Cereal grains (rice, maize, wheat) provide 70% of the global food supply. The ability of these grains, and many other food commodities, to be dried to low water activities enhances their storage life and preserves their nutritional content. However, the common practice of using<br/>heated air, generally based on burning natural gas, to dry commodities accounts for a significant fraction of the carbon footprint of the agricultural and the food system. In addition, in many tropical countries, such drying systems are largely unavailable, and high ambient humidities result in high moisture contents of stored commodities. This enables growth of molds and insects, causing losses and the accumulation of mycotoxins such as fumonisin and aflatoxin, which present a dietary health threat for more than 4 billion people around the world. A solution to these issues is to implement the Dry Chain (www.drychain.org), which is simply to dry commodities to safe levels (&lt;65% relative humidity to prevent fungal growth) and then store in moisture-proof packaging. Use of modern desiccants such as Drying Beads TM<br/>(www.dryingbeads.org) could shift drying systems to use of renewable electrical power, reducing carbon generation, and provide efficient drying methods for humid climates in which heated-air drying performs poorly.

Desiccant-based food drying for reduced carbon generation and improved food security

2019 Fall National Meeting

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