ABSTRACTSome recent literature results indicate that the water activity (aw) of intermediate moisture food model solutions increased as the surface tension decreased by addition of surfactants. Consequently, it was suggested that in the processing of intermediate moisture foods, ingredients which result in the reduction of surface tension should be avoided to attain low aw. The results obtained in this work do not confirm those reported by Chen and Karmas (1979); instead it is concluded that the effect of surface tension on the awof food solutions is such that it needs not be considered, at least for the large majority of research or development applications in the food area.
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