CHAPTER 3. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR PRESERVATION OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
3.1 Water Activity (aw) concept and its role in food preservation
3.1.1 aw concept
The concept of aw has been very useful in food preservation and on that basis many processes could be successfully adapted and new products designed. Water has been called the universal solvent as it is a requirement for growth, metabolism, and support of many chemical reactions occurring in food products. Free water in fruit or vegetables is the water available for chemical reactions, to support microbial growth, and to act as a transporting medium for compounds. In the bound state, water is not available to participate in these reactions as it is bound by water soluble compounds such as sugar, salt, gums, etc. (osmotic binding), and by the surface effect of the substrate (matrix binding). These water-binding effects reduce the vapour pressure of the food substrate according to Raoult’s Law. Comparing this vapour pressure with that of pure water (at the same temperature) results in a ratio called water activity (aw). Pure water has an aw of 1, one molal solution of sugar - 0.98, and one molal solution of sodium chloride - 0.9669. A saturated solution of sodium chloride has a water activity of 0.755. This same NaCl solution in a closed container will develop an equilibrium relative humidity (ERH) in a head space of 75.5%. A relationship therefore exists between ERH and aw since both are based on vapour pressure.
The ERH of a food product is defined as the relative humidity of the air surrounding the food at which the product neither gains nor loses its natural moisture and is in equilibrium with the environment.
3.1.2 Microorganisms vs. aw value
The definition of moisture conditions in which pathogenic or spoilage microorganisms cannot grow is of paramount importance to food preservation. It is well known that each microorganism has a critical aw below which growth cannot occur. For instance, pathogenic microorganisms cannot grow at aw