08-Nov-19

Importance of Moisture Assay

Some examples in which moisture content is
Moisture and Total Solids important to the food processor

Analysis 1. Moisture is a quality factor in the preservation

Dr. Imran Pasha
Associate Professor
FST-511 Winter 2019-20
of some products
• Moisture effects stability in
a. Dehydrated vegetables and fruits
b. Dried milks
c. Powdered eggs
d. Dehydrated potatoes
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e. Spices and herbs
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Importance of Moisture Assay… Importance of Moisture Assay…

Some examples in which moisture content Some examples in which moisture content is
is important to the food processor… important to the food processor…

3. Reduced moisture is used for convenience in

2. Moisture is used as quality factor for packaging and shipping of
a. Jams and jellies a. Concentrated milks
To prevent sugar crystallization b. Liquid cane sugar
(67% solids)
b. Sugar syrups
c. Liquid corn sweetener
c. Prepared cereals (80% solids)
Conventional 1-8% d. Dehydrated products
These are to difficult to pack if high in moisture
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3 e. Concentrated fruit
FST-511 juices
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Importance of Moisture Assay… Importance of Moisture Assay…

Some examples in which moisture content is
important to the food processor… Some examples in which moisture content is
important to the food processor…
4. Moisture or solid contents are also specified in
compositional standards
• For example in standards of identity 5. Computation of nutritional value of foods
a. Chadder cheese require that you know the moisture content
Must have moisture less than or equal to 39%
b. Enriched flour
Must have moisture less than or equal to 15% 6. Moisture data are used to express results of
c. Pineapple juice must have soluble solids less than or other analytical determinations on a uniform
equal to 10.5° Brix (conditions specified)
d. Glucose syrup must have total solids less than or equal basis (dry weight basis)
to 70%
e. The percentage of Winter
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commonly specified Imran Pasha Imran Pasha

1. Oven Drying Methods for Moisture

Forms of Water in Food Analysis
There are three states of water found in food • In this method sample is heated under
products specified condition and loss of weight is used
1. Free water to calculate the moisture content of sample
•This water retains its physical properties
•Act as dispersing agent for colloids and the solvent for
salts Moisture determination
2. Adsorbed water • The amount of moisture is determined by oven
• This water is held tightly, mostly tightly to protein • Moisture removal is achieved by two stage process
3. Water of Hydration • Liquid products (juices and milk) are commonly pre-dried
• This water is bounded chemically over a steam bath before drying in an oven
Example, lactose monohydrate and some salts such • Products such as bread and field dried grains are often
as Na2SO4 . 10H2O air dried then ground and oven dried
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1. Oven Drying Methods for Moisture
Analysis…
Decomposition of Other Food Constituent during
drying
Moisture loss from a sample during analysis is a function
of time and temperature at which limited decomposition
might be a factor
e.g. carbohydrates decompose at 100 ºC
• The moisture generated during decomposition is
not the moisture that we want to measure but
certain other chemical reaction may occur which results
in utilization of moisture thus this will reduce the
moisture for measurement
1. Oven Drying Methods for Moisture
Analysis…
Types of Pans For Oven Drying Methods
1. Pans used for moisture determination are varied in
shape and may or may not have a cover
2. The AOAC moisture pan is about 5.5cm in diameter with
an insert cover
3. Pan covers are necessary to control loss of sample by
spattering during the heating process

• It is important to control temperature during drying

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1. Oven Drying Methods for Moisture 1. Oven Drying Methods for Moisture
Analysis… Analysis…
1. Forced Draft Oven Method
OVEN Drying methods
• Sample is weighed into a pre-dried moisture pan
1. Forced draft oven drying covered and placed in the oven
2. Vacuum oven drying • Drying time period is 0.75-24hrs depending on food
3. Microwave analyzer sample
4. Infrared drying • Liquid sample are dried initially on steam bath at 100
5. Rapid moisture analyzer technology ºC to minimize spattering

