Infrared Ray Application in Date Syrup Concentration: Impact on physicochemical Characteristics, Microbial Quality, and Artificial Neural Network Based Prediction of Date Syrup Yield

This study aimed to concentrate date syrup using infrared radiation (IRC) technology to achieve a final concentration of 65%, while evaluating its physicochemical and microbial quality and modeling its yield using artificial neural networks (ANNs). The results showed the superiority of the IRC technique over the conventional (CC) method, reducing processing time by 28.57% and achieving a 53.40% higher heating rate. The ANN model demonstrated high accuracy in predicting yield (R ²  = 0.989), recording the highest yield of 69.13% at 1520 W and 95°C. The date syrup produced using IRC exhibited lower specific energy consumption, density, and electrical conductivity compared to the conventional method, along with improved color characteristics and an 11.09% reduction in browning index. The technique also achieved an increase in total soluble solids (TSS) to 65.81%, with a lower moisture content and a higher level of monosaccharides. From a health perspective, no microbial growth was recorded when using 1250W of power, while sensory evaluation showed no significant differences for consumers. Economically and environmentally, IRC technology reduced annual costs by 24% and increased the sustainability of the process by 51.57%. The study concludes that AI-powered infrared technology is an ideal possibility for producing high-quality date syrup in a sustainable manner.