How about some fish oil in your dessert? Fatty-acid nutrients known as Omega-3s, derived from certain fishes, are a hot commodity these days because of their putative ability to cleanse arteries. So food companies are mixing them into everything from milk to sports bars to boost nutritional -- and marketing -- value. Now they are also seeking ways to mix large amounts of Omega-3s into foods like crackers or tomato sauce that can't normally hide the fishy flavor -- and in which the fragile oils more readily break down.

A number of companies are adapting encapsulation techniques already used in the drug industry. In processed foods, the techniques can preserve the fragile oils for months. BioDelivery Sciences of Newark, NJ, encases the fish oil in a calcium and soybean lipid matrix, the same approach it takes with antifungal drugs it has in clinical trials. Raphael Mannino, the company's chief scientific officer, says the technology works in everything from pasta to chocolate chip cookies and is already "under evaluation by a number of major food companies."