4^th International Food Safety, Quality & Policy Conference

Microencapsulation is defined as “the process in which small solid particles, liquid components or gaseous materials are coated or entrapped within another shell material”. Due to the presence of the shell material, the core is isolated and protected from external environment. This promising process is used in the pharmaceutical, agricultural, cosmetic and recently in the food industries. Among the various techniques used for microencapsulation, those most commonly employed are spray drying, extrusion, emulsion and fluid-bed coating. In food science, microencapsulation involves the incorporation in small capsules of natural ingredients, such as omega-3, phytochemicals, amino acids, peptides, probiotics, enzymes, prebiotics, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. In this way the bioactive compound is protected from the external environment, then improving its processability, controlling the release mechanism of the core materials, enhancing probiotics survival and masking undesired odors or tastes. The shell materials for food application must be Generally Recognised As Safe (GRAS) for human health. Examples from literature include carbohydrates, proteins and lipids. Moreover, in recent years, the use of functional and health-promoting shell materials is becoming increasingly important. Among the food ingredients that have been encapsulated, limited information about the phytosterols is available. Phytosterols are lipophilic compounds, well-known for their cholesterol-lowering activity. Because of their chemical structure, phytosterols are subjected to oxidation, especially when exposed to heating or to a long-term storage. This process leads to the formation of compounds, namely phytosterols oxidation products (POPs), which reduce the cholesterol-lowering action of phytosterols and may have toxic effects. In addition, it must be considered that the incorporation of phytosterols in food is complicated because of their chalky taste and water insolubility. These problems can be overcome by using microencapsulation process. In this contest, the phytosterols microincapsulation as ingredients for formulation of functional foods will be discussed.