pH Effects in Foods: Development, Validation and Calibration of a Fundamental Model

The effects of pH observed in the activity of a number of enzymes from different origins and the degradation of green colour in blanched vegetables, was modelled based on fundamental kinetic principles by considering hydrogen ions as an integral part of the reaction mechanism. Parameters were estimated by non-linear regression analysis with explained parts (R2adj) was in all cases except for the enzyme lipase, well over 95°and frequently well over 98&Eth;Applying fundamental models in integral data analysis made it possible to pinpoint aberrations at high and low pH ranges in the discoloration of vegetables, which remained unnoticed using classical analysis procedures. The model on enzyme activity was successfully applied to analyse and to describe a double optimal pH region when iso-enzymes are present in the total pool of active enzymes.