**Author details**

*Microencapsulation - Processes, Technologies and Industrial Applications*

The encapsulation of acids such as ascorbic, citric, fumaric, and lactic acids is usually carried out to avoid oxidation and allow them to be dissolved under specific conditions. Three specific applications stand out in this case: the dough improver, because the encapsulated ascorbic acid is often used to alter dough strength and improve slicing properties, color, and texture of baked products, being released during the proofing and baking stages, the aroma complement, and as an auxiliary agent in the meat processing, allowing the desired cured meat pigments to form [88].

Some natural colorants, such as *urucum*, β-carotene, and *Curcuma*, have solubility problems. It can be solved by encapsulation processes, which make them easier to handle during the process and improve the solubility and oxidation stability. Another advantage that can be associated with its use is in the shelf life extension, which can

Foods and other substances microencapsulated exhibit wide applicability, being an effective and extremely important tool in the preservation of various nutritional components, microorganisms, enzymes, dyes, etc., protecting food and other

Several materials can be used as encapsulants, the most common being carbohydrates and some proteins, due to their higher affinity with various types of materials to be encapsulated. There are several methods of encapsulation by physical, chemical, and physicochemical, the most used being atomization, fluidized bed,

Despite the wide applicability, encapsulation has found little space in the food industry because of the cost. While the pharmaceutical and cosmetic sectors often support the use of high-cost techniques, the food industry works with lower profit margins, reducing production costs. In addition, industries often have strong resistance to the adoption of new technologies, due to the cost of implementation

Development of methodologies for incorporation of functional compounds in foods is needed to improve the health benefits and marketability of foods. Finally, microencapsulation of nutrients is a relatively new technology in the food industry, and further studies are needed to determine how to apply this technology most

This work was partly funded by the Federal Institute of Triangulo Mineiro—

Campus Uberlândia and a FAPEMIG research scholarship.

exceed 2 years, compared to the 6 months for non-encapsulated ones [88].

products from the most aggressive processing methods.

**102**

**3. Conclusion**

and coacervation.

effectively.

and the need for training.

**Acknowledgements**

Pedro Henrique Rodrigues do Amaral1 , Patrícia Lopes Andrade1 and Leilane Costa de Conto2 \*

1 Triangulo Mineiro Federal Institute, Uberlândia, Brazil

2 Federal Institute of Santa Catarina, Urupema, Brazil

\*Address all correspondence to: leilanedeconto@gmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
