ENCAPSULATION OF FOOD INGREDIENTS - A REVIEW OF AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGY, FOCUSING ON HYDROCOLLOIDS

The encapsulation of food ingredients is usually accomplished with either lipids or hydrophilic polymers. A plethora of techniques have been used, including spraying, extrusion, entrapment, phase separation, crystallization, and polymerization. Each of these techniques may be used to encapsulate food ingredients, i.e., a thin coating surrounds particles of the food ingredient, or to entrap the food particles in a matrix. Application examples illustrating these methods are presented, both for direct encapsulation of food ingredients and 'indirect' encapsulation of precursors. Hydrocolloids as encapsulating agents are emphasized.