Announced November 17, 2009, the 2009 Frost & Sullivan European Functional Food & Beverage Microencapsulation Technology Innovation Award was presented to GAT Food Essentials for its wowCAPS technology. The water in oil in water (w/o/w) technology provides enhanced protection to functional food ingredients by preventing oxidation and degradation which can occur during food processing. It enhances the shelf life of functional food and beverage products while also facilitating a controlled and targeted release of the microencapsulated active ingredient inside the human body. Ingredients microencapsulated with GAT's technology have been successfully incorporated into a variety of applications such as dairy products, beverages, baked goods and other products including sausages, ham, and sauces. GAT's flexible technology platform can be adapted to a wide range of food ingredients such as PUFAs (omega-3s), nutritional oils, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.