Microencapsulation for Food Applications: A Review

• Published in: ACS applied bio materials Vol. 5; no. 12; pp. 5497 - 5512
• Main Authors: Yan, Cuie, Kim, Sang-Ryoung, Ruiz, Daniela R., Farmer, Jordan R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 19-12-2022
• Subjects: Antioxidants; Food Handling; Food Industry; Food Ingredients; Vitamins; encapsulation; microcapsule; food application; spray drying; microencapsulation; coacervation
• ISSN: 2576-6422; 2576-6422
• DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.2c00673

Food products contain various active ingredients, such as flavors, nutrients, unsaturated fatty acids, color, probiotics, etc., that require protection during food processing and storage to preserve their quality and shelf life. This review provides an overview of standard microencapsulation technologies, processes, materials, industrial examples, reasons for market success, a summary of recent applications, and the challenges in the food industry, categorized by active food ingredients: flavors, polyunsaturated fatty acids, probiotics, antioxidants, colors, vitamins, and others. We also provide a comprehensive analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the most common microencapsulation technologies in the food industry such as spray drying, coacervation, extrusion, and spray cooling. This review ends with future perspectives on microencapsulation for food applications.