Researching new desiccant materials to extend shelf life of dehydrated fruit chips.
Sponsored by: Cece J’s Snacks
Team Members
Wayne Yeo Krista Kim Joseph Imperial Jack Tunney Jack Fascowich Yukai Zhou
Instructor: Charlie Purdum
Project Poster
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Project Video
Project Summary
Overview
Our sponsor is having an issue with their desiccant not maintaining its shelf life promised of twelve-months. They are also looking for a way to automate the process of depositing desiccants into the packages to reduce manual labor.
Objectives
Research for an appropriate desiccant that would keep the product from being chewy throughout the entire one-year shelf life. Propose a solution that would automate or semi-automate the process of desiccant placement into the product.
Approach
Perform desiccant efficacy experiments under extreme environmental conditions to accelerate aging process and benchmark against oxygen absorbers currently used in product.
Outcomes
We found after getting results that the silica gel desiccant was the best out of the different types, specifically the desiccant from MidSouth. However, it is clear this experiment needs to be ran again in order to get rid of more variables and have a longer testing period in the oven.