Other studies (Dickinson & Parkinson, 2004) which involved emulsions made with b-lactoglobulin showed a significant increase in particle size distribution, when heated at temperatures higher than 85 C for a varying period of time (30 min to 48 h). This increase in effective particle size triggered by protein thermal denaturation with consequent droplet flocculation was also accompanied by an expected increase in viscosity. Interestingly, when sodium caseinate was added to the emulsion ingredients, whey protein emulsion was protected against heat-induced flocculation. According to the authors, adsorbed casein molecules, due to their long tangling tails, induce a steric stabilization effect which prevents droplets from flocculation and thus reduces the heatinduced thickening effect (Fig. 6). Further evidence supports the positive effect of sodium caseinate on emulsion stability when emulsions are stored at temperatures above 15 C (Euston & Mayhill, 2001). According to this study, crosslinking occurs between casein molecules adsorbed on the same droplet, which can inhibit the susceptibility of the emulsion to heat-induced destabilization by increasing the surface viscosity of the adsorbed layer. As a result, emulsions remain relatively stable with respect to the creaming stability and particle size distribution over a period of storage time due to the intradroplet crosslinking of caseins. Nevertheless, although there seems to be a temperature-dependent effect on the emulsion stability, the application of higher temperatures is required to clarify the effect of thermal processing on caseinatestabilized emulsion droplets.