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The mixing process greatly influence the mixing efficiency, as well as the quality and the price of the intermediate and/or the final product. Static mixer is used for premixing action before the main mixing process, for significant reduction of mixing time and energy consumption. This type of premixing action is not investigated in detail in the open literature. In this article, the novel numerical approach called Discrete Element Method is used for modelling of granular flow in multiple static mixer applications (1 - 3 Komax or Ross mixing elements were utilized), while the Computational Fluid Dynamic method was chosen for fluid flow modelling, using the Eulerian multiphase model. The main aim of this article is to predict the behaviour of granules being gravitationally transported in different mixer configuration and to choose the best configuration of the mixer taking into account the total particle path, the number of mixing elements and the quality of the obtained mixture. The results of the numerical simulations in the static mixers were compared to experimental results, the mixing quality is examined by RSD (relative standard deviation) criterion, and the effects on the mixer type and the number of mixing elements on mixing process were studied. The effects of the mixer type and the number of mixing elements on mixing process were studied using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Mathematical modelling is used for optimization of number of Ross and Komax segments in mixer in order to gain desirable mixing results. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR31055]

Osmolality represents solutions osmotic concentration, or number of dissolved substance particles in mass unit of water. Goal of this research was to investigate the possibility of pork meat osmotic dehydration process control by monitoring mass transfer between dehydrating material and three different osmotic solutions via osmotic solution osmolality measurement. In this research the results of the dependence of three different osmotic solutions from different concentrations of applied osmotic solutions are shown. Based on obtained dependences of osmolality and osmotic solution concentrations and data calculated from osmotic dehydration mathematical models from previous researches regarding simultaneous changing of dry matter content of dehydrating pork meat and concentration of osmotic solutions, dependences of osmotic solution osmolality and dry matter content of osmotically dehydrated pork meat are derived. From the results it can be concluded that there is a possibility of fast pork meat osmotic dehydration process control by immediate osmotic solutions osmolality measurement.

Thermal analysis of osmotically treated fish (Carassius gibelio) meat was performed by three thermal techniques: Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimetry (MDSC) and Thermogravimetry (TGA). The objective of the study was to investigate the effects of osmotic solutions (sugar beet molasses and aqueous ternary solutions) on the thermal characteristics of osmotically dehydrated fish meat (Carassius gibelio). The DSC thermograms of all samples assayed in this work, showed the characteristic glass transition, the protein denaturation endotherm in the range of 40 °C-90 °C and no water melting peak, as a consequence of characteristic behavior of samples with high non freezable water content. The results obtained suggest the existence of different thermal characteristics depending on osmotic solutions used in process of osmotic dehydration. Those changes of thermal characteristics involve differences in overall thermal stability, protein stability, and differences in glass transition temperature (Tg).

Screw conveyors are used extensively in food, plastics, mineral processing, agriculture and processing industries for elevating and/or transporting bulk materials over short to medium distances. Despite their apparent simplicity in design, the transportation action is very complex for design and constructors have tended to rely heavily on empirical performance data. Screw conveyor performance is affected by its operating conditions (such as: the rotational speed of the screw, the inclination of the screw conveyor, and its volumetric fill level). In this paper, horizontal, several single-pitch screw conveyors with some geometry variations in screw blade was investigated for mixing action during transport, using Discrete Element Method (DEM). The influence of geometry modifications on the performance of screw conveyor was examined, different screw designs were compared, and the effects of geometrical variations on mixing performances during transport were explored. During the transport, the particle tumbles down from the top of the helix to the next free surface and that segment of the path was used for auxiliary mixing action. The particle path is dramatically increased with the addition of three complementary helices oriented in the same direction as screw blades (1458.2 mm compared to 397.6 mm in case of single flight screw conveyor) Transport route enlarges to 1764.4 mm, when installing helices oriented in the opposite direction from screw blades. By addition of straight line blade to single flight screw conveyor, the longest particle path is being reached: 2061.6 mm [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR-31055]

