A recent agreement between Food Science Australia (FSA) and Clover Corporation will increase the range of processed foods containing healthy omega-3 fish oils and selected microalgal oils by using second-generation MicroMAX microencapsulation technology.
In collaboration with Preventative Health National Research Flagship, FSA has expanded their work on encapsulation and developed new, more durable microencapsulation technologies.
The main difference, and benefit, of the new technology is the robustness of the encapsulation, allowing for a higher oil loading than the original MicroMAX technology, and the ability to withstand a variety of strenuous processing conditions without imparting a ‘fishy’ flavour and aroma to the food.
Clover Corporation, through its joint venture with Nu-Mega Ingredients, will use the technology to expand its product range and enter new international markets.
“Clover Corporation will be using the next generation MicroMax microencapsulation technology to improve the delivery and stability of its DRIPHORM HiDHA rich omega-3 fish oil, and other ingredients, enhance the commercial efficiency of providing the bioactives in the fish oil, and expand their application in foods and infant formulations,” Clover CEO Dr Ian Brown said.
The microencapsulation of fish oil, which involves enclosing microscopic droplets of fish oil in robust films, has been used to deliver the beneficial fatty omega-3 oils to a variety of foods, including long-life milk, processed cheese and yoghurt as well as snack foods, by protecting the fat from oxidation, prolonging the shelf life of the food and maintaining the desired taste.
This is the first commercial agreement that FSA has embarked on with the second generation technology.
FSA has previously worked with CSIRO’s Food Futures Flagship to understand the effects food processing has on microencapsulated products and continues to look for partners to use the MicroMAX technology in a range of applications.