Comparison of methods for determination of moisture in food.

Water is the most common substances on earth and an essential component of all food. The amount of water in food (known as percent water) influences the appearance, texture, and flavor of the food. Water makes up 70% or more of the weight of most fresh (unprocessed) food. Even food like beans, flour and cereals contain some water. A number of techniques had been developed for this purpose, which vary in their accuracy, cost, speed, sensitivity, specificity, ease of operation, etc. The choice of any procedure for particular application depends on the nature of the food being analyzed and the reason the information is need. In addition, the moisture monitoring techniques will provide for better control of processing for value added applications and improved end product In this paper a study for some of technique namely, the Infrared, Microwave, oven dry and differential gravimetric analysis was done. A comparison of this technique and the choice of the easy, fast, low in cost technique was recommended. It was found that the technique is the one which can be recommended.