Тhe paper presents results of the investigation of the influence of extrusion temperature and moisture content of treated material on the reduction of cyanogenic glycosides (CGs) in linseed-based co-extrudate. CGs are the major limitation of the effective usage of linseed in animal nutrition. Hence, some technological process must be applied for detoxification of linseed before its application as a nutrient. Extrusion process has demonstrated several advantages in reducing the present CGs, since it combines the influences of heating, shearing, high pressure, mixing, etc. According to obtained results, the increase in both temperature and moisture content of the starting mixture decreased the content of CGs in the processed material. HCN content, as a measurement of GCs presence, ranged from 25.42 mg/kg, recorded at the moisture content of 11.5%, to 126 mg/kg, detected at the lowest moisture content of 7%. It seems that moisture content and temperature had the impact on HCN content of equal importance. However, the influence of extrusion parameters other than temperature and moisture content could not be neglected. Therefore, the impact of individual factors has to be tested together. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. III 46012]

Osmotic dehydration is a low-energy process since water removal from the raw material is without phase change. The goal of this research is to estimate energy efficiency of the process of osmotic dehydration of pork meat at three different process temperatures, in three different osmotic solutions and in co- and counter-current processes. In order to calculate energy efficiency of the process of osmotic dehydration, convective drying was used as a base process for comparison. Levels of the saved heat energy in the process of osmotic dehydration in comparison to convective drying were from 1.40 MJ to 1.97 MJ per 1 kg of fresh meat. Based on the presented results it can be concluded that the optimization of the process of osmotic dehydration from the aspect of energy efficiency has to include: choosing molasses as an osmotic solution; process temperature of 20°C; choosing counter-current process due to higher energy efficiency.

Single pitch screw conveyors are commonly used equipment in industry, used for transport of bulk materials. In this paper, several horizontal single-pitch screw conveyors with modifications in helices geometry were investigated for mixing action during transport, using Discrete Element Method. The influence of geometry variations on the performance of screw conveyor was examined, different designs were compared, and their effects on mixing performances were investigated. During the transport, the particle tumbles down from the top of the helix to the next free surface and that segment of the path was used for auxiliary mixing action. According to results, the addition of three complementary helices or blades, oriented in the same, or the opposite direction of screw helix, enlarges the particle path within the screw conveyor 3 - 5 times.

Osmotic treatment of the fish Carassius gibelio was studied in two osmotic solutions: ternary aqueous solution - S1, and sugar beet molasses - S2, at three solution temperatures of 10, 20 and 30oC, at atmospheric pressure. The aim was to examine the influence of type and concentration of the used hypertonic agent, temperature and immersion time on the water loss, solid gain, dry mater content, aw and content of minerals (Na, K, Ca and Mg). S2 solution has proven to be the best option according to all output variables.[ Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR 31055]

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]

In this work instrumental analysis of color and texture of fresh and osmotically dehydrated samples of pork meat (in three different osmotic solutions solutions R1: NaCl+sucrose+water, R2: R1+ molasses, 1:1, R3: molasses) was carried out. Results obtained for fresh and dehydrated meat in three different solutions were compared. The results obtained in the analysis of instrumental colors, showed a statistically significant difference between the samples of raw meat and dehydrated samples. From the comparative results, there are statistically significant difference between the R1 dehydrated meat and meat dehydrated in R2 and R3. The values of texture parameters that were monitored showed that the same trends were statistically significant, i.e. process of osmotic dehydration led to increase of these values for the dehydrated meat samples in all investigated osmotic solutions. The results obtained by instrumental analysis are in accordance with the results obtained by descriptive sensory analysis.

Present study investigated effects of plasticizer contribution on structural, barrier and mechanical properties of corn starch based edible films. Films were obtained from solutions (containing gelatinized starch, polyol, guar-xantan gum modified mixture and water) by casting it on a Petri dish. Sorbitol acted as a plasticizer and guar-xantan modified mixture had role to enable better film folding and handling. Sorbitol was used in concentrations: 100, 130 and 160% (dry starch basis). The film proved to be strong, moderately flexible with good barrier properties to oxygen and water vapor. It was estimated that oxygen and water vapor permeability increases as plasticizer content in the film increases. Mechanical strength of films decreases due to plasticizer addition.

