Microencapsulation and ingredients firms share common challenges

Microencapsulation and food ingredients companies encounter many of the same challenges therefore strategic solutions for both often intersect, claims a new report from Frost & Sullivan​​.

Microcapsules are tiny particles that contain an active agent or core material surrounded by a shell or coating, and are now increasingly being used in food ingredients preparation.

Microencapsulation technology can be used to deliver a host of ingredients - flavours, oils, peptides, amino acids, enzymes, acidulants, colours and sweeteners - in a range of food formulations, from functional foods to ice cream.

The technology can also decrease costs for food makers, particularly those using sensitive ingredients like probiotics, and by reducing the need for preservatives.

And the market is booming: demand for encapsulation technologies is estimated to be growing at around 10 per cent, driven both by increasing fortification with health ingredients and consumer demand for novel products.

According to Frost & Sullivan regulations, genetic modification, as well as nutrition and health are issues currently challenging both these industries.

Regulations​ Regulations differ from region to region. EU regulations, for example, are considerably tighter than in the US. As a result, the report warns that global solutions are not often the right path to take, but that both food ingredients and microencaspulation firms must create solutions suitable for particular regions.

Genetic Modification​ The character of the GM debate differs by region or country - consumers in the EU bloc, for example, being far more cynical of this biotechnology than their US counterparts.

Companies wanting to compete and to target these different zones need to be innovative and adaptable. Israeli firm Biodar, for example, hasreleased a series of GM-free Identity Preserves specifically to meet European market requirements, says the report.

Nutrition and Health​ Opportunities are ripe in the functional food market - worth about $30 billion in the US and witnessing 20 per cent year on year growth - for both ingredients and microencapsulation firms.

According to the report, growing concerns over health have impacted the ingredients and microencapsulation industries in different ways. For example, there has been a move away from gelatine. Some microencapsulation firmsnow claim their solutions are all animal-free. A further market trend is the move towards sugar replacements such as aspartame and sucralose, driven by health concerns.

Obesity​ Science is dedicating increasing time and resources to improving our knowledge of the growing phenomenon of obesity. Defined as a Body Mass Index over 30, obesity is a risk factor for a host of illnesses including heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and respiratory disease.

Fresh figures show numbers are far from levelling off, with more than 200 million adults across the EU overweight or obese.

And far from being an adult problem, the number of European kids overweight is rising by a hefty 400,000 a year, according to the data from the International Obesity Task Force (IOFT).

The food industry is coming under increasing fire, viewed as a crucial player in the obesity phenomenon. Consumers in the US have already attempted to sue, unsuccessfully, food companies for making them fat. A successful lawsuit would effectively open the door to further litigation, says the report.

Although firms are less vulnerable today following the 'cheeseburger' bill passed last week in the US House of Representatives. The bill means that state and federal courts will block "frivolous lawsuits against the manufacturers, distributors or sellers of food or nonalcoholic beverage products"​ arising from obesity claims.

But pressure from government and consumer groups is driving food ingredients firms through market demand to investigate ways to improve the nutritional profile of their products.

"Similarly, the microencapsulation industry must be aware that food ingredientscompanies are more likely to be interested in encapsulation technologies that take into account the current drive towards healthy products,"​ underlines the report.

In the pursuit of microencapsulation needs, leading probiotics and ingredients firm Danisco recently set up a pilot plant to develop new methods for controlling release of nutritional and functional ingredients in foods.

The plant, based at its site in Grinsted, opened a few months ago and is expected to produce encapsulated products for the market before the end of the year.

The firm, for example, is looking at encapsulating soluble products in fat to stop them from dissolving immediately in solutions and to protect them from the heat during processing.