Results showed that the more concentrated dehydration
solution produced the highest water loss. Highest water losses
were obtained when a mixture of sucrose-NaCl was used as
the osmotic solution, due to an apparent synergistic effect of
the solutes. It was observed that adding NaCl to the solution
resulted in an increase of the osmotic pressure gradients and,
hence, higher water loss values throughout the osmosis period.
Sodium chloride increases the driving force for dehydration,
lowering water activity and allowing a higher rate of penetration
in the material due to its low molecular weight (ISLAM; FLINK,
1982; LENART; FLINK, 1984). However, its use is limited since
a salty taste is imparted to the food.