Most lipids in foods exist as colloidal dispersions stabilized by
surface active agents that slow down the gravitational separation of oil and
water. The surface active agents in emulsion create an oil-water interface
that has major impacts on the distribution of the components in foods that
impact lipid oxidation. This includes location and reactivity of prooxidative
factors such as transition metals, lipid hydroperoxides and minor lipid
components and antioxidants such as free radical scavengers and metal
chelators. Understanding of how the physical properties of the lipid-oil
interface in food emulsions impacts the chemistry of lipid oxidation has lead
to new strategies to inhibit oxidation such as creating charged surfaces that
electrostatically repel metals and thick interfaces that inhibit lipid±prooxidant
interactions. As food formulations continue to move towards inclusion of
more polyunsaturated fatty acids and the use of traditional antioxidants
becomes more limited due to increased consumer demand for all natural
foods, it is important to have a better understanding of the mechanisms of
lipid oxidation in foods dispersion so that novel antioxidant technologies can
be developed