Development of a Versatile Database for Transport Properties of Foods

Abstract

The requirement of reliable data on transport properties of foods has emerged in the last decade due to their importance in the design and simulation of food processing operations. An international effort to obtain and analyze the published data has been made recently, due to the lack of reliable theoretical predictive models. In this framework, a user-friendly database system for the storage and maintenance of the transport properties of foodstuffs is proposed and developed in a Microsoft Access environment. The system allows the end-user to input and retrieve data, as well as to view diagrams with single or comparative data and predict values via a fully featured user-friendly interface. Currently the database has registered over 250 articles, which correspond to approximately 1200 records for the thermal conductivity and 1780 records for moisture diffusivity. Due to its flexibility, the system can be used as an universal template for developing similar database systems.

Publication
International Journal of Food Properties