The presented paper describes an investigation of osmotic dehydration of white cabbage (Brasicca oleracea var. capitata), domestic cultivar Futoški and ways of improving nutritional value of the final product. Osmotic dehydration was carried out in three different osmotic solutions and on three temperatures. First osmotic solution was mixture of NaCl, KCl and sucrose in water (Solution I). Solution I was used in three concentrations 40, 50 and 60%. Second solution was mixture of solution I and sugar beet molasses in ratio 1:1 (solution II), concentrations 50, 60 and 70% and third solution was pure sugar beet molasses (solution III), in concentrations of40, 60 and 80% dry matter. The most important kinetic parameters of the dehydration process: Water losses (WL), solid gain (SG), water loss/solid gain ratio were determined after 1, 3 and 5 hours of dehydration. Mineral content in the fresh cabbage and osmotically dehydrated cabbage was determined.

After functional phase, packaging becomes waste that is recycled or disposed of in landfills. Recently, numerus packages have been developed for assessing the packaging risk on the environment. We applied Gabi 4 Education software on polymer product packaging for meat products. The objective of first part of the paper was characterization of materials used for meat and meat products packaging in terms of mechanical and barrier properties. Results show that tested materials are able to keep protective atmosphere and contribute to the quality and sustainability of the product. Air permeability was 3.60 and 26.60 ml/m224h, and water vapor was 6.90 and 9.50 ml/m224h, respectively, for foils 1 and 2, as a result of different film composition. In second part, based on real data, Gabi 4 Education software is applied. The obtained results showed that organic compounds emissions have the highest impact on human health and the most damaging environmental impact observed was the emission of CO2.

One of the most important crops used for feeding of animals is maize (Zea mays L). Kernels of maize contain 7-13 g of protein/100 g of dry matter, and they are protagonist of chemical and physical changes during the processing of raw material. There are several methods for determination of protein changes during thermal processing. The objective of this study was to investigate application of Lab-on-a-Chip electrophoresis as a method for qualitative and quantitative determination of maize protein modifications during pelleting. Parameters which were varied during pelleting process were diameter of sieve openings of the hammer mill and duration of steam conditioning process. According to the results, conditioning retention time of 5 min could be considered as mild in terms of protein changes for samples ground to pass 3 and 4 mm sieve. Conditioning retention time of 10 min was long enough for achieving of high level of protein modifications for all samples. Regression analysis of obtained data showed that both independent parameters had significant (p < 0.05) influence on response variable (protein solubility). Protein electrophoregrams of investigated samples were qualitatively nearly identical, but quantitative differences occurred, especially in the range 18-85 kDa of protein molecular weight (MW). Results in this paper have proven that Lab-on-a-Chip electrophoresis registered changes in protein structure even when protein solubility was not changed, unlike other conventional methods. This method can be used for determination of degree of protein changes during pelleting process with remarkable certainty.

Mass transfer of pork meat cubes (M. triceps brachii), shaped as 1x1x1 cm, during osmotic dehydration (OD) and under atmospheric pressure was investigated in this paper. The effects of different parameters, such as concentration of sugar beet molasses (60-80%, w/w), temperature (20-50ºC), and immersion time (1-5 h) in terms of water loss (WL), solid gain (SG), final dry matter content (DM), and water activity (aw), were investigated using experimental results. Five artificial neural network (ANN) models were developed for the prediction of WL, SG, DM, and aw in OD of pork meat cubes. These models were able to predict process outputs with coefficient of determination, r2, of 0.990 for SG, 0.985 for WL, 0.986 for aw, and 0.992 for DM compared to experimental measurements. The wide range of processing variables considered for the formulation of these models, and their easy implementation in a spreadsheet calculus make it very useful and practical for process design and control.

The main objective was to examine the influence of different osmotic parameters on the mass transfer kinetics during osmotic treatment of pork meat (M. triceps brachii). The system’s response parameters observed were: water loss (WL), solid gain (SG), final dry matter content (DM) and water activity (aw). The optimum osmotic parameters seem to be: osmotic time of 4 h, molasses solution concentration of 72% and solution temperature of 45oC. These conditions were determined using Response Surface Methodology (RSM), and by superimposing the contour plots of each process variable. The predicted responses for the optimum drying conditions were: DM of 64.5%, WL in the close vicinity of 0.53, SG about 0.15 and aw in the range of 0.83 to 0.84. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR-31055]

