Oil-in-water emulsions containing cationic droplets stabilized by lecithin-chitosan membranes were produced using a two-stage process. A primary emulsion containing anionic lecithin-coated droplets was prepared by homogenizing oil and emulsifier solution using a high-pressure valve homogenizer (5 wt % corn oil, 1 wt % lecithin, 100 mM acetic acid, pH 3.0). A secondary emulsion containing cationic lecithin-chitosan-coated droplets was formed by diluting the primary emulsion with an aqueous chitosan solution (1 wt % corn oil, 0.2 wt % lecithin, 100 mM acetic acid, and 0.036 wt % chitosan). The stabilities of the primary and secondary emulsions with the same oil concentration to thermal processing, freeze-thaw cycling, high calcium chloride concentrations, and lipid oxidation were determined. The results showed that the secondary emulsions had better stability to droplet aggregation during thermal processing (30-90 degrees C for 30 min), freeze-thaw cycling (-10 degrees C for 22 h/30 degrees C for 2 h), and high calcium chloride contents (</=500 mM CaCl(2)) and exhibited less lipid oxidation (peroxide formation) than primary emulsions. The interfacial engineering technology used in this study could lead to the creation of food emulsions with improved stability to environmental stresses.