Chances and limits of microencupsulation in progressive food industry

Microencapsulation has gained importance in food technology especially in coevolution with the developments in functional food and dietary supplements. The aim of microencapsulation is to protect the core material from harsh conditions, so that it keeps its nutritional value. Although microencapsulation is in an early state of development, it seems to be necessary to evaluate the chances and risks of this technology. Because of the effects which can be reached by using the microencapsulation process there seems to be a great potential for the developments of new products or products with an added value. This contribution reviews the chances of microencapsulation in the food industry and tries to present and evaluate the limits of this new technology.