Enzymatic and non-enzymatic browning of mild-heat processed spreads, based on basil and cheese was monitored as color changes, by means of multivariate color image analysis. The objective of the study was to assess the antioxidative potential of lactoferrin with combinations of ascorbic, citric, lactic acid, and NaCl on prolonged lipid oxidation in fresh basil-based spreads. The 'browning' process, occurring in various foods, can be monitored by an algorithm describing the color properties of digitalized images, expressed by its color coordinates. The images were taken with a CCD camera, and afterwards transformed to frequency color distribution of color coordinate values. Different concentrations of organic acids had main influence on browning process, while lactoferrin and NaCl presence had no significant effect. The determined values of Peroxide Value (PV), Acid Value (AV) and oxidative induction time, determined by Differential Scanning Calorimetry OITDSC (for both 0th and 30th day) were the input values for further calculation.

Faculty of Technology in Novi Sad developed a new method of osmotic dehydration of fruits and vegetables where the process of osmotic dehydration is followed by evaporation and the recirculation of osmotic solution. The process is carried out in several cycles and the osmotic solution is heated only in the first cycle. Moisture that exceeds the osmotic solution during osmotic dehydration of fruits and vegetables, in next stage is removed by evaporation. In order to prepare the energy-sustainable and economically effective production, an analysis of mass and energy balance of one complete cycle was performed. Energy model of evaporation of osmotic solution with the possibility of utilization of waste heat for heating other parts of the plant is shown. We used the solution of sugar beet molasses as an osmotic solution due it's favorable nutritional and microbiological properties.

Influence of the certain process parameters (concentration and temperature) on the color of the apple samples, osmotically dehydrated in sugar beet molasses, was investigated. Osmotic dehydration was performed at atmospheric pressure and with the following combinations of temperature and concentration of the solution: 45oC and 40oBx, 45oC and 80oBx, 65oC and 40oBx, 65oC and 80oBx. Color measurements were conducted by using colorimeter Konica Minolta CR-400. Used instrument provides the possibility of presenting the quantitative color parameters in different systems. CIE L*a*b*color system was selected, based on three-filter method. The values of the L *parameter, which describes brightness of the samples, are significantly changed only in the first hour of the process. After that, changes in the color brightness of the samples are insignificant. The negative value of parameter a*(about -3), measured in fresh apples, during the dehydration was significantly changed and get a preceding plus sign which indicates the dominance of red color in the treated samples (a*= 9-13). In comparison with fresh apples, a small increase of the value of the parameter b*during the first hour of dehydration can be observed, which indicates the increase in participation of yellow color in the samples. Further dehydration led to a decrease in the intensity of yellow color in all treated samples.

The presented paper describes an investigation of osmotic treatment of nettle leaves in two different osmotic solutions (sugar beet molasses and ternary solution), under atmospheric pressure, at room temperature. The main objective was to examine the influence of type of osmotic agents and immersion time on the mass transfer phenomena during osmotic treatment. Different kinetics parameters were monitored (water loss, solid gain, water loss to solid gain ratio, weight reduction, normalized solid content and normalized moisture content), after 30-90 min of process. Principal Component Analysis showed good discrimination capabilities for different samples, while Standard Score was used in optimal process parameters determination.

Thermal behavior of and fresh and osmotically dehydrated pork meat in sugar beat molasses pork meat was studied by Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Samples of 7-11 mg (moisture content 5-20%) of osmotically dehydrated pork meat in aluminum pans were cooled from 20°C to -90 °C, equilibrated for 5 min and scanned initially from -90 °C to 150 °C at a rate of 5°C/min. The glass transition temperature (Tg) was determined from the DSC heat flow curves with TA Advantage software. Since much of the water was bound to the solid matrix, samples with low moisture content only showed up the glass transition. Tg decrease with increasing moisture content. Tg decreased from -6.0 °C to -10.1 °C when the moisture content increased from 5% to 20%. DSC curves of fresh pork meat did not showed the glass transition.

In animal nutrition macro- and micronutrients such as Na, Cl, Ca, P, Mg, Mn, Zn, Fe, Cu, Co, Se etc. are very important, and their deficiency leads to disorders in body constitution and in certain biochemical processes. . Feed of plant origin, primarily in ruminant nutrition, does not contain enough macro- and micro-elements, and they are usually added in the form of rock salt for licking or different mineral blocks. Molasses-mineral block is a mixture of animal salt, different mineral substances and sugar beet molasses. The addition of molasses provides an increase in nutritional value and palatability of the product, increase of mineral content, vitamins and antioxidants in the product, as well as the mechanical strength of the blocks. Application of molasses-mineral blocks in animal nutrititon significantly improves productivity and safety. . This paper presents a method of manufacturing and chemical characteristics of molasses-mineral block as a component of organic feed for animals.

