher aw the texturewww.aqualab.com changes to soggy. Also, water activity affects the flow, caking and clumping properties of powders and granulations. Differences in water activity levels between ‘components or a component and the environmental humidity are a driving force for moisture migration. Knowledge of whether water will absorb or desorb from a particular ‘component is essential to prevent degradation, especially if one of the substances is moisture sensitive. For example, if equal amounts of component A at 2% and component Bat 10% moisture content are to be blended together, will there be moisture exchange between the components? The final moisture content of the blended material would be 6%, but did any moisture exchange betwei component A and B? The answer depends on the water activities of the two components. If the water activities of the two components are the same, then no moisture will exchange between the two components. Likewise, two ingredients at the same moisture content may not be compatible when mixed cogether. If two materials of differing water activities but che same water content are mixed together, the water will adjust between the materials uncil an equilibrium water activity is obtained. Therefore, water activity provides more useful information for formulation design, manufacturing conditions, and packaging, requirements than water content. Finally, you can use water activity to obtain rapid moisture content data through the moisture sorption isotherm curve for your product. The relationship between water activity and moisture content at a given temperature is called the moisture sorption isotherm, After you have developed the isotherm curve for your product, you can use ay £0 obtain the moisture content information. Thus, you will have the complete water picture for your product in less than 5 minutes Why is Decagon’s Calibration Service important? Decagon knows how important accurate water activity analysis is to your company. Your AquaLab will measure water activity of your product accurately for years with verification of standards and occasional cleaning. For many customers the daily checking of water activity standards is enough to ensure the safety and quality of their product. But some companies need documentation to certify that AquaLab is working within specifications. With Decagon’s Calibration Service, you will receive compliance documentation for either HACCP, ISO 9000, 1SO Guide 25, Good Laboratory Practices, or Good Manufacturing Practices. « KD2 Pro Decagon manufactures easy-to-use instrumentation for the measurement of thermal properties: thermal conductivity, thermal resistivity, specific heat (heat capacity) and thermal diffusivity. Thermal propertie engineered mat maozucement of natural ond www.thermal.decagon.comcontinued from cover Redefining Potentially Hazardous Foods Growth of Infectious Pathogens ‘Why was the definition of potentially hazardous food aw Volues | aremer changed in she 2005 Food [<6 sage 56 256 oKed There were miasty 092 | Non 7 Non FHF /non-TS | Non PHF/non factors that went into the FDA = ee ee eee decision to update this > 092-095 | NenPAF/ron TCS | Now if /aow TES a definition, including the 5005 | NevPHi fron TCS mA 7 following reasons: the term “capid and progressive growth of infections and toxigenic microorganisms” in the old definition was not clearly defined. A 0.85a, level of safety against Staphylococcus |“ + PH moans “Potentially Hazardous Food? w+ TCS means “Time/ Temperature Contiol for Safety Food” r= PA means “Product Assessment Required Table A cen bo used to datermineif« food which & heat-treated and packaged is FHE Non PHF oF Roquites Produc! Assessrion! Food mus! moet cooking requirements of Food Code section 3 40111 [ne portal cooks) to eliminate vegeta!'ve pothogens forming pathogens ore tha only remaining biological hazards of cancer Food fo preven e:coatanination.Theveloe, highar pHi & ay can be seal ispadl aureus was conservatively low. | joloisied A pH of 4.6 may be inappropriate as Listeria monocytogenes grows at 4.39, Salmonella spp. at 4.2 and Yersinia enterocolitica at 4.2, 5 + | a Yas Volos although a pH 4.6 is I Lil appropriate when only spore < 42 42-46 | >46-50 > 50 forming pathogens are present. | <088 | NevFH*7rorTCS™ | NonPifZnonTCS | NesPHF/aan TCS | NovPHF/aonTS Theslow growth oflow | ose —o90 | MeoR Vent | NouRt/ertS | nears | __ > as Listeria monocytogenes was | > 090-092 | NenPHF/non TCS | Non-PHF/non-TCS | m not considered. Finally, 3092 Nom-PHF/non-TCS. A I A A sufficient research has been PH Pe Ty Hazardous Food? done on food products to, 4 TeS'neans“Tine/Tenporotuce Contol fo Salty Food" construct tables that predict sex PA means “Product Assessment Required” the growth of pathogenic the growth of patiogsaie bess dae ed hil etd et nt ao papel interaction of both pH and ay | pathogenic spores. food tha! wos hea!