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1. Oven Drying Methods for Moisture
Analysis…
2. Vacuum Oven
• Drying is under reduced pressure (25-100 mmHg)
• Complete removal of water and volatiles can be taken
without decomposition within a 3-6 hrs drying time
• It needs dry air purge in addition to temperature and
vacuum controls to operate within defined methods
• To check moisture saturation
i. In older vacuum ovens partially filled vacuum flask,
with H2SO4, was used
ii. Recently an air trap, filled with calcium sulfate
containing an indicator to show moisture saturation
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1. Oven Drying Methods for Moisture
Analysis…
3. Microwave analyzer
• It is precise and rapid technique
• General procedure
• Set the microprocessor controller to a percentage
of full power to control the microwave output
• Power setting are dependent upon
1. The type of sample
2. The recommendation of manufacturer of the
microwave moisture analyzer
• Time for drying operation is set by the operator and
“start” is activated
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1. Oven Drying Methods for Moisture
Analysis…
• The following are important points in the use of a vacuum drying oven:
1. Temperature used depends on the product
 e.g. 70°C>°C for fruits and other high-sugar products
 Even low temperature cause some decomposition
2. If the product to be assayed has a high concentration of volatiles
 Use of a correction factor to compensate for the loss
3. Place pans directly on the metal shelves to conduct heat as heat is not conducted
well in a vacuum
4. Evaporation is an endothermic process: thus, a pronounced cooling is observed
 Because of the cooling effect of evaporation, when several samples are
placed in an oven of this type, you will note that the temperature will drop
 Do not attempt to compensate for the cooling effect by increasing the
temperature; otherwise samples during the last stages of drying will be
overheated
5. The drying time is a function of
a. Total moisture present
b. Nature of the food
c. Surface area per unit weight of sample
 Whether sand is used as a dispersant, and the relative concentration of
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sugars and other substances capable of retaining moisture or decomposing
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 The drying interval is determined experimentally to give reproducible results.
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1. Oven Drying Methods for Moisture
Analysis…
4. Infrared Drying
• Involves penetration of heat into the sample being
dried, as compared to heat conductivity and
convection with conventional ovens
• Shorten the required drying time 10-25 minutes
• The infrared lamp used to supply heat to the sample
results in a filament temperature of 2000-2500K
• Distance of the infrared source from the dried material
and thickness of sample must be controlled
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1. Oven Drying Methods for Moisture
Analysis…
4. Infrared Drying…
• The analyst must be careful that the sample does not
burn or case harden while drying
• Infrared drying ovens may be equipped with forced
ventilation to remove moisture air and an analytical
balance to read moisture content directly
• No infrared drying moisture analysis techniques are
approved by AOAC currently
• However, because of the speed of analysis, this
technique is suited for qualitative in-process use
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1. Oven Drying Methods for Moisture
Analysis…
5. Rapid Moisture Analyzer Technology…
Method
1. Weight the sample
2. Place in aluminum pan or filter paper
3. Heat samples in temperature range b/w 25 ºC to
275 ºC
4. Elevates the test sample to a constant
temperature
5. As the moisture is driven from the sample, the
instrument automatically weighs and calculate
the %age of moisture
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1. Oven Drying Methods for Moisture
Analysis…
5. Rapid Moisture Analyzer Technology
• Moisture analyzer detects moisture levels
From 50ppm to 100% even in sample weights of 150mg to
40mg
• Examples of moisture analyzer are
i. Computrac
ii. Arizona instrument corporation
iii. Phoenix
iv. AZ
• This technology
• Has wide range of applications within the food industry
• Offers quick and accurate results within minutes
• These analyzers are utilized for both production and laboratory
use with results comparable methods, although the method is
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not currently AOAC approved
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2. Distillation Procedures for Moisture
Analysis
Distillation Procedures for Moisture Analysis
involves
1. Co-distilling the moisture in a food sample with
a high boiling point solvent that is immiscible
in water
2. Collecting the moisture that distill off
3. Then measuring the amount of water
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2. Distillation Procedures for Moisture 2. Distillation Procedures for Moisture

Analysis… Analysis…
There are two Distillation procedures b. Reflux Distillation
 Reflux distillation uses either a solvent less dense
a. Direct Distillation than water
• The sample is heated in mineral oil or liquid  Toluene, with a boiling point of 110.6°C
with a flash point well above the boiling  Xylene, with a boiling range of 137-140°C
point of water  Or a solvent more dense than water
 Tetrachlorethylene, with a boiling point of 121°C
• Immiscible liquids can also be used e.g.  The advantage of using this last solvent is that
toluene, xylene and benzene material to be dried floats
 Therefore it will not char or bum
b. Reflux Distillation  In addition. there is no fire hazard with this solvent
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2. Distillation Procedures for Moisture 3. Chemical Methods for Moisture

Analysis… Analysis
• Three potential sources of error with distillation should be Karl-Fisher titration method
eliminated if observed: • It is used for determining the moisture content of foods that
1. Formation of emulsions that will not break. Usually this can be have low water contents
controlled by allowing the apparatus to cool after distillation is (e.g. dried fruits and vegetables, confectionary, coffee, oils and fats)
completed and before reading the amount of moisture in the • This method is quite rapid, accurate and uses no heat
trap. • Described by Karl Fischer in 1935
2. Clinging of water droplets to dirty apparatus. Oven glassware
is essential, but water seems to cling even with the best • Involving the reduction of iodine by SO2 in the presence
cleaning effort. A burette brush, with the handle end flattened of water
so it will pass down the condenser, is needed to dislodge • It is based on the following reaction
moisture droplets. 2H2O + SO2 + I2 C5H2SO4 + 2HI
3. Decomposition of the sample with production of water. This is
principally due to carbohydrate decomposition to generate • This reaction was originally used because HI is colorless,
water. If this is a measurable problem, discontinue method use whereas I2 is a dark reddish brown in color
and find an alternative procedure. Hence there is a measurable change in color when water
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4. Physical Methods for Moisture 4. Physical Methods for Moisture

Analysis… Analysis…
a. Electrical methods b. Hydrometry
i. Dielectric method • Hydrometry is a science of measuring specific
gravity or density
Moisture content of a certain food can be
• It can be done using several different principles and
determined by measuring the change in
instrument
capacitance or resistance to an electric
current passed through a sample
ii. Conductivity method c. Refractometry
• Moisture in liquid sugar products and condensed milk
The conductivity method functions because
can be determined using
the conductivity of an electric current
a. A Baume hydrometer(solids)
increases with the percentage of moisture in
the sample b. A Brix hydrometer (sugar content)
c. Gravimetric means
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4. Physical Methods for Moisture

Analysis…
d. Spectroscopic Methods
• Spectroscopic methods utilize the interaction of
electromagnetic radiation with materials to obtain
information about their composition
Examples are X-rays, UV-visible, NMR,
microwaves and IR.

• The moisture content of foods are based on the

fact that water absorbs electromagnetic radiation
at characteristic wavelengths that are different
from the other components in the food matrix

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