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S. SUBRAMANIAN and G. Stagnitti. Ingredient Development, Martek Biosciences Boulder Corp., 4909 Nautilus Ct. N., Ste. 208, Boulder, CO 80301 Evidence for the importance of omega-3 fatty acid DHA (docosahexaenoic acid, C22:6 n-3) in human health such as cardiovascular health and maternal and infant nutrition has continued to build at a rapid pace over the past two decades. As a component of every cell of human body, DHA is gaining importance as a 'nutraceutical' ingredient. Much of the requirement for DHA is primarily met through the use of supplements in the form of soft gel capsules. There is a growing need to find ways to "enrich and fortify" foods with DHA. However, DHA, under certain conditions, is highly susceptible to oxidation leading to rapid deterioration of flavor quality of fortified foods. Stability and thus compatibility for food fortification of DHA is a big challenge to producers as well as processors and end-users. Encapsulation provides various benefits to sensitive ingredients like DHA such as protection from oxygen and secondary processing; allows uniform distribution in food product, convenience of addition, stability and shelf-life extension and minimize ingredient interactions. A wide variety of encapsulation techniques or processes are used in a number of different situations based upon ingredient requirements. This overview will highlight techniques that are commonly used in the food industry. Some of the technologies reviewed include spray drying, spray chilling/cooling, fluidized bed coating or suspension coating, and inclusion complexation. The initial quality of DHA-rich oil obtained from algae via fermentation consistently has a p-anisidine value of less than 3.0. The p-anisidine value is a good indicator of oxidative degradation history of oil. A good initial quality of DHA-rich oil enables further processors and end-users to incorporate DHA at significantly high levels in various food products without compromising sensory and oxidative stability of such fortified foods. However, DHA-rich oil by itself has limited scope in food applications. Examples of DHA-fortified foods such as nutritional bars and dry cereals with good chemical and sensory qualities using encapsulated DHA are presented.
Session 38, Challenges in the development of functional foods with omega-3 fatty acids
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