ABSTRACT
Design criteria for food systems call for specific perfor-
mance and complex functionality during production,
storage, and consumption, a fact that often requires the
use of microencapsulated ingredients. Today, more than
several hundred types of microcapsules can be found in the
food industry. Their use ranges from delivery of food
flavors and colors to vitamins, minerals, and enzymes.
Microencapsulation has two principal purposes. Firstly,
functionalities may be maintained over an extended time
by protecting ingredients from microbial, chemical, or
physical processes that would alter their performance.
Secondly, functionality of ingredients may be “timed” by
controlling the kinetics of mass transport of microencap-
sulated compounds from the capsule to the food. Because
of this, microencapsulation has become the dominant mean
in the food industry to manufacture “release-on-demand”
systems, as production rates can be high while costs are
relatively low.
