ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses various critical aspects related to food enrichment with essential fatty acids, including the rationales and the processes employed for enrichment. The health-promoting potential of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), especially eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), is known worldwide. Fish and other marine animals are the main sources of essential fatty acids, but a large portion of the population does not consume fish owing to their dietary habits. Thus, enrichment of commonly consumed food items with omega-3 fatty acids is the need of the hour, to fulfill the recommended daily allowances. However, the oxidation of fatty acids due to high unsaturation, shelf life and taste/flavor stability are some major challenges associated with the omega-3-enriched foods. The development of new techniques like microencapsulation, nanoencapsulation, biotechnology and the use of enzymes and antioxidants provides some possible solutions. Food can be enriched with essential fatty acids, either by modifying feeds given to animals or by direct addition of omega-3 PUFAs in pure powder/extract form to the products. The need for new omega-3 PUFA-enriched foods is predicted to increase and diversify in the future, which will pose challenging tasks for food producers and technologists.
