Carotenoids could be
added to foods as pure compounds, oleoresins of foods (e.g.
paprika), or as dried food products (e.g. tomatoes). While these
optionsmay be viable in some foods, theymay be limited in others
by problemswith solubility, flavor, and stability.An alternate
possibility for incorporating carotenoids into foods would be to
incorporate them into emulsion or nanostructure delivery systems
that if necessary could be further encapsulated by drying
operations. These dispersed forms of carotenoids would have
the advantage of being more easily dispersed into food products.
In addition, delivery systems could be designed to help
decrease the degradation of the carotenoids. By identifying the
predominant carotenoid degradation pathway likely to occur in
a particular food product, delivery systems could be engineered
for optimal stability.