Whey protein isolate (WPI) has functional properties such as gelation and emulsification. Emulsion gels combine the benefits of both emulsions and hydrogels. In this study, WPI hydrogels and emulsion gels were developed with goji oil (GO) as the oil phase by the inclusion of blueberry extract (BE) in the protein matrix. Heat-denatured WPI (hWPI) particles and emulsions were characterized in terms of size distribution, ζ-potential, interfacial protein, and anthocyanin partition. The inclusion of anthocyanins-rich blueberry extract led to the aggregation of hWPI particles, but it also increased the interfacial protein of 10% goji oil emulsions to 20% and decreased their size distribution to 120 and 325 nm. WPI hydrogels and emulsion gels were analyzed in terms of their water-holding capacity, which decreased from 98% to 82% with the addition of blueberry extract and goji oil. Syneresis, rheological, and morphological characteristics were also analyzed. The gelation time of hWPI particles and emulsions was shortened from 24 h to 12 h when incorporating blueberry extract to form a dense network. The network was the most homogeneous and densest in the presence of 3% blueberry extract and 5% goji oil. The co-inclusion of blueberry extract and goji oil increased the syneresis during the freeze–thaw cycles, with the values rising from 13% to 36% for 5% BE hydrogel and BE-containing emulsion gels after the first cycle. All WPI hydrogels and emulsion gels exhibit predominantly elastic behavior. Moreover, anthocyanin release, antioxidant activity, and the fatty acid composition profile were also analyzed during in vitro digestion. Soluble and free anthocyanins in the digested medium were reduced with the goji oil content but increased with the blueberry extract content. The stability of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the digested medium was improved by the addition of blueberry extract. The antioxidant activity of the digested medium increased with the content of blueberry extract but decreased with the content of goji oil. The ABTS^∙+ scavenging capacities decreased from 63% to 49% by increasing the content of GO from 0% to 10% and they increased from 48% to 57% for 5% BE and 10% GO emulsion gels as the BE content increased from 0% to 5% after 6 h of digestion. The data gathered should provide valuable insights for future efforts to co-encapsulate hydrophilic and hydrophobic agents, thereby enhancing their stability, bioavailability, and functional properties for potential applications in food industries.

Determination and verification of the key aroma compounds of anhydrous milk fat (AMF) were conducted during biocatalysis at different times using commercial immobilized Lipozyme RMC from Rhizomucor miehei and Lipozyme TL-IM from Thermomyces lanuginosus. The analysis techniques employed included headspace-solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) coupled with olfactory port, aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA), odor activity values (OAV), aroma recombination model, and omission experiments. A total of 17 main odorants were identified and quantified in AMF, and characterized by flavor dilution factors ranging from 4 to 128. Among them, butanoic acid, methyl octanoate, hexanoic acid, methyl butanoate, and methyl decanoate revealed the highest flavor dilution. These aroma-active compounds were confirmed as important odorants based on their OAVs ≥ 1. Furthermore, the omission and recombination model sensory experiments successfully identified 12 key odorants including butanoic acid, methyl octanoate, hexanoic acid, octanoic acid, methyl hexanoate, and methyl butanoate in AMF catalyzed with Lipozyme RMC. Overall, this research provides valuable insights into the enzymatic modification of AMF and its impact on flavor modulation in dairy products.

