Moisture Content Determination

The moisture (or total solids) content of foods is important to food manufacturers for a variety of reasons. This laboratory exercise includes moisture content determination by a variety of techniques on various food products: (a) forced draft oven; (b) vacuum oven, with and without the use of drying sand; (c) microwave drying oven; (d) rapid moisture analyzer; (e) toluene distillation; (f) Karl Fischer method; and (g) near-infrared analyzer. Results obtained can allow for evaluation of accuracy and precision, relative advantages and disadvantages of methods, and appropriate applications of methods.