ROTRONIC HUMIDITY FUN FACTS

Water Activity in Coffee

Water activity
in general
Water activity:
Water activity (aw) or equilibrium
relative humidity (ERH) measures
the water vapor pressure generated
by the water present in a hygroscopic
product.
Water activity is based on a scale
from 0 to 1.
The formula: aw = p / ps
(p is the water vapor pressure
above the product surface and ps
the water vapor pressure above the
surface of pure water at the product
temperature)
ERH = 100 x aw
Moisture content:
Water activity is often confused Clockwise from above: Dried coffee beans . . .
with moisture content. The moisture Coffee beans being dried . . . Coffee cherries.
content of a product is usually
defined as the percent weight of
water activity of a hygroscopic
water content in relation to the dry The effect of water in food products:
material can be graphically repre-
weight of the sample.
sented by a curve: the sorption Water is also recognized in the food
Sorption isotherm: isotherm. For each aw value, the industry as being critical for the sta-
At equilibrium, the relation between sorption isotherm shows the corre- bility of most products. Variations
the percentage of water and the sponding moisture content at a given in aw can significantly affect color,
constant temperature. Each product taste, aroma, food poisoning, and
has its own sorption isotherm. spoilage.
Facts & Figures Water migration: Controlling the water activity
• A change in aw of a product can of a product:
The aw of a product will always try
change the shelf life from a couple
of days to a couple of weeks. to reach equilibrium with the sur- The aw in foods can be controlled
rounding atmosphere. Water will by using various additives (humec-
• Pure distilled water has a water
activity of exactly 1. migrate from regions with a high tants), by using satisfactory packag-
aw to the regions of low aw. Water ing materials or by maintaining
• Salmonella bacteria can survive
several weeks in a dry environment. will migrate until equilibrium is favorable maturation and storage
reached. conditions. continued

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ROTRONIC HUMIDITY FUN FACTS

Water activity and micro-organisms: by certain molds of the genera

Water activity indicates the amount Aspergillus and Penicillium growing
of water which is available to micro on a wide range of raw food com-
organisms. Each species of micro modities. The most important and
organism (bacteria, yeast, mold) most toxic ochratoxin found naturally
has a minimum aw value below in food is ochratoxin A (OTA).
which growth is no longer possible. Detection and removal of OTA-
contaminated material from the
Chemical stability: food supply chain is important. The
Water activity control is an impor- Coffee plantation
most important and effective con-
tant factor for the chemical stability trol measure in post-harvest han-
of foods. Most food products con- water in a product. Moisture content
dling and storage is the control of
tain carbohydrates and proteins is described as the amount of
the water activity.
and are therefore subject to non- “bound” water in a product. Even
Ensuring that susceptible crops
enzymatic browning reactions though this is not a scientific descrip-
are dried to a safe level immedi-
(Maillard reaction). The Maillard tion of aw, it is easy to understand that
ately after harvest is vital to prevent
reaction gets stronger at increasing chemically bound water is not accessi-
mold growth and OTA production
aw values and reaches its peak at ble to micro-organisms, whereas free
during storage. In tropical and sub-
aw = 0.6...0.7 with further increase water is available to micro-organisms.
tropical climates, stored grains must
of aw this reaction gets weaker. Water Activity in Coffee be dried rapidly to a water activity
Coffee quality is determined by fac- value of below 0.8 to prevent mold
Why the need to measure tors such as climatic conditions dur- growth.
At high water activity (aw > 0.95)
water activity? ing growth, processing method and
OTA-producing fungi will not likely
storage conditions. During sun dry-
Water activity and micro-organisms ing fermentation, coffee fruits are grow, as fast-growing hydrophilic
As mentioned previously, aw indi- spread on the ground and the natu- fungi and yeasts grow first. At
cates the amount of water in the ral microbial fermentation that lower water activity (aw <0.80) the
total water content which is avail- occurs influences the final quality of OTA-producing fungi can be pres-
able to micro-organisms. the coffee. ent but not produce the toxin, and
Each micro-organism has its Microbial contamination can at aw below 0.78–0.76 they cannot
own minimum aw value below occur in the cherries and during har- grow.
which, growth is no longer possi- vesting, fermentation, drying and Therefore the most important
ble (growth is no longer possible storage of coffee beans. Bacteria, point is to control the period of time
but this doesn’t mean that the yeasts and filamentous fungi have in which coffee remains in the dry-
micro-organisms are not present). been found in the pulp and beans of ing yard, in the range of water
By measuring the aw of food coffee that was being processed in activity where OTA-producing fungi
products it is possible to determine some countries. can grow (aw 0.8– 0.95). According
which micro-organisms will be able Filamentous fungi predominate to results, 5 days or less in the dry-
to develop. at the end of the processing and ing yard is enough and effective to
The US Food and Drug Adminis- during storage, and may affect the prevent OTA accumulation.
tration (FDA) has adopted the con- quality and safety of the final prod- In general, a maximum aw of
cept of aw for establishing moisture uct due to production of mycotoxins 0.67 to 0.70 and moisture content
limits beyond which certain types of (toxins generated by fungi). <12.5% (wet basis) is sufficient
food are considered susceptible to Ochratoxins are a small group of for protecting coffee from damage
mold and bacteria. Water activity is chemically related toxic fungal by fungi.
described as the amount of “free” metabolites (mycotoxins) produced

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