Applications and opportunities of supercritical fluid extraction in food processing technologies: A review

The food industry is always in search of best processing technologies to achieve a natural compound with maximum purity. An increase in interest of functional food has brought a sharp rise demand of naturally occurring compounds achieved via natural processes. The traditional solvent extraction processes have shown certain limitations; such as flammability, toxicity, carcinogenicity, mutagenicity and limited recovery. The studies on costeffective and eco-friendly processes are still limited. This review focuses on an innovative, environmentally clean tool for food processing technologies and their role in improving food sustainability. Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE) technique, however, is already in use for more than 40 years by academia and industries. This can be a successful tool for food processing and can be used for the extraction of selective components. Development of a sustainable and environmentally clean process to achieve natural ingredients is an area undergoing intense studies in food science. Here, we discuss principle applications of SFE to extract natural ingredients from different food materials and by-products. A supercritical fluid is non-flammable, nontoxic, eco-friendly and easily recoverable. These can be easily eliminated from the extract by altering the pressure and temperature conditions. Supercritical fluids are preferred method of extraction from solid samples, different fractional liquids and for chromatographic separations. The cost of SFE is competitive, moreover, in some cases, SFE is the only way to achieve product satisfaction. The design and development of analytical and industrial plants are reviewed. An overview of commercial applications and illustrations of recent development describes new horizons for SFE in food processing industries.