-reated but ‘kaged may become re-confominated. pH volves Gee SOALSGTSA Be ttland oe), | oval IDs Bal cle 42 bnene hl lococ aime Som Sew et hl Interaction of a. and pH The 2005 version of the Food Code updates the definitions of PHF by using a scientific based criteria that considers the interaction of a, and pH in determining if a food is designated as a non-PHF/ non-TCS food. Interaction Tables A & B consider the interaction of ay and pH under certain conditions of heat-treatment and packaging. The hurdle effect is used to control or ate pathogens that would otherwise be ineffective when used alone. The effect of a heat treatment which destroys vegetative cells and the effect of packaging which prevents re-contamination is considered. Simplifying Food Safety In the United States, most states have adopted the Food Code definition of potentially hazardous foods. Because of the complexity in the US food systems and the confusion over the old definition of potentially hazardous foods, this new science-based definition offers a more accurate and easily defined assessment for the safety of food products. This definition relies solely on pH and ay as the parameters for making decisions about the need for time/temperature control for safety. = www.aqualab.comTeaching Students Principles of Water Activity —the Humble Twinkie about foods they like- especially sweet, sugary foods like Twinkies. Twinkies can teach kids a lot about food science—specifically water activity. L you want to get a child's attention, start talking K-12 Food Science Awareness In an effort to promote K-12 education of food science, Decagon has begun teaching teachers the importance of water activity. Similar work is being done by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT). IFT is promoting food science awareness in an effort to increase the number of students choosing to get a degree in Food Science. 1 DA7200 vilizes NIR spectroscopy to determine the clivity of the water in the somple, Because food is integral to life, teachers have been using ‘Twinkies to demonstrate shelf life for years. One teacher wwe spoke with hangs a new Twinkie from the ceiling of her room at the beginning of each school year and they observe it all year long to see if it will grow mold. Now that she understands water activity, she knows why there is no mold or microbial growth during the school year. Interested in teaching students about water activity? Email to get a free water activity sample lesson or learn more about Decagon’s lab books suitable for educators grades 10 through collegiate, m New NIR approach to fast water activity measurement. =Rapid Analysis of Water Activity = Easy Sample Presentation =Non-Contact and Non-Destructive Analysis =Non-Moving Optics am... Call Now. DECAGON DEVICES 950 NE Nelson Court Pullman, Washington 99163, 800-755-2751 fox 509/332-5158 aquelabaidecagon.com ‘www.equaleb.comfood product Is only as safe as i wakes! link “We had no experience with water activity at all_” How Decagon Tailors Training Seminars for Their Customers tthe Maryland Environmental Safety Lab, they don’t measure water activity every day. They analyze a variety of samples for the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH), local health departments, and concerned citizens, using many different lab instruments. Doing food safety tests for the food control program in the Health Department is just one of their jobs. In fact, they might only use AquaL.ab once a week. But they need co be confident thac their water activity readings are accurate. On-site Installation and Seminar When they started measuring water activity, they didn’t know much about it. “It was a brand new test,” according to Kalpana Hegde, who does much of the analytical testing in the lab. “We had no experience with water activity at all.” Some people with extensive water activity experience might feel comfortable just pulling the instrument out of the box and getting started with measurements, DHMH opted instead for a more complete introduction through the on-site installation and seminar program. Peace of Mind ‘That means instead of an instrument in a box, DHMH got on-site setup and training, an in-house seminar tailored to their particular lab, @ year’s worth of sample cups and standards, an AquaTherm temperature equilibration tray, three year’s worth of verification and calibration—and peace of mind. “{t was helpful to get all the information at the same time we got the instrument,” said Kalpana. “They covered all the details about the meter—how to use verification standards, how to keep the meter clean, how to use temperature control. I use a new cup for each test, make sure each cup is clean externally and internally—I take so much care, I've never had a problem with keeping the meter clean. When T run my standards, it’s right on there.” Tailored to Your Needs ‘The seminar is tailored to the needs of the specific customer. According to Brady Carter, Decagon applications engineer, that can mean anything from a three hour discussion of water activity applications to a highly technical 8 hour short course. “Of course we cover the basics, but we fine-tune the progeam to address specific problems and issues,” he says. In the DHMH seminar, that meant focusing on understanding water activity as an indication of food safety and accurately measuring the water activity of a variety of samples. Process Standardization Kalpana uses the seminar information every time she tests a sample. “I use very homogeneous samples at room temperature. I run verification standards to check for linearity and use distilled water for a blank ar the beginning and end of the sample run. In between, I run one or two standards to make sure it’s running right. Tt gives accurate and precise data.” ‘ainy day, A little Theory DHMH food chemistry also found the theoretical aspects of the seminar helpful. As Delores Willis, program manager, notes, “We just do the testing. We don’t make the decision as to why the sample should be tested. We're kind of the middle