Optimisation of mass transfer kinetics during osmotic dehydration of pork meat cubes in complex osmotic solution

This paper presents the effects of different process temperature (20, 35 and 50 °C), immersion time (1, 3 and 5 hours) and the concentration of sugar beet molasses + NaCl + sucrose water solution on osmotic dehydration of pork meat (M. triceps brachii) cubes, shaped 1 x 1 x 1 cm, at atmospheric pressure. The main objective was to examine the influence of different parameters on the mass transfer kinetics during osmotic treatment. The observed system’s responses were: water loss, solid gain, and water activity. The optimum osmotic conditions (temperature of 40 °C, treatment time of 4.1 h and concentration 67 %), were determined using response surface method, by superimposing the contour plots of each process variable, and the responses were: water loss=0.46, solid gain=0.15, and water activity=0.79. Transport coefficients, for both solids and water transfer and energy of activation for all samples were also determined. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR-31055]