The issue of the day is microencapsulated fat-soluble vitamins.  We have a lot of customers that send in samples for vitamin testing.  The tricky part is when they send in microencapsulated fat-soluble vitamins.  Often times the customer puts down "beta-carotene" on the sample submission form.  To the laboratory that means test for beta-carotene.  Then the results come up non-detect or very low.  How could this happen?

It turns out there isn't "beta-carotene" present at all.  What is present is a gelatin or starch or ? micro-encapsulated form of the vitamin.  The laboratory can't tell that the finished product has microencapsulated ingredients.  And the laboratory can't tell which microencapsulant is used either.  That is important because not all microencapsulants are created equal.  Some require just plain cold water, others require acids, some enzymes and I hear rumors of a microencapsulant that survives everything, possibly even digestion.

So please do your lab a favor and tell them when the sample is "fish gelatin microencapsulated beta-carotene".  Because that's what is really there, and we can take it from here.

SteveB@ChromaDex.com