Food-grade particles for emulsion stabilization

•Food-grade particles as alternatives to synthetic particles.•Characterization of stabilizing particles and the Pickering emulsions they form.•Applications in food products.

The use of solid, food-grade particles as emulsion stabilizers is highly promising in the field of food science and technology. Food-grade particles (e.g. fat and wax crystals, protein particles, and protein-polysaccharide complexes) can form alternatives to inorganic particles (e.g. silica, alumina or clays), which are incompatible and mostly unserviceable when considering food and nutraceutical applications. This review provides a concise insight into the concept of Pickering stabilization with the emphasis on the available food-grade particles that have been researched in this field. The innovative food applications of particle-stabilized emulsions are also discussed.