MICROENCAPSULATION OF VOLATILES BY SPRAY-DRYING IN WHEY PROTEIN-BASEDWALL SYSTEMS

Volatile retention during microencapsulation by spray drying was studi ed using whey proteins as microencapsulating agents. Ethyl butyrate (E B) and ethyl caprylate (ECY) were microencapsulated in wall systems co nsisting of whey protein isolate (WPI) or a 1:1 mixture of WPI and lac tose ( WPI/Lac). Retention of volatiles was significantly affected by wall solids concentration (10-30%, w/w), initial ester load (10-75%, w /w, of wall solids), and by ester and wall type. Ester retention in WP I/Lac was higher than in WPI. Maximum retention levels obtained for (E B) and (ECY) during spray drying were 76 and 92%, respectively, demons trating the effectiveness of whey protein-based wall systems in microe ncapsulation of volatiles.