person.” Like many Aqual.ab purchasers, the DHMH lab staff found both the AquaLab instrument and the concept of water activity new. Everyone needs it but why? According to Brady Carter, most people involved with food safety know they need to measure water activity—frequently they'll find it built into product specifications—but they don’t know exactly how or why. Daring the seminary, they'll realize all the“\'ve never had a roblem with eeping the meter clean.” applications for water activity—everything from predicting moisture migration to controll factors like clumping, caking, and texture, quality Product Discovery “People realize, ‘Oh! We could be doing thist’,” Carter says. “One cheese manufacturer discovered that he could be predicting the water activity of a finished product based on the water activities of the ingredients he was adding. He was thrilled co think that he could tweak the recipe to hit a certain water activity without ever mixing up a batch of product.” Understanding Safety Monitoring ‘The food lab at DHMH is not involved with quality ssues. “We use Aqual.ab to analyze food samples— both raw and finished products—to check for shelf life, I's routine safety monitoring,” explains Delores. Most of their samples come from the food contro inspectors in the Health Department. They are asked to analyze everything from home-canned jams and iellies sold at a local farmer's market to hams smoked and sold by a fire station as a fund r: But Kalpana still found it helpful to understand the concepts of wa It makes a big difference to understand what you're actually looking for,” she confidence in the testing. ays. “It gives me Learn More The seminar option is also available to customers who already own the instrament. If you interested in finding out more about an in-house seminar, contact Decagon’s application engineers at 1-509-332-2756. Re SCE Try Pee Carter ta) is dedicated to the instruments Re eR nL buy them. Occasionally, we hear Pe CCuC rece RC Pee reac cae) CCR URC Ma eee ear arena Cree nO trc M Urata jation, we found out that this user SCR er neat of Cee Ue en aCe tated Dee eu ec Cy the instrument. They felt it was delicate Cee aL ue ee nt) the block in working order. To this problem CORON Ca Cua Cec Peau Re ee ROO LOR CCE a SRC Ce eu time in cleaning. A misnomer exists that Be ee a ae De Ru a acca c e Pee eee ened es PO Ce ng Dera Mart eC a Cee reeee CRC Sci) was not reading correctly, took too long to read, or was unstable. We tell all of our Cece ncn eo ered CaO eee acme CMT ae une hc ie eR eM eae ee Sr URC R CO Reon ol MLC Ces Selene Caen eter Src Cee coe oe Pee a teen ken a years of accurate and reliable service if you Co ei aa eet reece el Stace ear) Ret oscar Ces Ste Cree Rec Re CR and attention that you provide your other eure10 he relationship between water activity and moisture content at a given temperature is called the moisture sorption isotherm. This relationship is complex and unique for each product due to different interactions (colligative, capillary, and surface effects) between the water and the solid components at different moisture contents. ‘An increase in a,, is almost always accompanied by an increase in the water content, but in a nonlinear fashion. Moisture sorption isotherms are sigmoidal in shape for most foods, although foods that contain large amounts of sugar or small soluble molecules have a J-type isotherm curve shape. There is a difference (called hysteresis) in the adsorption (wetting) and desorption (drying) isotherm curves. Automatic Isotherm Generator Decagon is pleased to announce the development of an automatic moisture isotherm generator. It will be available for a much lower price than currently available isotherm instruments. The user will place their sample into the isotherm chamber, set test parameters, and then walk away. In one to three days, a complete isotherm curve (both adsorption and desorption) will be generated. It will be possible to choose from several isotherm equations to characterize the isotherm graph. The isotherm coefficients will be displayed on the screen and transferable co an additional application software package. This instrument will facilitate sorption isotherm development for any company that would like co better understand the water in their product. ys. dry to a moisture content. The moisture content associated with a safe water activity on the drying, curve will not be associated with the same water activity on the wetting curve due to hysteresis. If the production technician controlling drying of a product over-dries beyond the specified moisture content and decides to re-wet the product back to the moisture content specification, the results could be disastrous. The product’s response to moisture is no longer following the drying curve, but has switched to the wetting curve. The moisture content specification may correspond to a safe water activity on the drying curve, but on the wetting curve, the moisture content may be related to a very unsafe water activity level. Predicting Moisture Content from Water Activity An additional function of the isotherm is moisture content prediction. Although water activity is a much better predictor of safety and quality than moisture content, there are times when it is necessary to know both water activity and moisture content. Moisture content measurements can be inaccurate, time-consuming, and require a precision balance. Thankfully, the sorption isotherm can be