*2.9. Carotenoid Recovery, Encapsulation E*ffi*ciency, and Carotenoid Retention*

To estimate the carotenoid losses during processing, the carotenoid recovery (CRec) was calculated according to Equation (3) from the theoretical carotenoid content in the liquid slurry formulation (TCs) and the measured carotenoid content in the powder after drying (TCp) in relation to the respective dry matter content of the powder (DMp) and the slurry (DMs).

$$\text{CRC} \left[ \% \right] = \frac{\text{TC}\_{\text{P}}}{\text{DM}\_{\text{P}}} \times \left( \frac{\text{TC}\_{\text{s}}}{\text{DM}\_{\text{s}}} \right)^{-1} \times 100\%. \tag{3}$$

The encapsulation efficiency (EE) expresses the percentage of effectively encapsulated carotenoids after the drying process and can be calculated by Equation (4).

$$\text{EE}\left[\%\right] = \frac{\text{EC}}{\text{TC}\_{\text{P}}} \times 100\%. \tag{4}$$

The carotenoid retention (CRet) after storage is the ratio of total carotenoids measured in the samples after 91 days of storage to the initial content which was measured 2–6 h after production.

#### *2.10. Particle Size and Morphology*

The particle size distribution (PSD) of the dried powders was determined by laser diffraction using a laser particles size analyzer with a powder feed unit (LA-960, Horiba, Kyoto, Japan). Particle morphology and carotenoid crystal distribution within the dried matrices were analyzed using a light microscope (Olympus BX51, Tokyo, Japan) with adapted camera system (Olympus XC50, Tokyo, Japan). The size of the carotenoid crystals was measured using the image analysis software cellSens Dimension (version 1.12) which enables size measurement during microscopy. Selected samples were examined in a benchtop scanning electron microscope (SEM) (JCM-6000, JEOL, Peobody, MA, USA) operating at 15 kV after sputter coating with gold for 30 s.
