Water is vital to sustaining life. In fact, every living organism that we know of requires sufficient water to thrive. Destructive bacteria and enzymes, however, also require sufficient water to thrive. Out of balance, too much water content multiplies the microorganisms that hasten decay. For this reason, moisture analysis becomes critical in food production. At least three things are making food processing and moisture control even more important.
1. A reliance on speed and convenience.
As our social norms lean more toward prioritization of speed and convenience, our processed and packaged foods have become more and more popular. Life is fast and full, and we have less time to build our meals from scratch. Food processing is an increasingly large industry.
2. Stretched economies.
As we navigate tough economies, we look for ways to save money. One way to stretch our dollars is to buy processed products in bulk. We expect our processed foods to come with a lengthy shelf life. Too much moisture in the production process reduces the shelf life. Foods packaged with too much moisture come to us in compromised forms and go to waste.
3. Increased health consciousness.
There is a greater demand for products with less fat and sugar. This is good; however the ingredients used to replace fat and sugar tend to disrupt natural food structures and retain more moisture. Similarly, other foods are produced with added fiber. Fiber requires extra hydration; therefore as fiber is added, so is extra water. Moisture stabilizers are critical in the production of reduced fat and reduced sugar foods as well as foods with added fiber content.
We understand the careful science of moisture in food processing. Imperative to quality food production is accurate and reliable measurement. Torbal offers an extensive line of proven moisture analyzers. Contact us and we can help determine the best analyzer for your needs.