Osmotic dehydration of apple was carried out using sugar beet molasses and sucrose solutions in different concentrations (40.0%, 60.0% and 80.0% for sugar beet molasses; 30%, 50% and 70% for sucrose solutions), at constant temperature of 45°C, under atmospheric pressure. At different time intervals (up to 5h) of contact with the osmotic media, total mass, solids gain, water loss and moisture content were determined for each sample. Comparison of the most important kinetics parameters during osmotic dehydration in sugar beet molasses and sucrose solution was performed. Better results were achieved in case when sugar beet molasses was used as hypertonic solution. The experimental data modeling was successfully achieved employing an empirical model suggested by Lab Fit Curve Fitting Software and high values of the coefficient of correlation was reached. All the results obtained allow concluding that the osmotic dehydration kinetics strongly depends on type and concentration of osmotic solution and contact time.

The paper examined osmotic dehydration of plums in different concentrations of sugar beet molasses solution (40, 60 and 80%), at a temperature of 45oC and atmospheric pressure. The main objective was to examine the influence of immersion time and concentration of molasses on the mass transfer kinetics during osmotic drying. The most important kinetic parameters of the process (water loss-WL, solid gain-SG and weight reduction-WR), rate of water loss (RWL), rate of solid gain (SG) and also WL/SG ratio, which is the most significant efficiency indicator of osmotic dehydration, were calculated. The results indicate that the water and solute diffusion is the highest in the first 3h of dehydration. These kinetic parameters of the process were determined after 20, 40, 60, 90, 120, 180, 240 and 300 minutes of dehydration.

All models which are used to describe the behavior of electrically charged colloidal particles are based on the presence of two basic layers which surround a particle - stationary and diffused layer known as electric double layer. Electrokinetic's phenomena are generated by ions in the diffused layer and a potential across the diffused layer where hydrodynamic motion of liquid still exists is a measurable parameter denoted as electro kinetic or Zeta potential. By adding positively charged ions Cu2+ and Al3+, Zeta potential can be reduced to a zero point in which repulsive forces between the colloidal particles stop to exist enabling their agglomeration and coagulation in aqueous solutions. It has been experimentally confirmed in all tested preparations that the addition of Cu2+ and Al3+ ions changed the sign of Zeta potential in such a way that a negative Zeta potential gradually decreased, proportionally to the increased concentrations of these ions. Electrokinetic's measurements also showed that changes in the sign of Zeta potential occurred at lower concentrations of coagulant CuSO4 as compared to coagulant Al2(SO4)3. The reason for this is a greater ability of surface complexations of Cu2+ ions and coagulation enhancement effect of SO42- ions.

The osmotic dehydration process of carrot in sugar beet molasses solutions (40, 60 and 80%), at three temperatures (45, 55 and 65°C) and atmospheric pressure, was studied. The main aim was to investigate the effects of immersion time, working temperature and molasses concentration on mass transfer kinetics during osmotic dehydration. The most important kinetic parameters were determined after 20, 40, 60, 90, 120, 180, 240 and 300 min of dehydration. Diffusion of water and solute was the most intensive during the first hour of the process and the maximal effect was observed during the first 3 hours of immersion. During the next two hours of dehydration, the process stagnated, which implied that the dehydration time can be limited to 3 hours.

The paper describes texture and mineral content of apple, osmotically dehydrated in sugar beet molasses as compared to apples treated in saccharose solution. Osmotic dehydration was conducted at constant temperature of 55°C and atmospheric pressure. During the experiment, the concentration of sugar beet molasses was varied 40 to 80%, the concentration of saccharose solutions was varied in the range of 30 to 70%, and the most important kinetic parametars of the osmotic dehydration, after 1, 3 and 5 hours of immersion were observed. During osmotic dehydration, in the samples which were treated in sugar beet molasses, the content of minerals was increased to a great extent that enhanced their nutritive value. Textural quality parameter was evaluated from the maximum cut force, tested at Instron testing machine. It was found that the samples dehydrated in saccharose solutions had a softer and more gentle texture - the maximum force load decreased threefold as compared to the other samples.

