intermediate moisture food

Presentation on Intermediate Moisture Food By Manorma Negi ,Depp. Of B.tech. Foodtechnology, Shoolini University Solan Himachal Pradesh

1. Submitted to :Dr. Somesh Sharma Submitted By: Manorma Negi Deptt . Of B.tech Foodtechnology 12ftb(s)034 ,4 th semester Intermediate Moisture foods

2. Intermediate Moisture Foods: A food product that has a water activity below that which is required for the growth of microorganisms; or a food containing unavailable water.IMF foods have water activity in B/w 0.6-0.9 or 10 to 50% moisture.

3. What is Water activity? Water activity is a thermodynamic property which is defined as the ratio of vapor pressure of water in a food system and vapor pressure of pure water at the same temperature.

4. How IMF related to Aw

5. Effect of Aw on properties of food:

6. Purpose of Intermediate moisture Food: The purpose is to achieve a desirable water activity by the various ingredients so that food product maintain enough water for palatability and can be stored safely. Addition of preservatives provides the margin of safety against spoilage organisms Staphylococcus aureus is one of the organism of high concern which can tolerate aw as low as 0.83-0.86 under aerobic conditions.

7. Fruits preserved under IMF concept : The application of IMF technology has been very much successful in preserving fruits and vegetables without refrigeration. The addition of high amount of suger in fruits during processing will create a protective layer against microbial contamination after the heat processing. The sugar acts as aw depresser limiting bacterial growth. These foods are more stable at room temperature.

8. Examples of IMF: Jams Jellies Candies Baked foods Honey Dried fruits and vegetables

9. Advantages: Low aw thus aw is the primary hurdle to achieve the microbial stability and safety. Easy to prepare and store without refrigeration. These are energy efficient and relatively cheap. They don’t get easily spoiled even if the package is damaged( bcs of low aw).

10. Disadvantages: Some IMF foods contain high level of additives that may cause health concerns and possible legal problems. High sugar content is also a concern becouse of high calorific value. Texture and flavour sometimes gets damaged if not properlly handled.

11. Efforts should be made to improve the quality of such foods by lowering the sugar and salt addition as well as increasing the moisture content and aw but without sacrificing the microbial stability and safety of products if stored without refrigeration. This may be achieved by an intelligent applications of hurdles. Conclusion: