Pullman
http://www.decagon.com
Research Partner: Dr. Markus Flury, WSU Dept. of Crop and Soil Sciences
Project Began: 1999
Food processors are interested in water activity, an important property that can be used to predict stability and safety of foods. The water activity of a food describes the energy status of water in a food, and hence its availability to act as a solvent and participate in chemical or biochemical reactions. Water activity, not water content, determines the lower limit of available water for microbial growth. Water activity also plays a role in the appearance, texture, and smell of a food.
Currently, the instruments used to measure water activity, differential scanning calorimeters and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, are expensive and require technical expertise to operate. Decagon Devices, located in Pullman and known for their high-quality biophysical instruments for food quality testing and environmental research, has developed a prototype instrument that will be easier to use and produce results more quickly at lower cost. Dr. Markus Flury of WSU's Department of Crop and Soil Sciences was awarded funding for a two-year project, beginning in July 1999, to further develop and test Decagon's thermodielectric analyzer prototype, which will measure the freezing characteristics (the relationship between unfrozen water content and temperature) of hydrated foods, soils and other materials, and will relate the freezing characteristic to the moisture characteristic (relationship between water content and water potential) for these materials.
Labels: District_9, Life_Sciences, Pullman, RTD_Grant_Program_A-K, Southeast, WSU