The paper describes a study of osmotic dehydration of red cabbage in sugar beet molasses of different concentrations (40, 60 and 80%) at 50°C and under atmospheric pressure. The best results were obtained at the sugar beet molasses of 80% as an osmotic medium. The most important kinetic parameters of the process were determined: water loss, solid uptake, weight reduction, normalized solid content and normalized moisture content. The kinetic parameters were determined after 1, 3 and 5 hours. Mass transfer coefficients were calculated using Hawkes and Flink's model and the results indicate that the diffusion of water and solids was the most intensive during the first three hours of dehydration.

Electrokinetic potential is an important property of colloidal particles and, regarding the fact that it is a well defined and easily measurable property, it is considered to be a permanent characteristic of a particular colloidal system. In fact, it is a measure of electrokinetic charge that surrounds the colloidal particle in a solution and is in direct proportion with the mobility of particles in an electric field. Gouy-Chapman-Stern-Graham's model of electric double layer was adopted and it was proven experimentally that the addition of Cu++ ions to sugar beet pectin caused a reduction in the negative electrokinetic potential proportional to the increase of Cu++ concentration. Higher Cu++ concentrations increased the proportion of cation specific adsorption (Cu++ and H+) with regard to electrostatic Coulombic forces. Consequently, there is a shift in the shear plane between the fixed and diffuse layers directed towards the diffuse layer, i.e. towards its compression and decrease in the electrokinetic potential or even charge inversion of pectin macromolecules.

The effect of edible coatings was studied with the objective to increase the content of solids during osmotic dehydration of foods. This study encompassed treatments of carrot with 3% maize starch solution applied in the form of single and double coatings. Samples of carrot were dehydrated in saccharose solution or sugar beet molasses as osmotic agents during 5h, at 55°C and normal pressure. It was concluded that double coating performed best, increasing the content of solids in the samples by more than four times. The possibility of recycling the osmotic solutions after concentrating them to the initial solid content was also considered.

Different authors have investigated hot air drying of sugar beet pulp, but no data on drying kinetics can be found in the literature. The aim of this study was to find suitable model for drying kinetics of sugar beet pulp. Of all models applied to drying curves, the best results were obtained for logarithmic equation. Also it was found that pressing of sugar beet pulp reduces time needed for drying by 10%, without any change in drying kinetics or any significant influence on coefficient of rehydration ratio.

The aim of this study is optimisation of osmotic drying treatment of crucian carp (Carassius carassius) performed in sugar beet molasses solutions under atmospheric pressure, at constant solution temperature of 35°C. Statistical analysis was performed using StatSoft Statistica, for Windows, ver.10 program. Response surface methodology (RSM) approach was used for developing mathematical models describing the effects of the independent variables on the responses for dried fish samples. The independent variables were solution concentration (60, 70 and 80% w/w) and immersion times (1, 3 and 5h). Fuzzy synthetic evaluation was used to determine the optimum drying conditions. The optimum conditions appear to be treatment time of 5h and solution concentration of 80% w/w. The responses for the optimum drying conditions were found to be: dry matter content (DM) 62.59%, water loss (WL) 0.54g/g of initial sample weight, solid gain (SG) 0.10 of initial sample weight and water activity (aw) of 0.86.

Counter-current osmotic dehydration of carrot and apple in the sugar beet molasses (50, 60, 70 and 80%) and sucrose solution (40, 50, 60 and 70%) was examined. After dehydration in less concentrated solution, the sample of carrot/apple was transferred into the higher concentrated solution. Each phase lasted 15 minutes, and whole process of the dehydration lasted 1 hour. Experiments were carried out at atmospheric pressure and temperature of 650C. Dry matter content of apple was changed from 13.43 to 42.3% in sugar beet molasses, while in the sucrose solution dry matter content was increased from 15.05 to 43.89%. In case of counter-current dehydration of carrots, dry matter content was varied from 11.19 to 42.11% when sugar beet molasses was used as an osmotic solution, while in the case of sucrose solution dry matter content was changed from 11.43 to 43.21%. .