## 3 Results and Discussion
### Further Experimental Validation
#### 3.2.2 Quality Assessment  
The effectiveness of the osmotic dehydration process for strawberries was assessed by analyzing several quality parameters. These parameters included water activity (a\({}_{\text{w}}\)), moisture content, texture, and color, alongside the previously presented results for water loss (WL), solid gain (SG), and natural antioxidants transfer. The values of water activity, % moisture, and firmness of the strawberry samples in the different immersion times are presented in Table 6.  
The results showed a clear trend of decreasing a\({}_{\text{w}}\) and moisture content with increasing immersion time, which aligns with results from other research studies [44; 48; 49]. The fresh strawberries' samples had an a\({}_{\text{w}}\) of 0.9889 and a moisture content of 88.58%. These values significantly (\(p<0.05\)) decreased as the immersion time increased. At 170 min, the a\({}_{\text{w}}\) was reduced to 0.9669, and the moisture content was reduced to 82.25%. A further reduction in a\({}_{\text{w}}\) and moisture content was observed with increasing immersion times, reaching the lowest (\(p<0.05\)) values at 300 min with an a\({}_{\text{w}}\) of 0.8754 and a moisture content of 53.09%. The significant reduction in a\({}_{\text{w}}\) and moisture content over time indicates the effectiveness of the osmotic dehydration process in removing moisture from the strawberries. The decrease in a\({}_{\text{w}}\) to below 0.9, especially at 220 min and beyond, suggests that the strawberries had reached a level where microbial growth was significantly inhibited, enhancing their shelf life and stability. The moisture content also was reduced significantly, reaching just over 53% at 300 min, which is within the optimal range for dried product storage as recommended by [PERSON] et al. (2017) [50]. Generally, the minimum a\({}_{\text{w}}\) at which microorganisms can grow is 0.60, but these numbers are variable; for example, halophilic bacteria can grow at 0.75, and most bacteria require a\({}_{\text{w}}\) levels of about 0.87 for growth. Dried fruits and vegetables, typically have a low a\({}_{\text{w}}\) of 0.70 [51]. The osmotic dehydration process was effective in significantly reducing both the water activity (a\({}_{\text{w}}\)) and moisture content of the strawberries, with the lowest values observed at the longest immersion times. The reduction in a\({}_{\text{w}}\) to below 0.9 and moisture content to just over 53% demonstrates the efficiency of the process in inhibiting microbial growth and enhancing the shelf stability of the product. However, \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline
**Immersion Time** & **a\({}_{\text{w}}\)** & **Moisture Content** & **Firmness (N)** \\
**(Min)** & **a\({}_{\text{w}}\)** & **(\%)** & **Firmness (N)** \\ \hline
0 & 0.9889 \(\pm\) 0.0035 a \({}^{1}\) & 88.58 \(\pm\) 1.71 a & 2.41 \(\pm\) 0.58 a \\
170 & 0.9669 \(\pm\) 0.0031 b & 82.25 \(\pm\) 1.79 b & 2.34 \(\pm\) 0.72 ac \\
190 & 0.9330 \(\pm\) 0.0182 c & 74.49 \(\pm\) 1.70 c & 1.78 \(\pm\) 0.10 ab \\
220 & 0.9002 \(\pm\) 0.0131 d & 61.36 \(\pm\) 1.15 d & 2.03 \(\pm\) 0.18 ab \\
270 & 0.8880 \(\pm\) 0.0143 d & 59.07 \(\pm\) 0.33 d & 1.43 \(\pm\) 0.20 bc \\
300 & 0.8754 \(\pm\) 0.0154 d & 53.09 \(\pm\) 0.45 e & 1.05 \(\pm\) 0.16 b \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} \({}^{\dagger}\) Different letters in the same column indicate a significant difference (\(p<0.05\)).  
\end{table} 
Table 6: Water activity (a\({}_{\text{w}}\)), moisture content, and firmness at different Immersion Times. while these reductions contribute to the overall quality and shelf life of the dehydrated strawberries, the levels achieved suggest that additional processing steps, such as further drying or appropriate packaging, may be necessary to ensure the product's long-term safety and stability. Firmness is a critical quality attribute in dehydrated strawberries, influencing both consumer acceptance and the textural integrity of the final product.