NT21303

HYSICAL PROPERTIES OF FOO

Wednesday, BKU, 10:30 am
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lee Jau Shya
Deputy Dean (R&I)
General Office
FSMP Building

My Rules
1. Be puncture Lecture & lab.
2. Attendance is compulsory. Type-written letter
must be submitted ASAP upon absence.
3. Each & every assessment is compulsory,
failure to fulfill will fail this course.
4. Proper attire to lecture & lab.
5. Right attitude addressing & greeting.
6. Check Smart2UMS the night before lecture for
latest announcement, if any.

Teaching & Learning

At Tertiary Education

Infrastr
uc-ture

Independe
nt
learning
(students)

INTRODUCTION

Physical properties of foods

Properties that lend themselves to
description and quantification by physical
rather than chemical means.
Important in:
1.product handling,
2.processing, and
3.consumer acceptance.

Product Handling

engineering
parameter of shape,
size, volume, density
& surface area.
storage of grains &
seeds
in
silos,
mechanical harvesting,
transportation
(withstand static &
dynamic loading), etc.

Physical Attributes
Physical attributes of food are
related with the appearance of food
products, including:
Color
Shape
Size
Texture
Etc.

Categories of Physical Properties

Physical Properties of Foods

Chapter 1
Water Activity
&
Sorption Isotherm

Water in
Foods
Mid 19th century relation between water in a
food and its relative tendency to spoil.

Moisture content absolute amount of water

present in a food.

Water Activity (Aw

or aw)
A measure of the availability of water molecules to
enter into microbial, enzymatic or chemical
fixed
reactions.
Water vapour pressure of a temperature
Aw = food
Water vapour pressure of pure water
Vapor pressure /atm

1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0

20

40

60

80

100

Temperature/ oC

Water availability is related to interactions of water with

food components bound by physical adsoprtion of
chemisoprtion.

Relative Humidity & Water

Activity

The moisture migration will end when equilibrium

relative humidity is achieved between the food and
the surrounding.
Important consideration in food storage condition
& packaging selection.

What are the

consequences?
30o
C

Important consideration in ingredient selection

dynamic of moisture exchange.
Careful process control to ensure correct product
aw.

Water Activity (Aw

or aw)
If the aw in food > ambient humidity, food
loses water and dries up until equilibrium is
established and vice versa.
Increase in temperature causes increase in aw
of food.
Prevention of adverse changes in aw in food
during production and storage is utmost
important.
A measure of the energy status of the water in
a system.

Moisture Sorption
Isotherm
Describe the relationship between aw and
moisture content of a product at a constant
temperature.
The nature of this relationship depends on the
interaction
between
water
and
other
ingredients important thermodynamic tool to
predict the interaction between water & food
components.
The amount of water vapour that can be
adsorbed by a product depends on its:
a) Chemical composition
b) Physical-chemical state
c) Physical structure

Classification of Sorption Isotherm

Tightly
bound
water
(chemisorpt
ion)

Type of Water in
Foods

Bulk water
(physical
sorption)

Loosely
bound
water

Represented
in
increasing
scale,
highest, 0 lowest.

an
1

Type of Water in
Foods
1. Bulk / Free water
lightly entrapped & can be seen;
dispersing agent & solvent;
remove by drying & cetrifugation.
2. Loosely bound / Adsorbed / structural
water
in layers by intermolecular H bonds around
hydrophilic food molecules.
3. Tightly bound water / water of hydration
tight chemically bound (with ion or dipole
interactions);
does not behave like typical water (not
frozen at 0oC).

Importance of Water
Activity

Water activity determine the physical

characteristics, processes, shelf life,
and sensory properties of foods.

Hysteresis
Desorption isotherms
> H2O adsorption
isotherms.