Colloid science of mixed ingredients

Some recent advances in the colloid science of heterogeneous systems containing food biopolymer ingredients are reviewed. Understanding the instability processes controlling the shelf-life and rheology of food colloids requires a detailed knowledge of the factors affecting the nature of the interactions in emulsions and gels containing mixtures of protein + protein, protein + surfactant and protein + polysaccharide. Against this background, theoretical modelling and computer simulation are useful tools for predicting effects of system composition on stability mechanisms. Confocal microscopy combined with image analysis is providing new experimental insight into the microstructural origins of changes in macroscopic properties during processing and storage.