Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb
Abstract
Hlađenje se raspršivanjem (ili zamrzavanje raspršivanjem) već godinama detaljno proučava i upotrebljava u farmaceutici. U prehrambenoj industriji raste interes za primjenom ove tehnike, jer se pomoću nje mogu razviti funkcionalni prehrambeni proizvodi. Pri hlađenju se raspršivanjem sastojak dodaje u otopljeni lipidni nosač, a dobivena se smjesa raspršuje kroz mlaznicu atomizatora. Kada raspršeni materijal dođe u kontakt s okolinom, koja je ohlađena na temperaturu nižu od tališta nosača, sastojak se zgušnjava zbog izmjene topline između otopljenog materijala i hladnoga zraka, pri čemu nastaju čvrste lipidne mikročestice. Tehnologija se temelji na uporabi lipidnih nosača, kao što su voskovi i masti (npr. palmino ulje, pčelinji vosak, kakao maslac i ulje palminih koštica). Enkapsuliranjem se može promijeniti funkcionalnost, smanjiti higroskopnost, prikriti miris i okus, promijeniti topljivost sastojka te osigurati njegova zaštita, pri čemu se omogućuje kontrolirano otpuštanje aktivne komponente. Ova se jeftina tehnologija može relativno jednostavno koristiti i u industrijskim omjerima, a ne zahtijeva primjenu organskih otapala i povišene temperature. Enkapsulacija hlađenjem pomoću raspršivanja može ubrzati razvoj i proizvodnju funkcionalne i obogaćene hrane, jer može riješiti neke tehnološke probleme vezane uz uporabu sastojaka velike reaktivnosti i male stabilnosti.Spray chilling technology (also known as spray cooling and spray congealing technology) has been widely studied and used in the pharmaceutical field. In the food industry, this technique is gaining interest and can become useful because functional food formulations can be developed. Spray chilling is a fat-based system, which involves the addition of the component of interest to a molten lipid carrier, and the resulting mixture is fed through an atomiser nozzle. When the nebulised material is put into contact with the environment, which is cooled below the melting point of the matrix material, the vehicle solidifies (due to heat exchange between the molten material and cold air), and solid lipid microparticles are formed at the same time. This technology is fat based, and lipid carriers, such as wax and oil (e.g. palm oil, beeswax, cocoa butter, and kernel oil) can be used. This encapsulation technique can potentially change the functionality, reduce the hygroscopicity, mask taste or odour, change solubility, and provide physical protection in addition to allowing the controlled release of these ingredients. This low-cost technology is relatively simple to apply and scale up, and it does not require the use of organic solvents and the application of high temperatures in the process. Therefore, spray chilling encapsulation may facilitate the development and production of functional and enriched foods as it may solve some technological problems associated with the use of certain ingredients, such as those that have high reactivity and low stability
