# An Encapsulated Vitamin A Palmitate Powder With Improved Stability for Use in Food Fortification

## TL;DR

Researchers developed a more stable vitamin A powder for food fortification, which retains most of its potency even after long-term storage.

## Contribution

A novel encapsulation method using BMC and spray drying significantly improves vitamin A palmitate stability in food products.

## Key findings

- PFH-VAP retained 70% of vitamin A after 12 months of storage, compared to 15% for a commercial product.
- Optimized PFH-VAP formulations showed over 90% recovery after cooking in water.
- Pilot-scale batches demonstrated 95% and 65% recovery after cooking and stability testing.

## Abstract

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is a serious health concern, particularly in low‐ and middle‐income countries. Food fortification is hindered by the instability of vitamin A. The objective was to develop a dry form of vitamin A palmitate (VAP) with improved stability compared to marketed products. This powder could be employed for large‐scale food fortification to help prevent VAD. VAP is emulsified with a variety of food‐grade ingredients, including basic methacrylate copolymer (BMC). A spray‐dried BMC‐encapsulated VAP (PFH‐VAP) was produced using laboratory‐scale equipment. Subsets were assessed for determination of the VAP content and VAP recovery after cooking in water. Another subset was subjected to accelerated stability testing. Two high‐performance formulations were produced at the pilot scale. The two most promising PFH‐VAP formulations and a commercially available vitamin A product were each incorporated into bouillon cubes, stored (40°C, 75% relative humidity), and subjected to stability testing. The optimized laboratory‐scale formulations exhibited > 90% VAP recovery after cooking. The pilot‐scale batches showed 95% and 65% VAP recoveries after cooking and accelerated stability testing, respectively. After 12 months of stability testing, 70% and 68% VAP recoveries were achieved for the pilot‐scale batches of PFH‐VAP‐fortified bouillon. A 15% VAP recovery was obtained from the bouillon fortified with a commercial product. PFH‐VAP demonstrated a substantial stability advantage over an existing commercial formulation of VAP in a proof‐of‐concept food vehicle (bouillon). The use of PFH‐VAP could increase the nutritional and health benefits of vitamin A‐fortified foods and condiments.

Food fortification is hindered by the instability of vitamin A. Encapsulating vitamin A palmitate (VAP) in a basic methacrylate copolymer (BMC) and spray drying to form PFH‐VAP resulted in a substantial stability advantage over comparator material when incorporated into bouillon and stored at 40°C/75% RH. After 12 months, PFH‐VAP retained 70% of vitamin A versus 15% for the comparator, supporting its potential to increase the nutritional benefits of fortified foods.