Abstract
The water activity ( a w) of unsaturated and supersaturated trehalose solutions (and some sucrose solutions) was determined using a dew point hygrometer, and correlated using an equation originally proposed by Norrish [1966. An equation for the activity coefficients and equilibrium relative humidities of water in confectionery syrups. Journal of Food Technology, 1,25] for predicting water activity in binary non-electrolyte solutions. The a w lowering behaviour of trehalose was found to be almost identical to that of sucrose solutions at same concentrations; however, due to the lower solubility of trehalose the a w of their saturated solutions is higher than that of sucrose ones. The a w of saturated trehalose solutions at 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 °C was also determined and found to be between 0.953 and 0.928. These values agreed well with predictions made using a w data for trehalose solutions calculated at the solubility concentration at the various temperatures.
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