An overview of encapsulation technologies for food applications

Encapsulation is a process to entrap active agents within a carrier material and it is a useful tool to improve delivery of bioactive molecules and living cells into foods. Materials used for design of protective shell of encapsulates must be food-grade, biodegradable and able to form a barrier between the internal phase and its surroundings. Among all materials, the most widely used for encapsulation in food applications are polysaccharides. Proteins and lipids are also appropriate for encapsulation. Spray drying is the most extensively applied encapsulation technique in the food industry because it is flexible, continuous, but more important an economical operation. Most of encapsulates are spray-dried ones,…