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RESULTS
By coupling physical heat and mass transfer models with statistical proteolysis rate quantification models, the 3D version of the ‘numerical ham’ model developed here can quantitatively predict the spaceand- time course of proteolysis index, water content, salt content and water activity (aw) and the kinetics of weight loss inside a real ham geometry. This simulator was built from a series of 181 X-ray computed tomography images, and the set of variables can be visualized as 3D maps, profiles, and even mean values calculated in each main group of muscles making up the ham.
The model has been tested at a big industry partner, where it served to estimate—after a 10h computation—the extra time needed at the low-temperature rest phase for two batches of hams produced at 25%-shorter and 33%-shorter salting-phase times to reach the same aw values at the end of the rest phase as normally-salted hams. The model estimated this time as 3 weeks.

FUTURE OUTLOOK
Work is currently underway to bring a number of improvements, chiefly integration of the strong drying-driven variation in ham volume (that can shrink 30%–40% of initial volume), in order to more accurately predict in-ham salt diffusion patterns.