ABSTRACT
Water exists abundantly throughout nature, occurring
in all three physical states: gas, liquid, and solid.
Approximately 75% of the earth’s surface is covered
with water. The most significant function of liquid
water is that of supporting animal and plant life.
Because most foods originate from living matter, water
is also a primary component in many foods. The
acceptable levels of moisture vary in different food
products, and a change in this amount can have seri-
ous effects on product quality (e.g., hardening of fruit
pieces). Furthermore, the properties and qualities of
some products (e.g., powders) can be adversely influ-
enced by even minute quantities of moisture (1). The
high polarity of water results in it being unusually
reactive (1), which, along with its vast abundance and
unique properties, makes the determination of water
important not only to the food industry, but also to
the paper, plastics, and pharmaceutical industries. In the literature, the terms ‘‘water content’’ and
‘‘moisture content’’ have been used interchangeably to
indicate the quantity of water present in various food
products and ingredients. Moisture content can be exp-
ressed either as a wet basis percentage (g water/100 g
food) or a dry basis percentage (g water/100 g dry