Foods for special medical purposes play a critical role in clinical nutritional support, especially oil-in-water emulsions characterized as having high energy density, which could provide efficient energy for patients with insufficient intake or those requiring fluid restriction. The included oil types are the critical determinants of emulsion stability, which, in turn, governs digestive behavior, absorption efficiency, and ultimate bioavailability of the delivered nutrients. However, such emulsions face stability challenges during storage and application. In the present study, high-energy-density fat emulsions formulated with six typical oils, which contained 50% oil content, were prepared and systematically analyzed in terms of their particle size, zeta potential, microstructure, centrifugal stability, multiple light scattering, and rheological properties. The results indicated that oils with medium-chain fatty acids, due to their compact molecular structure and low viscosity, facilitated the formation of finer droplets and promoted the orderly arrangement of phospholipids at the interface of the emulsion system, leading to the formation of a dense, elastic interfacial layer and a gel network structure. Its marked shear-thinning characteristic and lowest frequency dependence contributed to desirable processing and storage stabilities. In contrast, long-chain triacylglycerols, especially those enriched with monounsaturated and saturated fatty acids, tended to form rigid but insufficiently elastic interfacial layers, which were unfavorable for resisting coalescence and phase separation induced by external forces. Highly unsaturated oils, on the contrary, exhibited medium levels for emulsion stability. Further analysis of the relationship between the physicochemical properties of oils and the characteristics of emulsions revealed that fatty acid species in the oil phase were the key determinants of emulsification behavior. It was therefore speculated that oils rich in medium-chain fatty acids with a moderate degree of unsaturation, especially including selected ω-3 and ω-6 fatty acids, could improve emulsion stability and fatty acid balance synchronously. This study provides a theoretical basis and technical support for the formulation design and stability control of high-energy-density fat emulsions.

High-melting point 1,3-diacylglycerols not only provide health benefits, but are also suitable for manufacture of foods containing various specialty fats. It is difficult to prepare such high-melting point diacylglycerols, as the activities of specific enzymes will severely reduce at their melting points. In the present study, a combined technique was developed to prepare 1,3-dipalmitoylglycerol (1,3-DPG) and 1,3-distearoylglycerol (1,3-DSG) using selective esterification, molecular distillation, and solvent fractionation. Lipozyme TL IM was suitable for use as the optimal enzyme to maintain relatively high activity levels at esterification temperatures of 73–75 °C. 1,3-DAG/(DAG + TAG) was selected as the most important index to monitor the esterification and to evaluate the synthesized fats. The obtained 1,3-DPG and 1,3-DSG showed high purities, at more than 83%, and possessed hard attributes at room temperature. Both 1,3-DPG and 1,3-DSG exhibited fat crystals with β′ and β crystals. Needle-like and rod-like crystals were observed at 5–25 °C for 1,3-DPG, and closely packed feather-like crystals were found at 5–20 °C for 1,3-DSG, indicating their multiple abilities in modifying the crystallization stabilization of the fat matrix during food processing.

Postbiotics and paraprobiotics are emerging microbial-derived bioactive agents for sustainable food packaging, offering alternatives to plant extracts and essential oils, which face limitations from resource-intensive extraction, variability, and sensory drawbacks. Postbiotics comprise non-viable microbial preparations and functional metabolites, including organic acids, bacteriocins, exopolysaccharides, enzymes, and peptides. In contrast, paraprobiotics are inactivated cells that retain structural and biological functionality without requiring viability. This review examines their biological activity, incorporation methods, and food applications in active and biodegradable packaging. Both agents exhibit antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-biofilm effects against pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus aureus, primarily via membrane disruption, intracellular acidification, competitive exclusion, and radical scavenging. However, their antimicrobial efficacy is highly variable and strongly context-dependent, being governed by the microbial strain inactivation method. These processing variables and matrix interactions must be systematically optimized when integrating these non-viable bioactives into functional packaging systems. Incorporation into biopolymeric matrices such as chitosan (CH), alginate, starch, bacterial nanocellulose (BNC), gelatin, and polylactic acid via solvent casting, dip coating, electrospinning, and encapsulation enhances antimicrobial performance, barrier properties, and oxidative stability. However, mechanical effects depend on the microbial source, inactivation method, and formulation. Real-food trials in meat, seafood, dairy, and produce demonstrate reduced pathogen loads, delayed lipid oxidation, and shelf-life extensions from several days to over two weeks. Key challenges include food-matrix interference, inconsistent terminology and preparation protocols, unclear dose–response and migration behavior, sensory changes, regulatory uncertainty, and scale-up feasibility. Interestingly, postbiotics and paraprobiotics represent a clean-label, sustainable platform for multifunctional packaging. Progress requires standardized production, strain-specific optimization, controlled-release design, migration and safety testing, empirical life-cycle assessments, and regulatory harmonization to enable safer, more sustainable packaging systems that valorize fermentation byproducts and support circular food-system innovation.