used to predict moisture content based on water activity, usually with better accuracy than actually running a moisture content analysis and in much less time. Thus, you will have the complete water picture for your product in less than 5 minutes. Moisture Sorption Isotherm Drying and Wetting Curves Moisture sorption isotherms provide valuable information to a company. For anyone who dries or wets their product, the sorption isotherm serves asa drying and wetting curve. It shows the water activity of a product when wetted and dried to a specific moisture content. For anyone who still relies on a moisture content specification instead of a water Moisture Content (%) GAB |etzotherm activity specification, the sorption Gena Dota isotherm will clearly illustrate the potential problems thar can occur when you wet to a moisture content O 0.1 0.2 03 04 05 06 0.7 08 09 Water Activity (aw) 1.0font be shor SIS Isotherms Aid in Product Development Isotherms are very 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. For those producing multi-component products, itis possible using the isotherms of the two components to determine what the final water activity will be of the mixture without actually making the product. For dried products, the isotherm will predict the moisture content of the product when it is dried to a shelf stable water activity level. Shelf-Life Prediction Finally, sorption isotherms are valuable for shelf life prediction, A product’ isotherm can be used to determine package requirements depending on the products sensitivity co moisture gain or loss. Products with a crystalline type isotherm will be less susceptible to caking than products with an amorphous type isotherm. However, the water activity of a crystalline material will increase very quickly until che saturation point is reached—as evidenced by the isotherm. Temperature can also impact shelf life; sorprion isotherms conducted at different temperatures help determine the impact of temperature abuse on moisture content and water activity. Affordable Isotherms Isotherms are very valuable to anyone concerned with product quality and safety. Wich the release of Decagon’s affordable isotherm generator, it will be possible for many more companies to begin developing isotherms for their products. For more information about isotherms and isotherm generation, contact any of Decagon’s Application Engineers. = DECAGON DEVICES Water Activit Seminar Schedule for 2006 Dates and Venues Princeton, NJ October 10 (Food Seminar} October 11 (Pharmaceutical Seminar) Chicago, IL, ‘October 12 (Food Seminar) What are the water activity seminars all about? Decagon’s one-day short course on the fundamentals of water activity will help you understand how the water in your product relates to quality, shelf-life, and safety. You will learn practical uses and applications of water activity in product formulation, processing, and storage. The concepts will be illustrated with examples from the food and pharmaceutical industry. Register Now $179 for one person. $159 for two or more attendees. www.decagon.com/seminar12 www.aqualab.¢ From the sident’s Desk I recently read in Food Processing Magazine that the #1 concem of food processors is Food safety. Decagon ean help you with this concern. Our fast, accurate water activity meters give you information that you can use to assure food safety and improve product quality. We hope this newsletter illustrates how measuring water activity can benefit you! You can contact me personally by e-mailing tamsin@decagon.com to offer your comments about this newsletter or any of our produits Sincerely onal — ‘Tamsin Campbell President Newly Redesigned Pawkit = turing the past year, Decagon completed a redesign of the Pawkit portable water activity ‘meter. Easier-to-use than ever, the new Pawkit features a robust ease design and user friendly sample insertion while maintaining Decagon’s speed, accuracy, and reliability in water activity measurement. This, lightweight, space-saving device is ideal for any on-the-go health inspector, QC professional, or food scientist who needs to quickly measure water activity and make decisions in the field. Contact us today to find out about trading in an existing Pawhit for credit towards the new Pawkit. Decagon Devices Sponsors AACC Symposium Activity: Analysis his symposium will introduce the concept of moisture management and the role of water activity as a moisture management strategy. It will cover a description of water activity, why itis important for sweet and salty cercal foods, and how it differs from moisture content. The impact of water activity on product shelf life will also be discussed, specifically its use in predictive models. In addition, the importance of considering water activity during product development will be discussed, Finally, water activity measurement techniques will be discussed with a special emphasis on the new concept of measuring water activity using near infrared (NIR} spectroscopy. Symposium Highlights Strategies for Moisture Management Shelly Schmidt, PhD. What is Water Activity? Anthony Fontana, PhD. Shelf Life Prediction using Predictive Models Cindy Stewart, Ph.D. Water Activity in Product Development Yang Kou, PhD. Water Activity Measurement Brady Carter Water Activity by NIR Wes Shadow DECAGON DEVICES Decagon Devices, Inc. 950 NE Nelson Court Pullman, WA 99163 USA 1-800-755-2751 509-332-2756 Fax: 509-332-5158 aqualab@decagon.com www.decagon.com