Micro-Encapsulated Powder Shelf-Life Determination

Nutraceuticals are becoming increasingly popular in America. Most major food companies have developed food and beverage lines incorporating various "functional foods" that provide health benefits that extend beyond basic nutrition.

Often times these ingredients may be highly unstable and sensitive to oxygen, thus producing undesirable oxidation. Although the health benefits appear to be numerous, short shelf-lives are creating obstacles for successful product launches. One solution is to encapsulate the ingredient with an oxygen barrier, thus limiting the contact with oxygen and reducing the amount of oxidation, which ultimately extends the shelf-life.

MOCON Has developed a method for determining the effectiveness of the encapsulating coating as a barrier to oxygen. By quantifying the amount of hexanal, a major oxidation by-produced after contact with oxygen, the effective oxygen transmission rate can be determined.