What’s the best way to monitor water in moisture sensitive candy?

Moisture and Water Activity

Most candy have comparatively low moisture level – a fruit chew has only about 7% by weight. It’s difficult to measure that moisture accurately enough to control it. If moisture levels change in products that don’t have much to start with, the water activity reading changes considerably.  Using water activity, you can monitor the moisture in your product strictly.  If you still require a % moisture read out, the new AquaLab Duo Moisture Analyzer can give you that as well.

Texture & Taste

Many candies have a unique texture – chewy, crunchy, smooth, grainy, sticky, or soft.  Confectionary flavors are similarly unique.  Combined, these are what consumers experience when they consume your product.  If your product moisture isn’t at the right level, you run the risk of ruining entire batches of candy, costing you greatly.  Water activity is linked closely to texture, making it easy to set specifications that are linked to important properties.

Shelf Life

Just because your product has the correct taste and texture when you pack it doesn’t mean it will last.  As soon as it’s wrapped, it starts to lose quality.  Chemical reactions such as lipid oxidation negatively affect products while they are inactive.  How fast this happens related to water activity.  If you want to hit your shelf life target, water activity will guide you.

Easy Accuracy

If you can solve all these issues in your candy, the next problem is making sure they remain solved.  Many quality control instruments are only handy in the lab – they’re either too complex or fragile to use anywhere else. AquaLab is different. It gives you +/- 0.003 aw accuracy no matter your location. The instrument is robust and simple to use, and doesn’t require any  specialised training or sample prep. Water activity is as easy to measure on the factory floor as it is in the lab.