Enhancing volatile retention and storage stability for encapsulated raspberry flavour powder

Given that food flavours consist of volatile compounds with varying solubility and hydrophobicity, choosing the appropriate solvents for dissolution and surfactants for encapsulation is crucial. However, there was little explanation underlying the impact of solvents and surfactants for flavour encapsulation by spray drying and their subsequent storage stability. Here we show that the retention, physical properties, and release behaviour of encapsulated raspberry flavour depend on the type and ratio of solvents: triacetin, propylene glycol (PG), and ethanol. Triacetin with PG or ethanol significantly improved the retention of volatiles with low boiling point (BP) (< 200 °C) and hydrophilic nature. PG acetal products were significantly reduced during spray drying. Combining 75 % triacetin with 25 % PG improved powder stability with high retention of flavour compounds at accelerated storage conditions. Consequently, the encapsulation and release profile of volatiles in spray-dried powders can be enhanced by the selection of solvents and their composition.