Why Isotherms

The Problem

Every food manufacturer has to ask: how long before my product molds, gets soggy, goes stale, becomes rancid, cakes, clumps, crystallizes—in short, becomes unacceptable?  What can I do to preserve and extend the shelf life of my product?

Moisture Sorption Isotherms

One key to answering that question lies in an energy status picture of the product—its moisture sorption isotherm.   A moisture sorption isotherm is a graph showing how water activity changes as water is adsorbed into and desorbed from a product held at constant temperature.  

Isotherms provide the specific data you need to:

    Make component mixing models
    Set QA/AC specifications
    Define critical control points
    Do packaging calculations
    Predict the effects of temperature abuse
    (click on any of the above to learn more)

High-resolution isotherms can determine monolayer value and allow formulation for maximum shelf life.  They can even pinpoint exact water activity values for caking and clumping, glass transition, deliquescence, protective coating/layer permeability, and hygroscopicity.  

See the instrument that makes isotherms

Learn how isotherms used to be measured

Read about 5 ways isotherms can be used to improve quality

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