Food products phase inversion

Phase inversion (Salager 1988 Salager et al. 2000 Salager et al. 2004) is used for preparation of some food products (e.g., production of margarine and butter), but is... 

Phase Inversion Phase inversion is the process whereby a system changes from an oil-in-water emulsion to a water-in-oil emulsion, or vice versa (Figure 5). Phase inversion is an essential step in the manufacture of a number of important food products, including butter and margarine (1, 60, 85). In most other foods, phase inversion is undesirable because it has an adverse effect on the products appearance, texture, stability, and taste and should therefore be avoided. 

The formulation of food systems as microemulsions is not easy, since addition of triglycerides to inverse micellar systems results in a phase change to a lamellar liquid crystalline phase. The latter has to be destabilized by other means than adding co-surfactants, which are normally toxic. An alternative approach to destabilize the lamellar phase is to use a hydrotrope, a number of which are allowed in food products. 

---