Activity 2.

Moisture Content

Introduction

The moisture content or humidity of a food is the total amount of water lost by
the substance when brought into balance with a true vapor pressure of zero (relative
humidity of 0%). The amount of water lost is made up of water fixed by hydrogen bonds
(water sorption, water held by capillary or osmotic, water solutions, and water in occlude
mesh and crystal water of crystallization); water chemically linked by covalent bonds is
excluded.

The water content of a sample of food ranged from 0-100 and is expressed as
percentage % of water is reported to the mass of dry matter contained in the sample, ie
the total mass of the moist of the sample.

Microorganisms need water in an available form to grow in food products. The control of
the moisture content in foods is one of the oldest exploited preservation strategies.

Objectives

1. Be familiar with the different moisture content of foods.

2. Learn how to measure moisture content of foods

Materials

Food Samples Oven

Drying dish/aluminium foil Weighing scale
Calculators

Procedures

1. Inspect the fridge, pantry or supermarket shelves, make a list of about 5 (for each
group) ready-to-eat foods with moisture contents that range from very dry to very
moisture. It might be easiest to limit this to solid foods.
2. For each food write down what a consumer normally expects with regard to
properties influences by water {e.g. texture}, and estimate the moisture content of
each.
3. Tabulate the estimated moisture content of your food samples . Record your data
on Table 1 in the results and discussion.
4. Bring to the class one food samples from each group of foods.
5. Select a suitable small dish for the sample. A small piece of aluminium foil may
be suitable. Ensure that it is dry.
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6. Weigh the dish as accurately as possible.
7. Add 500 grams of the food sample to the dish and weigh it again. Depending on
the resolution of the weighing scales available a small sample is often better.
8. Calculate the mass of the sample.
9. Put the dish and sample into the oven at just over 100 °C and leave it in for
about 5 hours. (Some samples, e.g., bread, biscuits and crackers will take much
less time.)
10. Take out the sample and weigh it. (It’s best to let it cool down in a dry sealed
container but this might not be possible). (Weighing hot samples is not always
very accurate as electronic scales can be affected by the temperature)
11. Calculate the mass of water that has been dried off the sample by subtracting the
final mass from the initial mass.
12. Calculate the moisture content by dividing mass of water dried off by the total
sample mass using the following formula;

mass of moisture
Moisture Content = 100%
total mass

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Data gathered:

Table 1.0 Estimated Moisture Content

Product Consumer perception Estimated water content
CHIPS
Junkfood 2%

Flavorful 4%
Crispy 3%

Yummy 6%
Unhealthy 0%
CRACKERS
Unhealthy 0%

Hard 4%
Spicy 5%
Crispy 1%
Made from fish and etc. 5%
BREAD
Soft 3%
Fluffy 3%

Chewy 6%
Healthy 4%

Appetizer 5%
FRUITS/VEGETABLES
Healthy 4%
Fresh 5%
Sweet 4%
Perishable 4%
Acidic 5%

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 Table 2.0 Moisture Content of Food Samples

product Initial Wt. Wt. after drying Mass of % moisture Computation

of sample Water content

CHIPS 3.409 g 3.43g 1.94%

6.006g
CRACKERS

BREAD

FRUIT
S/VEG
ETABL
ES
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Laboratory Manual
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ANALYSIS:

1. Compare the moisture contents obtained with the estimates. Were there any
surprises?

2. Compare the physical attributes of the food sample before and after drying.

3. Relate the texture and/or appearance of the food samples on their moisture
content.

4. On the basis of the established relationship on moisture content and texture,

what is the importance of knowing the moisture content in food system?