Modification of Milk Fat Globules During Processing and Gastrointestinal Digestion

Milk is an important source of nutrition in the diet of children and adults. Our understanding of the structure of the milk fat globules and the effect of dairy processing on the digestion of lipids has increased over the last decades. The role of the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) has moved beyond being simply a triglyceride-stabilizing membrane and is recognized for providing efficient digestion, gut maturation and protection and brain development. This chapter reviews the structure of the MFGM, the effect of processing on the structure of the fat globules and impact on their digestion under adult and infant conditions, and the development of emulsions mimicking the structure of milk fat globules.