Introduction to delivery systems and stability issues

Fortifying food with omega-3 (n-3) long chain (LC) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) by using a delivery system can be an advantage, since a physical barrier is created covering the unsaturated lipids, which might protect the lipids from oxidative degradation. Omega-3 delivery systems are both in liquid (e.g., oil-in-water emulsions) and solid (e.g., nano-microcapsules/particles) forms.

The latter relies on further processing of oil-in-water emulsions. In all cases, the production and stability of the delivery systems need to be optimized to avoid both physical destabilization and oxidative deterioration. Emulsion instability will result in decreased quality and will promote oxidative deterioration with nutritive loss of the healthy omega-3 LC PUFAs.

This chapter introduces different physical and oxidative (chemical) stability issues related to emulsions.