Innovations and stability challenges in food emulsions

Abstract

When two immiscible liquids are mixed, they naturally stay in separate phases. This is because these liquids, due to their molecular properties, cannot spontaneously blend into a uniform mixture. Over the years, research has been focused on achieving long term stability in emulsions and significant progress has been made. But in the food industry, emphasis on sustainability has led to increased interest in methods that can achieve emulsion stability through green practices. This includes use of biopolymers and biodegradable materials, innovations to reduce food waste and food conservation. Emulsions have also been used in many innovative applications such as coatings, films, 3D printing inks, encapsulation systems and fat replacers. This review aims to briefly introduce different types of emulsions, their physical instabilities, recent innovations and how they align with sustainability and regulatory requirements.