This quarter, we tested minimally processed foods like dried fruit and nuts and cold-pressed energy bars straight off grocery store shelves. We tested big brands alongside small niche companies.
The result? A market snapshot of 27 natural food brands. In this 20-minute webinar, Mary Galloway reviews the findings.
Learn:
- moisture secrets of fresh-tasting, clean label dried fruit and nut snacks
- what some big brands do much better than small ones
- which brands have red flags for mold growth—and worse
- the surprisingly high cost of moisture inconsistency
Attendees will get access to the Market Snapshot data after the webinar.
Presenter
Mary Galloway is the application scientist for METER Food and manages the Food Research & Development lab. She is a contributing author on several publications concerning water activity and its influence on physical properties. Mary uses her years of experience to help customers understand and solve their moisture-related product issues.
3. CONTENTS
Market Snapshot Overview
What Does the Data Show?
How to Get It Right – Aw
& Moisture Migration
What Are the Costs for Getting It Wrong?
Key Points
7. MARKET SNAPSHOT
OVERVIEW DRIED FRUITS
Dried Fruits
▪ Causes of Variability
▪ Impacts
▪ pH & aw
▪ Yield
▪ Snack vs. Ingredient
8. MARKET SNAPSHOT
OVERVIEW BLUEBERRIES
Variability
▪ sugar & fiber content
▪ varietal
▪ drying method
Impacts
▪ aw
, %MC, yield
pH & aw
▪ acidic fruit allows for higher aw
▪ blueberries = 2.9 pH
snapshot average = 3.6 pH
Yield
▪ use isotherm to increase yield
Snack vs. Ingredient
▪ may have different criteria
12. MARKET SNAPSHOT
OVERVIEW NUTS
Variability
▪ less variability – roasting, some salt
Impacts
▪ %MC, aw
, yield, texture, possible
rancidity at low aw
Yield
▪ use isotherm to increase yield
Snack vs. Ingredient
▪ may have different criteria
Oxidation
Rate
14. MARKET SNAPSHOT
OVERVIEW COLD-PRESSED
BARS
Beyond limit for microbial growth
▪ need to pasteurize ingredients
Temperature abuse
▪ know what happens during
extreme storage conditions
Ingredient moisture migration
▪ keep water activities the same
23. • Have more variability, hard to predict outliers
• Use pH to allow higher aw
• Needs caution when used as an ingredient – variability, high aw
environment
Dried Fruit
• Most variability comes from roasting
• Susceptible to moisture migration and rancidity at low aw
• Needs caution when used as an ingredient – moisture content, possible
contaminant
Nuts
• Have higher aw range, some beyond microbial growth limits
• Need to pasteurize ingredients prior to processing
• Need to have tight process control and monitor/control moisture
migration
Cold-pressed Bars
24. • Aw
drives moisture migration and is a better way
to measure moisture
• Using an isotherm will allow tighter processing
specifications
• Reducing variation in processing can be worth
6-7 figures in revenue
• Deliver a consistent product with a spec tied to
quality/safety
Process Improvement
26. METER GROUP USA,
INC.
2365 NE Hopkins Court
Pullman, Washington 99163
Phone: (509) 332-2756 / (800) 755-2751
Fax: (509) 332-5158
Email: mary.galloway@metergroup.com
Web: www.metergroup.com