Is there a difference between microencapsulation and encapsulation?
Project developers and formulators often use microencapsulation and encapsulation interchangeably. But the difference between the two is considerable.
Encapsulation is typically tied to spray drying, a form of nutrient protection that typically involves:
- Health related nutrients for pharmaceutical delivery
- Packing active ingredients into a hard shell or soft gel capsule ~10 mm long to preserve stability, mask their taste, etc.
- Filled capsule is swallowed whole by the consumer
Microencapsulation, on the other hand, is a versatile and highly specialized delivery system that:
- Broadens the scope of applications to the food processing industries (eg., bakery, confectionery, meat products)
- Extends and enhances applications in feed additive for pet food processing industries
- Provides a platform for ongoing innovation — such as enabling the conception of new products (ie., probiotic-enhancing), and improving the performance of existing ones (ie., extending shelf life)
At a time when more people want foods that are good for their health — whether it has to do with diabetes, cholesterol, heart, gut/bowel or weight management — manufacturers are seeking innovative solutions for products that satisfy these demands. Microencapsulation enables product developers to create new formulations that fulfill on functional benefits. In fact, microencapsulation is changing the way all products are developed, offering the power to protect, preserve and deliver critical ingredients in complex food and animal systems in meaningful new ways.
Per Suanne Klahorst, senior writer on the subject at the University of California, “Nature may have provided the inspiration, but science ensures the high level of performance and stability.”