INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE INFLUENCE OF WATER ACTIVITY, pH AND HEAT TREATMENT ON THE VELOCITY OF THE MAILLARD REACTION IN FOODS

This work was conducted in conjunction with a research project (Fox 1980) investigating the feasibility of using a combination of mild processing methods to produce microbiologically stable product and at the same time minimize some of the adverse effects associated with accepted preservation techniques. The purpose of this research was to determine the influence of the four process parameters: (1) temperature and (2) time of heat treatment, (3) pH-value and (4) water activity (a_w) on an undesirable reaction which often occurs in foods—the formation of brown pigments in the progressive phase of the Maillard reaction. In this work, investigations were undertaken with a model product consisting of the reducing sugar, Glucose, and the amino acid, Alanine. From the data developed, it was determined that the lag time necessary before this reaction produced brown pigment was so long that this reaction was insignificant in a combination processing method using the parameters under investigation.