RECENT ADVANCES IN THE OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION OF FOODS

Partial dewatering and direct formulation of food pieces can be obtained by immersion in concentrated solutions. This process, known as osmotic dehydration or dewatering and impregnation soaking process (DIS process), can be used as a pretreatment before any complementary processing, and may lead to energy savings and quality improvement. To date, industrial applications of the process have mainly been limited to semi-candied fruit production lines, the control of which has mostly been empirical. Recent advances in the control of mass transfer have opened up the way for optimization of the process and the development of new applications, which have, in turn, triggered off new research areas for the years to come. These are mainly related to the management of concentrated solutions and the microbiological validation of the process.