Since carotenoids are primarily lipid-soluble, one way to incorporate
them into foods is in the oil phase of oil-in-water
emulsions.
These emulsions are typically produced by homogenizing
oil and aqueous phases along with emulsifiers at high
pressure. This process results in oil droplets coated in the
surfactant that form an interfacial layer between the oil and
aqueous phases (Fig. 5) (McClements, 2005). Emulsions have
been found to be an effective way of incorporating bioactive
lipids into food products.
For example, emulsions were used to
create a delivery system for omega-3 fatty acids in ice cream
and yogurt.
These emulsions were found to be physically and
oxidatively stable, with little consumer detection of altered sensory
attributes