18 Coping with moisture migration in practice.

STANLEY P. CAUVAIN. Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association, Chipping Campden, UK.

The movement of moisture between components in a finished bakery product or to it surrounding atmosphere leads to significant quality losses in one or more of the components. In some cases this may render the product unsaleable. There are several driving forces for moisture migration in composite bakery products, some of which originate from the product formulation, some from processing and others from storage conditions. When deciding on a course of action to be taken to eliminate a moisture migration problem technologist need to be able to solve the problem while working within commercial constraints. This paper will use some examples of multi-component sweet goods (cake and pastry based) to show how the management of component formulation, processing method, product moisture and water activity can be adjusted to minimise quality losses. The influences of storage temperature will be considered and examples of the application of moisture barriers given.